Those who know the brand 3INA (pronounced “mee-nah”) know it for its attractively priced products with punchy, bold pigments. The made-in-Europe cosmetic company launched in last year in Feb 2016 and has recently opened its flagship in Singapore at Ion Linkway last month (Nov 2017). Albeit new on the block, 3INA has garnered a following of near rabid devotees who sing their praises across the interwebs.
Currently with over 450 products including makeup, skincare and everything in between available on its site, 3INA’s products, are all paraben and cruelty free while mostly vegan (there’s beeswax in the lippies). Its most raved about products — according to online reviews — are its fluorescent cream eyeshadows and brightly coloured hero colour eyeliners.
The brand may be friendly on our purse strings, but how do the products really fare — save for aesthetically pleasing packaging and price point?
Let’s start with their well received eyeshadows.
Though there are a total of 18 different shades, the one that I have on hand is the cream eyeshadow in the shade 317 — a shimmery silver-pink dusted with gold and pink flecks of glitter. When i first swatched it on my wrist, I was impressed with the pigmentation. It is a rich reflective icy pink which sheers out to a beautiful diffused glitter effect, and the fast-drying formula is great for minimising smudges. Once dried down, it definitely lives up to what it claims to be: waterproof and budge-resistant. I even struggled with removing the product with micellar water; it comes off easier with oil-based removers.
When I applied it to the lids using my fingers, sans primer, I found that it was better to use a small amount. Too much product lends a a flakey, crusty aftermath while a small dollop of the cream eyeshadow gave my lids a sheer wash of glitter, which instantly brightened up my eyes. This works well as an eyeshadow topper in the centre of your lids, an inner corner highlight, and even as a highlighter for the tip of your nose and cheekbones (only if you’re a fan of glittery highlighters).
Eyeshadow palette ($29)
‘The Eyeshadow Palette’ in 101 Party Brights is filled with bright colours, which as its name suggests, would be perfect for creating fun party looks. There’s 6 grams of product and 6 shades in the palette, which means each shade sits at about 1 gram. For the sake of comparison, each shade in a Urban Decay Naked palette is 1.3grams, so it’s not that far off. The 6 shades included are mostly metallic, shimmer or satin for you to make a statement with. There’s a yellow-toned gold, a deep forest green, light grey, silver, pink and purple.
The texture of the eyeshadows are velvety and smooth. They’re really good quality for the price you’re forking out. They feel buttery and soft upon application with my fingers, blends out easily, and are easy to work with. Though the powder kickup is kept to a minimum with this palette, I must add that the pigmentation did not meet up to my expectations. Apart from the middle silver shade, which was a bright shimmery metallic, and the gold, the rest of the shades were too sheer and had to be built up for a stronger colour payoff. The purple shade pulls off rather patchy, as with most darker shadows, and can be difficult to use for beginners. But if you prefer a subtle pop of sheer colour on your lids, this palette is the one for you.
Typically when we think about lip gloss, our minds tend to turn to the ’80s or ’90s versions that provided plenty of shine, but have little to no colour pigmentation; sheer, glitter-packed glosses are what we’re referring to here. But 3INA’s lip gloss in the shade 103 (a cool-toned burgundy) is a wet-look gloss with a high-impact vinyl shine and opaque colour payoff. It filled in all of the fine lines on my pout and doesn’t feel too sticky.
As it’s an opaque gloss, the formula drags a bit; you need to make sure you have an even coat before you smack your lips together or the gloss will start to look streaky. It works amazing as a lip topper when I used it atop of a similar reddish purple bullet lipstick — it gave my lips a fresh, sheer tint and shine. The lip gloss lasted a little over four hours — even through lunch (and coffee).
Ultra Volume Mascara ($23)
A single coat of this mascara gives my lashes a good even coverage, giving them volume and a fuller look. It holds a curl well, and is noticeable and glam, but not overly clumpy. While it isn’t waterproof, it does last fairly well without smudging, even against my sensitive eyes that easily water, and it is easy to remove with a standard makeup remover or micellar water.
The mascara wand, as pictured above, is thinner on the tip and wider at the end which make it easy to reach even the smallest of lashes in the inner corners while lengthening the lashes on the outer corners further for a cat-eye look. According the 3INA, the mascara should be applied 3 separate times for maximum effect; the first coat separates and defines the lashes, the second lifts and curls, and the third for ultra-volumised lashes.
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