The Sunday Post, Vol. 20...

Excited!

My friend from Australia is coming to Montreal to visit her family and we have a date on Wednesday!

We've known each other since we were 14 yrs old and although we've lost track here and there we've managed to keep in touch. The last time we saw each other face to face? I can't really remember but I believe Catherine was 8 and she'll be 15 in less than a month so yes, it's been a while!

Finally we are back on track and have been enjoying beautiful springy weather! Most summer makeup collections are out but I've stayed away from the cosmetics departments! I stayed away because I need to reduce my beauty spending, not completely but I just can't go all crazy like I did last Christmas. I still need new shoes...

... and I have Catherine's upcoming birthday to think about!

This week's makeup love...

... Erm I should say this month's makeup love! Since for a while now I've been using pretty much the same items I thought it would be fun to do a round up and show you what I reach for in order of use, before putting on perfume and lipstick in the morning. Of course I don't use all of these at once in case you're wondering. If I were I guess I would probably look like a clown!

Base products...

Dior Hydra Life BB Crème (see below)
Hourglass Mineral Veil (under eye area)
Rimmel Match Perfection concealer
NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
Marcelle Pressed Powder (with a fan brush under eye area)
Guerlain Crazy Météorites

Eyes...

Guerlain Terracotta La Sélection de l'Été Eye and Face Palette from last year. The faun eye shadow on lower lid and been playing with the other two colors as well, a darkish olive green and purplish brown
Diorshow Mono in Velvet or TheBalm Shady Lady in Risqué Renee for definition
Bobbi Brown Ciment from the Navy & Nude palette on upper lids and to blend the edges
L'Oréal Infaillible Lacquer Liner in Slate sometimes "oomfed" with Dior Fusion Mono in Nocturne
Mascara, alternating between Diorshow and Diorshow Iconic

Contour, definition or glowy stuff, however you want to call these...

Bronzer, alternating between Terracotta 01 / La Sélection de l'Été and NARS Laguna. Diorskin Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Coral Glow has come out of hibernation but I've only used it 2x so far.

Oops! I forgot blushes! Well at the moment it's pretty much always M.A.C Whole Lotta Love

Finishing powder, Guerlain Crazy Météorite again or a combination from Hourglass Ambient Lighting, mainly Dim Light and Radiant Light.

Ok so I have included Bobbi Brown's Longwear Gel Eyeliner in Caviar Ink in there but in all honesty I rarely reach for it. I find it harder to work with than L'Oréal. For some reason, once the line is done, going back over it to either thicken it or make it more clean sometimes makes a pretty bad mess. Since it dries fast, it can get all smudgy and weird.

So you see, I don't need to go all crazy over the new collections since I've got most of my makeup needs covered. Right?

A little update...

It's official, Dior Hydra Life BB Crème will not do for summer! Great luminous coverage but it doesn't control the oil and on some afternoons this week I could actually feel it on my skin. With it I've had to use 2x the powder I normally do if not more. Not a total waste, I will simply keep it for late august, for when the weather starts to cool down to transition into fall.

What I have my eyes on...

I do still want a few new nail polishes but haven't decided yet if I'll go Dior or Chanel and there's a Guerlain Rouge Automatique that I'm considering but since I have to find a new daytime foundation/BB or whatever the name, it may have to wait.

For your viewing enjoyment...

This week's video is not from Dior!!! Aren't you surprised? From YSL showing one of their iconic products, I think I really need one! Imagine that, a full night's sleep rested look in a clickable pen! I just can't believe I haven't tried this before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-3EhjF2ePE

Yup! I definitely need one.

Have a great week everyone! Hélène xoxo

Smashbox Always Sharp Waterproof Kôhl Liner...

I love my gel eye liner, just love the effect but there are those mornings where I wish I could have a faster option and so in recent years I've tried a few "waterproof" crayons but they just didn't do the job, they didn't stay put the same as a good gel eye liner.

