I used to be a massive Makeup Revolution fan during their first couple of years as I felt like the quality really was amazing for the price. However as time went on I began to notice how they’d release identical shades in different packaging which really didn’t sit well with me. At the beginning I used to purchase almost every new release from Makeup Revolution, I Heart Makeup and Freedom but now I very very rarely purchase their new releases and to be totally honest, I’ve been disappointed with quite a few of their newer launches such as the I Heart Makeup Unicorn Love Palette, the Makeup Revolution Ultra Lightening Contour Kit and the Makeup Revolution Flash Strobe Highlighter.
Even though I’d been disappointed with the recent Makeup Revolution products I’ve tried, I still decided to purchase the Freedom HD Eye Foils when they launched as I really like the Freedom Mono Eyeshadows, and I love foiled eyeshadows so I was excited to try them.
“Create your go to palette with our customisable refill eyeshadows – now available in this amazing set of 5 eyeshadows, designed for our #ProArtist magnetic palettes. Highly pigmented and easy to blend stunning shadows. Apply with brush or fingers or spritz your brush with our fixing spray for intense foil finish”
The Freedom HD Eye Foils are £5 each from Superdrug and they contain five x 1.2g eyeshadow pans, and I bought five of the six sets available when Superdrug were running their 3 for 2 offer so it only cost £20 for the five of them as well as an MUA Palette I bought, otherwise it’d cost you £30 to buy all six sets. The packaging is very basic indeed with black square cardboard packaging, with a flimsy plastic tray inside holding the shadows.
I am a massive fan of the Makeup Geek Foiled Shadows and the Morphe Pressed Pigments as they’re both very foiled with an high-shine finish, so I was excited at the prospect of a budget friendly option. Unfortunately I’m very disappointed with them and really didn’t know if I should do this post, but after being asked a number of times for my thoughts, I decided I would as I’d want to read a totally honest, unbiased review prior to purchasing them.
*Please note: ALL swatches on my blog are done dry, with no base or primer underneath to show a true representation of texture, pigmentation and finish.*
Freedom HD Eye Foils – Bare
Innocence – yellow toned champagne shimmer with poor pigmentation, which is identical to the shade Reinvented (within HD Metallics 2), except Innocence is more pigmented.
Deluxe – a warm chocolate brown shimmer.
Smitten – a shimmery taupe with a lilac shift.
Settle Down – a rose gold shimmer with poor pigmentation and a slightly gritty consistency which I wouldn’t feel comfortable using on my eyes.
Reputation – a golden brown shimmer.
Freedom HD Eye Foils – Matte Bare (the most disappointing)
Icing – a matte white which is very soft and smooth, but blends away to nothing on the lids unless you use an eyeshadow base.
So Sweet – a matte cool toned beige which again blends away to nothing unless you layer it over an eyeshadow base as it’s so soft and powdery.
Sugar Rush – a pale brown matte with poor pigmentation.
Brown Sugar – a warm toned light brown which is very patchy and hard to blend.
Delicious – a cool toned light brown which is also very patchy and difficult to blend.
Freedom HD Eye Foils – Metallic 1
Under Your Spell – a pale gold which barely shows up on the skin unless it’s applied with a damp brush.
Dead End – one of the three true foiled eyeshadows within the five sets out of twenty five shadows, and is a reddy toned chocolate brown.
Fool Around – the second foiled shadow from the five sets and is a warm gold shade.
Inhibition – a very patchy and uneven copper shimmer.
In My Zone – a very patchy and uneven reddy plum shimmer.
Freedom HD Eye Foils – Burnt (the least disappointing)
Intervention – a very pigmented, smooth and easy to apply/blend pink toned red matte.
Bad Behaviour – a very pigmented, smooth and easy to apply/blend burnt orange matte.
Goal Digger – a copper shimmer which is very patchy and uneven unless applied with a dampened brush.
Sweet Life – a orangey brown matte which needs to be built up on the lids to be visible.
Burnt Bridges – a darker and warmer version of Goal Digger; a warm copper shimmer.
Freedom HD Eye Foils – Metallics 2
Momentous – a brown shimmer with a deep plum metallic shift, which is a really pretty and unique shade. I just wish it was more creamy and pigmented like a true ‘foil’.
Fake Friends – the third and final foiled shade within the five sets – a true gold foil.
Friend Zone – a chocolate brown shimmer with copper shimmer particles.
Pace Yourself – an uneven and very dry warm bronze shimmer.
Reinvented – as I mentioned above, Reinvented is identical to Innocence except this shade is a little more pigmented.
So they are all of the swatches of the 25 shades. I truly wanted to love these shadows as I love foiled eyeshadows, and I thought £5 for five foiled eyeshadows was an amazing deal but I feel that their name is very misleading, and I know I’m not the only one that feels that way. Out of 25 shadows, there are only three foiled eyeshadows which I feel isn’t acceptable for a product to be labelled “HD Eye Foils” as they aren’t foiled eyeshadows and they certainly aren’t HD in any way.
I have always had a little beef with Freedom as a brand after they marketed themselves as being “MAC for the masses” which was absolutely ridiculous as none of their products were remotely similar to anything from MAC, and I feel they’ve been misleading from the start. I would not recommend these eyeshadows whatsoever, as their basic £1 eyeshadows I reviewed in full here are better than this supposed “HD Foil” formula, as there are many genuine foil shades within that collection and you get more product for your money too.
If you’re wanting a recommendation for foiled shades, the new six pan MUA Pro Palettes are amazing and I have a post coming very soon with swatches, but they’d be a better purchase than these shadow sets in my honest opinion. If you want to try Makeup Revolution/TAM Beauty best eyeshadow formula, I’d really recommend trying their Naked Chocolate Palette as it also contains genuine foil shadows.
I’d love to know your thoughts, do you think these are ‘HD Foil’ eyeshadows?
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