I own several of Sunday Riley’s Prismasilk Eye Colors and I use them almost daily—Sanders is my current favorite, and Moon Dust is a handy basic. I’ve recently been dipping into Pot of Gold, a golden shimmer.

I have mixed feelings about Pot of Gold. I love the color, which is a soft yellow-gold with very fine shimmer, almost like gold leaf. After some trial and error, I’ve learned that I need to apply this shade with a light touch. If I apply it only to the eyelid (using my Edward Bess eye shadow brush), I end up with a flattering base color that brings a little extra warmth to my eye area.

However, when I tried blending this shadow upwards past the lid, even with a good-quality brush, I ended up with a metallic highlight effect on my browbones. The shadow just didn’t blend as well in that area, and it was too obviously sheen-y for everyday wear.

Here’s a swatch of Pot on Gold on my arm in sunlight. It’s not a great shot, but you can probably see the shimmer content (pretty high!) and the fact that this shadow doesn’t quite merge with my skin the way others from this line do. It also tends to crease a little bit, even with primer—again, because of its high shimmer level.

I received Pot of Gold as a free gift when I made a larger purchase at the Sunday Riley counter, and it’s a nice occasional alternative to Moon Dust for a lid color, but I don’t know that I would re-purchase this one at full price. I like the idea of owning a gold-toned base shadow, but this one might not exactly be the one you’d find at the end of a rainbow.

Sunday Riley Prismasilk Eye Colors sell for $26 each at Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom, Dermstore, and Sephora (website only).

Product source: I received this product as a gift with purchase at Bergdorf Goodman.

Images: photos by Tinsel Creation