I have slightly deep set eyes and this means most eye liners smudge with the heat of my skin and repetitive blinking. So far all the ones I've tried have ended up on my upper lids in no time.

Smashbox Always Sharp Waterproof Kôhl Liner in Storm...

I don't know much about this brand except for what I've read about it on Kiss & Makeup where Melissa has reviewed several of their products and these Always Sharp crayons she liked. She reviewed two of them, Raven and Cabana, here.

Since I don't wear black liner (I find it looks too harsh on my eyes) I chose Storm which is a dark matte grey with blue undertones and although darker it reminds me of a Lancôme crayon I used to wear a lot years ago. It's a color that goes well with neutrals but it's a little tricky to pair with other eye looks so this is not an everyday option.

How does it perform? Great!

Not that I doubted Melissa but if you've peeked at her blog you must have seen her gorgeous eyes! I mean practically any eye liner will perform well on her eye shape but she was right about Smashbox Waterproof Liner, it does stay put!

The downsides...

The tip! Argh! The tip isn't long enough to see where the color goes on my lids! It doesn't twist out!

You're probably thinking, what on earth does she mean? I mean, when we apply crayon we hold it at an angle to see where the color goes but with this Smashbox liner due to the short tiny tip one has to hold it at an almost 90° angle to draw the line and this makes it hard to see where the color goes because the pencil itself hides the tip.

See how small the tip is?

At $23.00 I doubt this crayon will last long. Why you ask? Because to do both my eyes I have to reshape the tip at least four times. To do this you simply put the cap back on and twist gently. Reshaping the tip means that every time a little product is wasted but I have no choice since it gets hard to apply in no time, as if it started to dry. It's really the weirdest thing. There's also no way of knowing how much product is left since as I've already mentioned, it doesn't twist out.

Do I recommend Smashbox Always Sharp Waterproof Kôhl Liner? Meh...

I honestly don't know! I really like the fact that it does stay put but I'm not a fan of the packaging. If it could be twisted out a little it would be much easier to use. According to some reviews I've read it performs really well on the waterline so I might consider getting Nude to lighten my eyes on mornings where I haven't slept much. There would be no need to reshape as often for that purpose and so it would probably last longer.


Do you know of a crayon that truly stays put, that wears like iron and is easy of use? Does it exist?

Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine Eye Liner Brush...

I'll start with the end... this brush is perfect but the price is the equivalent of highway robbery!!!

I think I've mentioned before that my lids aren't what they used to. Aging is starting to show and so I've had to tweak my eye makeup application a little, especially my eye liner. I've been using the same brush ever since I fell in love with L'Oréal Infaillible Lacquer Liner but recently it wasn't doing as smooth job as before. It's a little too wide for the precision I now need. I don't like pointy thin brushes for I find most of them too soft most of the time and so I wanted something that would fall in the middle. Thin but wide enough to do a good line quickly.

I truly loved this thin angled brush pictured on top of Bobbi Brown's but as you can guess, it's wideness makes it hard to get in little tiny corners. With nice smooth lids this is not really an issue but when the skin starts to sag a little the "pointiness" of Bobbi Brown takes care of that.

Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine Eye Liner Brush...

I've had my eyes on this brush for a while now and this week, after having to redo my eye makeup because I totally messed my eye liner application, I decided to get one. 

Positively perfect!

Thin enough to be precise and wide enough to do a good line with bristles that have just the right stiffness to distribute product evenly. My first try was with with Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Caviar Ink and when I was done I looked at myself and went, Wow! With my old brush I would do a ok with L'Oréal but always struggled with Bobbi Brown due to the darker color but with this baby, my eyes looked transformed. I'm not kidding!

This is a great brush but... 

$31.00 CAD!!! Are you kidding me?

Somebody is having fun with setting prices. If it weren't that good I would totally feel like a fool for buying it but I guess there's no turning back now. The worst part is, I'm considering getting a second to always have a clean one handy...

Do I recommend Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine Eye Liner Brush? Despite the price, yes!

