Today I’m reviewing the Brilliant Deductions collection from Aromaleigh Cosmetics, which consists of 21 colors based on the BBC show Sherlock. The collection is being discontinued, but is currently available for 25% off while she still has it. I think the collection is a bit too large to be manageable, but it has some really nice colors in it.

All colors are swatched over Urban Decay Primer Potion on the top/left and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy on the bottom/right. The top picture in each collage is taken in indoor natural light and the bottom one in direct sun.

The Reds and Browns: Brainy is the New Sexy, Damaged & Delusional, Experimental Drug, Lucky Cat Emporium, Psychosomatic Limp, Sooo Changeable, Nicotine Patch

The Greens and Blues: My Only Weakness, Bitterness is a Paralytic, Spectacularly Ignorant, Alone is What I Have, Pupils Dilated, Codes & Ciphers, High-Functioning Sociopath

The Greys and Purples: Frailty of Genius,How Quaint, Fleeting Impression, Recreational Scolding, Password Protected, Surveillance Status, Glittering Career

Brainy is the New Sexy: “A very smooth English rose frost with golden highlights and tiny copper shimmers.” This is a cool toned pink with what looks to me like a hint of blue in the shimmer. On primer there’s a sheen rather than individual sparkles. Over Pixie Epoxy it becomes noticeably darker and the gold glitters come out more.

Damaged & Delusional: “A smooth plush burgundy wine frost with a striking gold highlight.” This is a gorgeous burgundy red with golden shimmer. It performs well over primer, but on a sticky base it becomes almost metallic in it’s finish.

Experimental Drug: “A rich warm reddish brown with cool silvery iridescence of green, blue and violet.” This is an orangey reddy browny color with a strong sheen. Over primer the shimmer looks silvery blue, but over Pixie Epoxy some green comes out. It’s a touch sheer over primer alone, and darker over a sticky base.

Lucky Cat Emporium: “A smooth cinnabar frost with bright shades of jade green.” This is a bright red-orange with lime green glitters. Over primer it looks almost like a matte base with chunks of sparkle, but over a sticky base it looks shimmery and metallic with even more glitter particles.

Psychosomatic Limp: “A smooth liquid metallic bronze with rose tones and bright sparks of green.” This is a very metallic light bronze. The sheen is very strong over just primer, and over Pixie Epoxy it really does look liquid. The sparks in this are very subtle. Most of the shimmer is metallic, not sparkly.

Sooo Changeable: “A smooth taupe frost with golden highlights and interference shimmer of green and blue.” This seems like a light blackened bronze with a green shimmer overlay, kind of like brass that’s aged. Over Pixie Epoxy the sheen is very strong, which makes the color look lighter.

Nicotine Patch: “A warm brown frost with iridescent gold and rose effects, and brilliant sparks of teal and blue.” This is a warm bronze with lots of blue and purple sparks. It was equally opaque over both bases.

My Only Weakness: “A strong weathered gold with olive and khaki tones and tiny borealis shimmer.” This color is totally and completely different depending on the base you use. Over primer it’s a mattte khaki brown with red and grey tones to it. When I initially applied it, there was a layer of green/gold shimmer over the top, but it did not stick at all and just turned into fallout. Over Pixie Epoxy it’s a solid wall of golden olive green shimmer, with just the barest hint of brown base poking through.

Bitterness is a Paralytic: “A plush warm green with fine lemon yellow shimmer and bright silvery sparks.” This is a yellow green with silver glitter. Over Pixie Epoxy it’s a bit metallic.

Spectacularly Ignorant: “A deep low-sheen evergreen with brilliant sparks of warm yellow gold and cool silver.” This is a blackened forrest green, with gold and red sparks. Over a sticky base there’s an even gold sheen.

Alone is What I Have: “A muted teal frost with soft grey undertones and bright sparks of chartreuse and silver.” This is a more blue than green medium teal with silver shimmer. It’s a little sheer over primer. Over Pixie Epoxy it is darker and very sparkly. I even some some gold sparks in it along with the silver shimmer.

