The magazine freebies that knocked it out of the park!

If you're amongst the many that frequently succumb to the ploy of magazine freebies, then, most likely, you're familiar with the disappointment that often accompanies them: the quality is rarely remarkable, and even if that's the case, the quantity or shade you've ended up with, will probably leave you wanting more.

Which is why I was extremely impressed when I saw these two eyeshadows waiting for me on my desk a few days ago:

Meet Erre Due Deep-Matte eyeshadows, in shades 55 and 63. My mother had gotten these with some magazine (I believe it's November's Elle, but I could be mistaken), and since she rarely uses any eyeshadows, she passed them along. Naturally, any product that comes with a magazine insert brings out the skeptic in me, but, boy, was I surprised:

Look at that pigmentation! I'll admit, it took 2 swipes to get that, but still!!!
No 55 is a warm brown matte shade and no 63 a deep charcoal. The texture impressed me as well: ever so slightly chalky, but still, extremely fine and easy to work with, without any fallout! What's best is that both of these shades complement each other really well, particularly if you want to recreate that "Kim Kardashian" ultra dark smokey/cat eye look.

I gave them a quick run for their money, before completely removing my makeup for the day, despite not being extremely comfortable with using matte shades still, and this is a messy and rough idea of what I ended up with:

Up close, it was so much more intense!

All in all a great product, made even better by the fact that I didn't have to spend a dime for it (even for the mag, woot woot)! I knew that Erre Due makes some great products (i.e. the Wet&Dry eyeshadows), but now they really got my attention!


When was the last time you were wowed by a magazine freebie? Do you get makeup from family and friends too?