If you want the eye liner gods on your side you definitely have to put your pennies away for one of these. It takes a little practice but once you get the hang of it the results are amazing. Why consider this one over a less expensive option? The quality! The ferule is tight and the bristles are strong but don't expect it to last years and years. This is not the same as a blush or even an eye shadow brush. I give it about two, three years tops which is reasonable given the number of cleanings it'll get.  

And voilà, my new perfect combination...

So for now my new technique is I first do my line with my wide angle brush (I'm so used to it, it does the fastest even line) and fill in with Bobbi Brown's Ultra Fine Eye Liner brush. The end result is truly amazing and I couldn't be happier. On some mornings I even do an bit of a wing!!!

What's your favorite type of eye liner, liquid or gel?

What to do with my Sunday Post?

Before you start you may want to go grab a coffee or tea for this is a long one!

A little personal update...

As some of you may have guessed, I'm still trying to figure out how to organize my schedule between work, blogging and home time. I do think I'm slowly getting it but this week everything went kaput due to a horrible back pain that came out from nowhere!

It started last Friday just as I was going back to work after lunch. For some reason I could barely walk. That evening I was suppose to take Catherine to see a movie and so she had come downtown to meet with me. She was disappointed when I told her there was no way I could suffer sitting in a theatre for two hours straight. I took her to eat something and home we went.

In the morning I would have needed a mechanical lift to get me out of bed! This lasted until Thursday making this Friday morning almost normal. I still feel it but at least now it bearable.

My best friend this week was my heating pad. :(

The movie, we finally managed to go see this Friday. I almost bailed out again due to the fact I was so tired but I didn't want to turn down Catherine again. She rarely asks for anything and is such a good reasonable girl she totally deserved the treat. We went to see The Hunger Games and both loved it!


What to do with my Sunday post...

I'm not sure when I'll be able to continue my Notable Reads post. Having less time I kind of knew that it would suffer and so for now I won't stress and will simply put it on the back burner.

What will I replace it with? I just don't know yet! For now just bare with me. Sundays will likely be either New Additions, Weekly Makeup, New Makeup Love or maybe simply a new review.

This week I have a bit of everything!


Faithful purse companions...

This week with a more smoky eye it was all about Rouge Dior Grège 1947 and 

Givenchy Le Prisme Visage compact is always in my purse!

New additions...

I've purchased several new amazing items that have yet to be reviewed and this past week I've again indulged in a few additions... It would seem that I am doomed!!! Sephora and The Bay just a few minutes away from my office... This clearly means I'll be purchasing a few weekly goodies.

Here are the items I got this week. During my lunch hours I had to get up and walk since this was the only thing helping me with the pain. On Monday I went to The Bay to get Diorific Frimas! Not my kind of color but for some reason I just fell in love with it. On Thursday I went over to the Eaton Center and walked into Sephora just to "browse" and see what special holiday kits were left. I was told by an SA that there would be specials for Black Friday!

ARGH!!! 

Prices reduced on Dior fragrances? Little minis for $12.00?

Of course I went back the next day and took advantage of these specials. On top of those I purchased two sets of pyjamas for myself. Who could resist a 2 for 1? I mean really!

When I purchased Diorific Frimas I received a cute Miss Dior mini! Who doesn't like minis? :)

Both Tocca and Bite where special Black Friday goodies at $12.00 each! 

This week's makeup love...

...For eyes was all about Chanel Charming (yet to be reviewed I know *sigh* time goes by way too fast), Chanel Fatal and Dior Velvet...

... For face, it was Guerlain with  Madame Rougit, Crazy Terracotta and Crazy Météorites (also yet to be reviewed)...

There were of course the tag along, Estée Lauder BB cream, NARS Pro-Prime, Rimmel concealer, L'Oréal Infaillible Lacquer Liner and Diorshow Iconic mascara.


On my list...

