** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

Know what? Cream shadows and I haven’t always been BFFs. They usually crease like mad crazy on my lids. So when I saw the words “Creaseless Cream Shadow” as the name of this product, I raised an eyebrow in somewhat disbelief.

Benefit Tidal Rave Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner has better staying power than expected, although I don’t think it fully lives up to all the hype. Come see what I dislike about this product, and why it did end up winning me over.

Benefit Tidal Rave Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner Swatches & Pictures

Claims: TRUSTED

√ Blendable color
X Crease-proof formula
√ Smudge-proof formula
√ Buildable color

Key Notes

• Name: Benefit Tidal Rave Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner
• Amount: 4.5g or 0.16oz
• What I Paid: $24 CAD
• Price Per Unit: $5.33/g or $150/oz
• Other Colors Available: Ice Shot (Sephora exclusive), Purple Snap (Sephora exclusive), Silver Spoon (Sephora exclusive), Birthday Suit, R.S.V.P., Tattle Tale, Flatter Me, Get Figgy, Skinny Jeans, Busy Signal, Stiletto, Strut
• Where to Buy: Sephora in-store & Sephora online

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow Tidal Rave Review

Color

G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S. I rarely see blues with gold (mostly just greens with gold). That’s why I love the base color of Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Tidal Rave. It has a golden shimmer on top of a beautiful denimy blue. It’s different enough to stand out, yet still neutral enough for the office.

Application

Well, this was the first dislike that I was confronted with. I find it’s hard to pick up Benefit Tidal Rave Cream Shadow with a brush, especially if the brush is fluffier. The soft bristles basically just swirl around the top of the product without picking it up. Maybe the cold weather here has hardened the cream too much? Let me know if you’ve experienced this issue as well. I suggest using a stiffer eyeshadow brush instead to make it easier.

Sometimes I even just use my finger since my body warmth seems to melt the product a little into a softer, creamier consistency. But I don’t really like doing this because I find it kind of unsanitary…and also because I feel like I waste more product after seeing all the blue shadow on my finger!

But it’s not just picking up the product I have issues with. Benefit Tidal Rave Creaseless Shadow goes on kind of blotchy. It helps if I dab the product on my eye, rather than sweep it on.

Creaseless-ness & Stay-put-ness

It surprised me how well Benefit Creaseless Shadow in Tidal Rave lasts on my eye. Even without a primer, it doesn’t smudge or melt that much. I did see slight creasing, but it was a lot less than I thought it would. And if you usually wear a primer anyway, you shouldn’t have any issues with it at all.

Blendability

I’m not the fastest at blending, so I find it quite hard with Benefit Tidal Rave Shadow. You have to work quickly before it dries and sets, which takes about 30 seconds. Otherwise, you’d be there for a long time with a brush.

Versatility

Apply a thin layer of Tidal Rave Creaseless Cream Shadow by Benefit, and you get a soft blue highlight. Build it and layer it, and you get a more-intense look-at-me blue! Plus, you can easily use this shadow as a liner. I have no issues applying it as that since my liner brush is stiffer so it picks up the product easier.

Pros  Beautiful color Stays put all day with primer Can be worn as shadow or liner Creamy consistency

Cons  Sephora exclusive (can only find it there) Goes on patchy Can be hard to blend

Final Verdict: 8/10

I’ve experienced some issues with this, but I’m willing to take extra time in the morning to apply the shadow because the color is that outstanding for me. I’m also looking to get Stiletto, Strut and Skinny Jeans. My wallet’s saying, “Uh oh!”

Let me know if you have a trick to make Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows easier to apply without the patchiness. I’d love to know!