I’ve long lusted after Hourglass’s Scattered Light Eyeshadow in the shade Aura, ever since I first saw it in a Get Ready With Me video featuring Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. She said that the product was one of her all-around favorite eye shadows for elevating her daytime makeup look. I could see why: in the video, the shadow gave her eyes a soft pink, pearlescent twinkle that was neither too glittery, nor too metallic. It looked like something I could wear for work meetings, going out, and special occasions, and I needed to own it immediately. I hustled over to Sephora, gave it a swatch on my forearm, and was thrilled to discover it looked just as gorgeous on my body as it did on the camera. Then I looked at the price tag, where I saw the bad news: it was $29. Not for a whole palette. For the single color.
I should note that I firmly believe there are a lot of Hourglass products worth investing in. Its $46 Vanish Foundation Brush and $48 Ambient Light Finishing Powder are absolute staples that I will never stop blowing my paycheck on. But I couldn’t justify spending that much on a single eye shadow that cost more than my ten-shade “Treasure” palette from Ohii. So I held off.
A couple weeks later, I went to Ulta to swatch some potential dupes for the pricey Aura shade from Colourpop — I’d heard great things about the brand’s affordable eye shadows in the past from the makeup artist Harriet Hatfeld, who is the cohost of my favorite beauty podcast Full Coverage. When I tried its $6 Super Shock Wave Eyeshadow in the shade “Frog,” I gasped — really, I did! Just like the Aura, this shadow gave off a super-buildable, subtle-but-beautifully prismatic shimmer — something you could wear as easily to a meeting as you could on your actual wedding day. Once I got it home, I realized I actually prefer Colourpop’s formula to Hourglass’s — it’s creamier, more blendable, and doesn’t get glitter anywhere except where you want to get glitter (your eyelids).
This is something I’ve ended up wearing almost every day since, as part of my daily no-makeup makeup routine. I love it so much that, in the weeks since, I’ve gone back to Ulta and purchased several other colors: “Ripple” a cool toned violet, “Amaze” a rose gold, and “Bae” a dark purple-y blue. This isn’t just a perfect dupe: it’s a perfect, perfectly priced, daily-wear eye shadow.
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