This coming week I may get Diorshow Iconic Curl mascara since my Iconic is starting to be a little harder to apply. It seems to have gotten thicker and some mornings I've had to struggle a little which resulted in taking longer to achieve my usual lash look. Not a good thing!

I may also get a new lipstick, been thinking about NARS Dolce Vita but I might wait. Pictures of Dior and Chanel new spring collections have started to surface and of course I've already spotted a few items I'd love to get my hands on. There's also the fact that I'll need a new morning moisturizer soon and Chanel Vitalumière compact foundation is kind of calling my name. I've swatched it several times and the texture is just dreamy.

Then again, I may not get any of these since I do have to think about Catherine's Christmas gift. She may end up with the equivalent of my goodies and more in one gift. As mentioned, she's been such a good reasonable girl and with what she's been through this year I do want to get her something special. Ok she's always had the privilege of getting gorgeous Christmas goodies but this year I want to give her something meaningful she'll remember. I can barely believe it's already December 1st! Seems to me that only last week I was wearing flip flops and writing in my gazebo!


For your viewing enjoyment...

This week is all about Dior makeup, more specifically the Golden Winter Christmas Makeup Collection.

The Ad...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC3O7oAriA4

Le look Golden Winter...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baT8lwO9Dx8&list=PL1BC1B82A424FE06A

This makes me almost want to get 5 Couleurs 644 Golden Snow, almost...


Ouf! I think I'm done! Would you believe I had a bit of writers block yesterday! :)


Have a great week everyone!  Hélène xoxo

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Caviar Ink / Review...

It's good! It's really good!

It would seem everyone has been raving about Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner for years and now I know why but although it is that good, I still prefer another...

For the past year now I've been wearing L'Oréal Infaillible Lacquer Liner in Slate which on me is just perfect since I can't wear black, well maybe I could but I don't feel comfortable with it. Green eyes with a rather pale complexion, I feel if I wear black it's the only thing we see. Slate is a dark grey/brown that goes with everything and with it I can do a thick line without looking like I'm coming out of the 60s and the fabulous thing about it is that it's matte!

Although I love L'Oréal's for everyday I wanted another just a tiny bit darker but again, not black and it too had to be matte. I found one in the Bobbi Brown's line up of gel liners, Caviar Ink.

Annabelle Smoothliner / Review...

I haven't used pencils in a loooong time! Reason? They don't last on me. I have deep set eyes and let's be honest, my upper lids are starting to feel the effects of gravity. *cries*

Now this was before all these new waterproof formulas came out and so I thought I would start having a second look at them.

Annabelle Smoothliner Waterproof + Long Lasting...

Real affordable, I purchased it for under $7.00 and chose the color Gunmetal, a dark grey with medium shimmer.

It glides on easily and since it takes a few minutes to set you do have time to get the wanted look, if you like to smudge it for instance. No tugging, no pulling it was super easy to get a nice clean line and of course it was much quicker than my L'Oréal Infaillible Lacker Liner which has to be applied with a brush.

Did it last? On me, nope!

After about an hour I had traces of it on my upper lids. Not only that but I had to use a little concealer to remove/erase them since they where tenacious. Had I used water or eye makeup remover I would have ended up with ruined eye makeup. The rest or the line, the part that didn't touch the upper lid, did fade a little after four hours or so.

Would I recommend Annabelle Smoothliner? Yes & no!

Yes if when you wear eye liner it doesn't touch your upper lid but you still might have to retouch it during the day since it tends to fade a little (on me). If you have a look at the reviews you will see that these crayons get lots of love and so it's real sad that this one here didn't do so well on me so do keep that in mind if ever you stumble upon them. If you don't have the same issues as me, at that price, they are worth a try.

No if like me, you have deep set eyes or droopy lids. Oh and by the way I don't have oily eye lids so that's not an issue.

Finally I can't comment on how it performs on the waterline since I didn't try it there.

Again, it's not because it didn't work for me that it will be the same for you. At that price it is worth a try!

