Black Shimmer Shadows - Blue & Green

The last in the Black Shimmer Shadows series of posts. Blues & greens are the featured shades here.

Dagger - Kat Von D

From the Metal Orchestra palette. In the picture, this looks far more blue than it actually is. The pan is a black base packed with blue shimmers. Best used wet for full shimmer effect. Soft texture that blends well & very pigmented.

Oddfellow - Kat Von D

Another from the Kat Von D palettes, this time it's from the Love & Fury (or Adora) palette.

Oddfellow has larger glitters than Dagger. Both blue & green glitter are packed into the black base, although, on the pictures, it looks predominantly blue. Whilst it's best used wet, it still has a good amount of shimmer used dry over a slightly sticky base.

Lightweight Black - MAC

A limited edition from the Summerwear quad, Lightweight black hasn't got the deepest of black bases. As with other MAC velvets, the shimmers blend right out of this when used dry. Using it wet will give a better result.

Night Owl - MAC

LE with the Denim Dish quad & yet another velvet. Night Owl has a darker base than Lightweight Black.

Cloudburst - MAC

Another limited edition that came out with the Heatherette collection & the Blue Storm collection. The picture hasn't managed to quite capture the gorgeous shimmers (which are more of a blue-green than an outright blue).
Yet another velvet, so it's best used wet to get the shimmer to show up.

Dagger, Oddfellow, Lightweight Black, Night Owl, Cloudburst - inside with flash

Dagger, Oddfellow, Lightweight Black, Night Owl, Cloudburst - outside, no flash

As with the swatches in previous posts, these were done using a brush dampened with MAC's water-based mixing medium & swatched straight on to bare skin.
The green shimmers in Oddfellow don't show up at all in these swatches, which is a shame because, combined with the blue, they're beautiful and make for a shadow that I haven't found a dupe for.

Moonlight Night pigment - MAC

This pigment was a limited edition (again!) with A Tartan Tale. Not strictly blue because the shimmers are more teal.

As with most pigments, you'll get a nice effect used either wet or dry. As the shimmers are small, it gives a pretty teal twinkle to the black base when used dry. Really pops if you use them over something like the MAC Greasepaint Sticks.
Wet, it becomes a dark teal.

Goddess loose pigment - Urban Decay

Good deep black base packed with blue shimmers. This is extremely sparkly used both wet & dry.
The picture shows the pigment in different packaging. The reason? I hated the original UD packaging for these. They come with a brush fitted in to the cap, which seems like a good idea at first. Attempting to use it is another story. The pigment is all over the brush, not just the bristles, so it makes it very, very messy (and the brush isn't all that great). Trying to use your own brush is almost as messy, you can't seem to get enough product on there. That leaves tipping the pigment out, which creates yet more mess. It was quite a chore depotting these, it involved lots of fiddling around trying to prise the bottom away & then constantly tapping at the container to get all of the pigment out. However, it was worth persevering because putting it into an open plastic pot has made it infinitely more usable.

Night Flight - NARS

Another of the stunning black-based sparkle shades from NARS. My poor Night Flight suffered a mishap somewhere along the line & a fair bit broke. Luckily, it's such a big pan that there's still loads left.
As with all of these, the base is a great, bold black & the shimmers show up if used dry. Wet, they absolutely pop. Makes a great liner with bright blue shadows.

Deep Blue Green pigment - MAC

Bit of a quandry whether to place this under the blue or the green section. Maybe not a true black but it's certainly very, very dark. Lots of shimmer with this one & the results when used dry are gorgeous. Deep Blue Green makes for a stunning smoky eye that is different to black, yet still dark & dramatic.

She Who Dares - MAC

As with My Dark Magic (in the pinks & purples post), She Who Dares doesn't have the deepest of black bases but it is packed full of gorgeous shimmers.
The mineralise shadows can have a bit of fall-out when used dry, especially these super-shimmery ones. Used wet, it's a bright, metallic blue that is just stunning.

Blue Flame - MAC

Not quite as bright as She Who Dares but the base is better if you want to use it dry.

I used this over Icon Eyes kohl pencil (also from MAC) a while ago and it gave a gorgeous, slightly purple sheen to the blue sparkles.

Moonlight Night, Goddess, Night Flight, Deep Blue Green, She Who Dares, Blue Flame - inside with flash

Moonlight Night, Goddess, Night Flight, Deep Blue Green, She Who Dares, Blue Flame - outside, no flash

Green Shimmers

Grey Range - MAC

Limited edition with the Photo Realism quad. As the name indicates, the base is a grey shade. Grey Range still makes for a nice, smoky eye, but it won't be the darkest green shimmer you could use.
Since it's a Veluxe Pearl finish, this will keep its green shimmer intact when used dry. It's also great when it comes to blending.

Night Porter - NARS

Gorgeous dark green shimmer with fantastic pigmentation. Easy to apply & no trouble blending at all.
This is probably my favourite black with green shimmer for doing a smoky eye. It works really well with the greens from the Kat Von D Gypsy palette.

Forest Green Pigment - MAC

As with Deep Blue Green, it's not an out & out black. It definitely makes for a fantastic dark smoky eye with a pop of green.

Pigmentation is great, blends really well but, as with darker pigments, there can be a small amount of fall-out.

Libertine - Urban Decay

From the Black Palette. Libertine is very close to Night Porter. If you want the colour without buying the palette, you could buy Night Porter instead.

Good texture & pigmentation. Keeps its shimmer when used dry.

She Who Dares (green side)

Used wet over a dark base, She Who Dares gives a beautiful, shimmery bright green pop.
Dry, the shimmer is a little muted.

Looks stunning used wet as a liner.

Grey Range, Night Porter, Forest Green, Libertine, She Who Dares - inside with flash

Grey Range, Night Porter, Forest Green, Libertine, She Who Dares - outside, no flash

Once again, these were swatched wet on to bare skin. Night Porter & Libertine look a little dark olive here, not how they looked in reality. 

My recommendations for the blues are a Kat Von D if you're looking for a palette, Night Flight for a single or one of the pigments. The MAC velvets are pretty but you won't get the shimmers when used dry. With the others, you have the options of being able to use them wet or dry.
If you can still get your hands on Blue Flame, it's worth picking up as it's an amazing blue shimmer that takes little to no effort.

The green recommendations would be Libertine if you want a new palette with this kind of shade or Night Porter if you're after a single shadow. I think Forest Green has been discontinued, but if you happen across a jar anywhere, it's worth picking up. You could also substitute the Deep Blue Green instead, it's just less of a green shimmer.