Pupils Dilated: “A frosted periwinkle blue with an intense golden iridescence and bright lemon gold highlight shimmer.” This is another color that it totally different over Pixie Epoxy. Over primer it’s a medium cornflower blue with the barest hint of gold shimmer. It was similar to My Only Weakness in that the shimmer initially showed up but then just sort of blew away. Over a sticky base the gold is very solid and only a hint of the blue base shows through.

Fleeting Impression: “A soft, atmospheric twilight mauve with overall iridescence of gold, green and blue.” This is a light pinky purple with an iridescent shimmer that I can see the gold, green and blue in depending on the angle. Over Pixie Epoxy it’s more iridescent, with more of the green and blue apparent in the sheen.

Recreational Scolding: “A vibrant medium grape purple with subtle aqua iridescence.” This is definitely a grape purple, but to me the shimmer is more green than aqua. Over primer alone it was a touch patchy. Over Pixie Epoxy it’s darker with more prominent shimmer.

Password Protected: “A muted warm mauve with coppery iridescence and bright golden sparks.” This is a warm reddish purple with a very strong gold/over shimmer. The shimmer is very apparent over primer alone. Over a sticky base the sheen is so solid it almost obscures the base, which makes it look more like a golden brown with slight reddish tones than a purple.

Surveillance Status: “A smooth saturated dark purple with lush rose and violet iridescence, and smoke tones.” This is a warm plummy dark purple, with a bit of shimmer. Over Pixie Epoxy it looks a little metallic, almost.

Glittering Career: “A deep smokey grey with russet/violet tones and overall fine pink highlight shimmer.” I see this as a dark purple, not a grey. It’s a very dark purple, but the base is more of a warm brown than a black. The shimmer that comes out over Pixie Epoxy has a touch of red to it.

Codes & Ciphers: “A rich purplish grey with overall iridescent shimmers of peach and rose.” Over primer this is basically a charcoal black. On a sticky base it’s a purplish dark grey, with blue and pink shimmers.

High-Functioning Sociopath: “A lush smoked navy blue with bright and saturated sparks of sapphire blue.” I do not get any navy from this. To my eye it’s a very dark grey, almost black. Over Pixie Epoxy it becomes a metallic dark grey/black with tiny turquoise sparks.

Frailty of Genius: ” A smokey cocoa frost with shimmering highlights of fuchsia and violet.” The description does not match the color as I see it at all. I see it as a concrete grey with pinky purple shimmer. Over primer the shimmer is very slight, but it forms more of a sheen over Pixie Epoxy. In sunlight a little bit of cocoa-ness peeks through as an undertone.

How Quaint: “A soft dove grey with violet-blue tones, and tiny shimmers of cobalt blue and copper.” This is a light grey with a bit of a violet tone to it and blue shimmer. Over primer the shimmer isn’t very strong, which makes it appear warmer, almost like there’s a touch of pink in it. Over Pixie Epoxy it’s darker and the shimmer is more apparent, which makes the grey pull cooler.

Overall Thoughts: I liked the formula for most of the colors. The way the top layer of shimmer fell out from Pupils Dilated and My Only Weakness was something I hadn’t experienced before and definitely disappointing since some of Aromaleigh’s other duochromes (like Experimental Drug) are quite nice. Beyond that the collection is just too big for my liking and I don’t really see how the colors fit with the inspiration from the TV show. Some of the colors are pretty similar and I wish she’d edited it down some before releasing it. I would recommend picking and choosing the shades that appeal to you rather than getting the whole collection because it’s a bit unwieldy all together. Most of the colors are brights or darks and there isn’t much in the way of lighter highlighting shades, which can make coming up with combinations a little tricky. I particularly liked Damaged & Delusional, Experimental Drug, Fleeting Impression, Alone is What I Have and Frailty of Genius.

Given the size of the collection, I had to do more than my usual five looks to use all of the colors. A couple have been featured on my blog before (including yesterday’s look), but most of them are new. Come back tomorrow to see them!

The looks are up here! I also did a tutorial using Frailty of Genius, Damaged & Delusional and Glittering Career.