So sadly for me, this crayon is going straight to the fail bin. :(


Reviews:

Makeup Alley: 4.5 / 5 lippies for 65 review.
Beauté-test: it gets a perfect score of 5 / 5 stars for 2 reviews.

Pupa Ultra Shine Eyeliner / Review

The other day at the drugstore I stumbled upon a display of Pupa's 50's Dream Collection which came out for Spring 2013. I guess they where getting ready for the new Summer collection since all the items where reduced. Curious, I noticed the eyeliners, a turquoise and a deep plum. I tried the latter on my hand and although I liked the color, I found it a little glittery for my taste. The fact that it was a liquid didn't help either. I usually stay away from those since I've never been able to really master the application technique.

So I left the drugstore and went about with my day. When I got home I of course washed my hands. The eyeliner didn't budge. I must have repeated this at least four times and still, the eyeliner swatch was on my hand!

That stuff wore like iron!!!

Makeup Empties, What Has To Go!

Spring cleaning comes with the realisation that some stuff just has to go! I do believe I have the soul of a hoarder and that has to stop! I rarely throw away stuff, I still have some old Dior eyeshadow quads, lots of old Estée Lauder, some Lancôme and who knows what else. I guess I'll have to do some sort of "retro" entry eventually to show you.

For now let's see what I've discarded. These items where still in my every day makeup bag or should I say on the table where I do my makeup in the morning, mixed in with what I really use. All except two, have been reviewed already.

Clinique Blended Face Powder in Transparency 2

As you can see, this one is old! I've had it for years and can't even remember when I purchased it. A good everyday powder, these days it sells for $27.00. The reason I'm not replacing it is simply because of this blog. I need to try new ones in order to bring you reviews. For some reason I've reviewed Clinique's Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder but not this loose version. Nothing fancy, it gives a nice light sheer finish that is quite natural and yes, I would recommend it.

Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 021 Sunlight

At under $10.00 this product is surprisingly excellent! I will probably repurchase to keep in an emergency bag for the office, once I have one to go to. :) 

LUSH Eyes Right Mascara

An excellent formula that I was quite impressed with, I simply got tired of the small wand. The presentation is cute but clearly must be revisited by LUSH.

Estée Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara

For the past 2 years or so, a favorite. I'm not saying I will not repurchase but again, I need to try new ones for this here blog. At $25.00, it's an excellent buy. Just keep in mind that the brush is a bit big, something not for everyone.

M.A.C. Select Cover Concealer

This I will not repurchase. Although the color was perfect, NW15 Light, it performed poorly. Too sheer, too thin, it was a disappointment.

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Concealer

This concealer ended up looking cakey and dried up my under eye area. Not what I was going for. 

M.A.C. Fluidline Eyeliner Gel in Dipdown

Performed poorly on me and dried up in no time.

M.A.C. Eyeshadow in Putty

This I will keep with the hope that it will come back, one day... *Sniff*

Cargo 3 Triple Action Mascara

This I got in a kit at Winners for less than the price of the mascara which usually goes for $20.00. It did ok by keeping the curl for a little over 5 hours but was not what I would consider an outstanding product. I will not repurchase. 

Personnelle Magic Potion

This could have been a nice inexpensive option as a activator. It's made to transform any powder eyeshadow into a stay put eyeliner. The problems, the little tiny wand with the rough tiny sponge applicator at the end and the opening is too small to insert any type of brush. I was able to work with it by shaking the container to get a drop of it. I mixed it with my The Body Shop cake eyeliner and it did make the color darker than with plain water but it did not make it last much longer. Even if this product sells for less than $5.00, it was not worth it. For those who don't know Personnelle (yes the spelling is right), it's a drugstore brand of inexpensive products. The only other product I've purchased is a lip gloss (for less than $4.00) that wasn't all that so I don't think I will try any of their other offerings. 

I will likely have more... I'm not done with Spring cleaning!

