Lucent Cream Shadow (014, Neptune)

I originally thought that the color of Neptune would be significantly different from Moira's Chroma Light Shadow in Aquamarine - I thought Neptune would be less saturated, more pale and frosty. But as it turns out, they are quite similar (imo) in color, but perform differently. It's like Neptune is Aquamarine's fraternal twin but born a few seconds/minutes later (and therefore is a tiny bit of a baby sister) ;p Despite how they look in the pan, since both have a translucent base, when worn (especially if in a sheer application that builds up the base color less), both have a light aqua sparkle that is mostly interchangeable. The differences are: Neptune has a slightly smaller glitter, and it has a little bit of iridescence, so at some angles you can see a bit of light pink and lilac in addition to the aqua; whereas Aquamarine does not have multiple colors, but its aqua color is a bit stronger, and the glitter particles are a bit bigger. Because of this, Aquamarine overall looks a little bit flashier, glitzier, a bit foil-like, and bolder, whereas Neptune is more a wearable sparkle shimmer for everyday. But besides of this, I did like the experience of wearing Neptune a lot better - its application is a lot smoother and more even, I felt, than Aquamarine, which feels a little bit drier, crumbly, rough, and patchy, with a little fallout that can get in the eyes and on the cheeks (but not too bad, it's still wearable). In that sense, Neptune seemed to fix a lot of the flaws I found with the formula of the shade Aquamarine in particular (haven't had those issues with the other Chroma Light shades so far). I also tried layering Aquamarine on top of Neptune, and that actually was nice - you kind of get the pros of both that way: Aquamarine imo is not very good at giving much of a base color, even though its glitter color is pretty - so it kind of leaves something to be desired when used alone. But Neptune does that well on its own, so one could layer Aquamarine on top to intensify the aqua color a bit more and the level of sparkle. That said, if I had to pick one, I would be plenty pleased with Neptune on its own.

Creamy and sparkly! I like the color. It's not too dark, which was my original concern. The base color is this kind of soft somewhat dark neutral that kind of reminds me of the color of adzuki - mauve-taupe muted slight dark brown color. The sparkles are a sort of light cornflower blue. Easy to blend out. Love it!

Normally, this shade would not have caught my eye, but I saw online that one gal really enjoyed this shade for her everyday natural makeup, so I was curious. I must say an online video review really can't capture this shadow well because it's subtle - in a video with inadequate lighting, Orion looks insignificant. Also, in the pan, before I tried it on, I was also still unsure because it actually looked like almost a match for my particular skin tone (light-medium neutral-warm), in addition to not being as glitter-forward as some of the other Lucent shades, so I was concerned it would look like I had nothing on. However, I just took a chance and tried it, -- and I actually do genuinely like it and would get it again. In the pan, I think it looks lighter because you're seeing all the shimmer reflecting, but when I put it on, that pretty, subtle light rosy-brown base color actually does show - it had just enough difference with my particular skin color while blending into it naturally. And then rather than only being pearly as I expected, it actually does have a gentle bit of sparkle/shimmer as well. Altogether, I feel like it acts like a subtle version of what I would expect Moira's Sugar Crush or UD's Space Cowboy to act like, which is indeed a nice choice for those who like something more subtle and natural, but it's definitely a nice little feminine accent still. I really enjoy Moira's Chroma Light Shadows but those are quite sparkly (which I actually do like) - and I'm exploring sometimes doing something more subtle like this instead.

From what I can tell, Venus is the exact same color combination (base color + sparkle color) as Moira's Chroma Light Shadow Birthday Girl; the main difference is formula - Chroma is a dry pressed powder pan and Lucent is supposed to be more of a cream-to-powder. Both are very sparkly. On the eye, I really enjoy the light coral/salmon pink sparkles. The pink color is lighter on the eyes than how it looks in the pan. What I like about Birthday Girl/Venus is that whereas most pink sparkly eyeshadows will have the base color be pink and then the glitter to just be iridescent or silvery, in this case, the glitter itself is a warm pink, which catches your eye when you look at it. It reminds me of the sunlight at dawn or sunset, when it's a shy, warm pink.

Gorgeous, very pigmented and not too sparkly.