Revlon Colorstay Cream Eyeliner in Charcoal / Review

Sadly another disappointing liner. Looking through my makeup bag yesterday I found this for I had completely forgotten about it. I think I must have purchased it back in August or September and probably used it only a few times.

The color, charcoal, has a little shimmer to it. This makes it appear lighter than it should. The texture, on the dryish side. Hard to apply, if you take too much time it starts flaking. Long wear, not on me. After a few hours some of it was on my upper lid. Not a good look.

The Body Shop's Brow & Liner Kit / Review

For years I'd been using M.A.C. Brun eye shadow as an eye liner, applying it with a slanted brush lightly dipped in water to make the color deeper. No, the water did not alter the powder and the reason I did this was not only to make the color deeper but also to give it more staying power. You can do this with almost any eye shadow. Water on the brush, not the powder.

M.A.C. Brun eye shadow

Why did I stop using it? Simply because I figured that I should be able to find a "ready made" eye liner that wouldn't budge. I must admit that I was also a little tired of dark brown at the time.

Enters The Body Shop's Brow & Liner Kit, a great find! Although I'd been going there for years I'd never purchased any makeup. When I saw this little compact in 03 Brown & Black, I was quite intrigued and the dark shade, a very dark grey looked perfect. At about $18.00 I wasn't breaking the bank with it and so decided to give it a try.

I've been using this eye liner for close to a year now and since it's so easy to apply I couldn't be more pleased. I only use the dark grey. The brown is kind of so so for me as an eye liner and much too dark to consider using on my brows. In a way I am loosing half of my money but considering how little I use every time it's still a good buy.

The Body Shop's Brow & Liner Kit in 03 Brown & Black

How I use it!

The color is buildable and depending on the amount of water I put on my brush, can go from light to very dark. I simply dip my brush lightly in a drop of water and pinch off the excess between two fingers. Do note that the little folding brush that comes with this kit is, for eyeliner purposes, pretty useless. It's so thin that it would take half an hour to have a good looking line. The slanted side is stiff and aimed at eye brows. 

Would I recommend it? Yes!

That is if you're looking for an eye liner that will give you a more natural, less harsh look. The bonus is that when you apply it you don't have to pull on your lids like you would sometimes have to do with a pencil or even a gel eye liner. It's got an honest staying power. Not water or sweat proof but for me, less messy than others I've tried on my deep set eyes. It does transfer to the upper lid but it can be easily wiped off. On me it fades but not in a messy kind of way like other eye liners tend to do. 

This is not the "ready made" eye liner that won't budge that I was looking for but I am still pleased with it.

Next I do have to try it using Laura Mercier' Tightline Activator (made especially for cake eye liners). I've heard that M.A.C. also makes a product with which you can transform any eye shadow into an eye liner but couldn't find it on their website. I've tried using Personnelle's Magic Potion (a Canadian brand) but this product was pretty bad.

I would not recommend if...

You are looking for a deep bold line. If you are used to gel, liquid or dark pencil liners, this will disappoint you. It's really for days when you want a more natural look and only want to define your lash line lightly.

Reviews:

MakeupAlley: 4.3 / 5 lippies for 71 reviews. Most reviews are about it's use on brows.

Beauté-test: the compact shown is different and the one reviewed here is not listed.

Screen shots from M.A.C. & The Body Shop's respective websites.

L'Oréal Infallible Lacker Liner 24h in Dark Slate 175 / Review

Again, in my quest for THE eyeliner, I decided to try L'Oréal's latest based on Linda's recommendation. She left a comment on my Maybelline review, stating that it was pretty amazing.

So, last night at the drugstore I found it in Dark Slate 175. A dark charcoal grey, no shimmer...

Perfect!!!

The gel texture is soft and very easy to apply. I tried the brush that comes with it but found it a little too stiff. I preferred using my own slanted brush. At first it reminded me of Clinique's liner in Smoke Grey meaning, it's not a perfect line on the first stroke but that's where the similarities ended.

What a surprise, contrary to Clinique, it's not dry, it glides easily and is buildable. It doesn't dry right away so you do have time to perfect the line. You can even smudge it which is nice to do once in a while.

If you've never used a gel eyeliner before this is a great one to start with. Not as harsh as black, this shade is quite forgiving and so easy to work with.

L'Oréal Infallible Lacker Liner 24h in Dark Slate 175

It stayed perfect for a good 3 hours!!! For me that's quite amazing believe me. Do note that during that time I had to do some shoveling (again...) and the snow was coming down pretty hard. Since the color is so forgiving, it's easy to reapply if need be.

Do I recommend L'Oréal Infallible Lacker Liner? A big resounding YES!

It's still not THE perfect liner but it's pretty close. If you don't have deep set eyes, no droopiness, this liner will surprise you believe me. The regular price is I around $16.00 and it's worth every penny. I was lucky to find it at $12.00 on sale. In Canada it's available in Blackest Black and Dark Slate.

Did I tell you it had NO SHIMMER! Yay! *does a little dance* :D

Reviews:

MakeupAlley: 5 / 5 lippies for 7 reviews for Dark Slate. They are also outstanding for Blackest Black.
There are no reviews for this product on Beauté-test.

Screan capture from L'Oréal Paris

M.A.C. Fluidline Eyeliner Gel in Dipdown / Review

After reading so much about M.A.C.'s Fluidline Eyeliner Gel I just had to try one. According to the reviews the creamy texture makes it easy to apply and most importantly, it has staying power.

I was hopeful!

Maybelline - Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Charcoal / Review

I keep looking for the perfect eye liner...

A gel eyeliner for $12.99, I just had to try it! After all it could have been the ONE!

The color, Charcoal 954. As you can see it comes in a little jar and you get a rather surprisingly good little eyeliner brush with it. I tried using it but didn't have the adequate dexterity for it. I prefer a thin slanted brush for this.

It goes on rather smoothly so application is pretty easy without any lid pulling. The color, well it has a bit of a shine to it's thumbs down for me. I want matte! Seems cosmetics companies have a hard time with this. As soon as you get away from black, shimmer has to be added. To most of them anyways and almost all greys have a it.

Available in 4 colors. They are in reality, darker than shown here.

It comes in 4 shades: Blackest Black 950, Brown 952, Charcoal 954 and Eggplant 956 

How did it perform?

Not good, not good at all! Forget 24 hours as advertised, it barely lasted one hour intact. It started to transfer to my upper lids in no time.

Smudge-proof and Water-proof? I don't think so.

Would I recommend it? Only is you have perfect eye lids. No deep set eyes and no droopiness.

Considering the rave reviews it gets you may be more than safe trying it. It does have a lovely texture and is easy to work with. Again for me, not good due to my deep set eyes and let's be frank, slightly droopy eye lids. If you have these issues you better skip but for everyone else, you may be very pleased with this product. To make it stay on longer you can set it with a dark grey eye shadow. For me this would not be an option due the reasons mentioned above.

One major selling point, it's super affordable!

Reviews:

MakeupAlley: 4 / 5 lippies for 1123 reviews.
Beauté-test: 4.2 / 5 stars for 11 reviews.


Pictures: Canadian Beauty and Maybelline

Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner in Smoke Grey / Review

On my quest for the perfect liner for my deep set eyes I decided to try Clinique's. Since I find black to harsh for my eyes I usually go for dark browns or dark greys when they're available. Here I chose Smoke Grey.

The color, perfect! The performance, horrible!

Cargo Mascara & SmokeyEye Eye liner Duo in Budapest

Buying cosmetics at Winners can be a risky thing. Often outdated, you have to be vigilant and whenever possible, keep an eye on the expiration dates. That's of course when there is one.

Last week I purchased the Cargo SmokeyEye kit for $14.99. 

SmokeyEye Eye Liner Duo in Budapest, Cargo 3 Triple action Mascara and the SmokeyEye brush.