Sephora Chic Week goodies! The new Benefit packaging is so cute :)
Friday, April 19, 2013
Monday, April 15, 2013
Dupes: Everyday Pencil Eyeliners
I’m somewhat of an eyeliner junky. I’ve been wearing eyeliner since about 7th grade and if I only have 2 minutes to get ready before I leave, I almost always pick up an eyeliner and mascara. Since I’ve been wearing the stuff for about 12 years now I have come across both good and bad liners. I’ve assembled a list of my top high-end and drugstore liners in colors everyone should own: black, brown and nude.
The Blacks
This is my absolute must have. I never go without it, and am always on the hunt for the darkest black I can find. I look for the inky blackness that is in a liquid liner but in the pencil form. The two that make the cut are Urban Decay Perversion (0.04 oz, $19) and Milani Liquifeye in Black (0.04oz, $5.97). Urban Decay liners are very smooth, pigmented and creamy. Everyone seems to go on and on about Zero, but to me that’s not a true black. Perversion is much richer and stays put on the waterline. The Milani liner, just like the name suggests, is literally a liquid liner in side of the pencil. It’s crazy how soft, smooth and dark this liner is. I keep wanting to pick up some of the colorful ones, but my drugstores always seem to be out of stock.
The Browns
For days when I want to look like I didn’t try very hard, I reach for my brown liner. I also like to use brown pencil liner in my waterline for a darkening effect that isn’t as intense as black. My top two picks are Urban Decay Whiskey (0.04 oz, $19) and Prestige Spiced (0.034oz, $3.99). Both are warm toned browns that give just enough definition to lightly thicken the lashline. The Prestige liner isn’t quite as soft, but its very pigmented and isn’t hard like liners from the 90s.
The Nudes
As a person who suffers from insomnia, nude eyeliners are basically my best friend. If you wake up with redness in your eyes or just look like death, a nude eyeliner will instantly make you appear more alive and awake. If you have smaller eyes, it can also help your eyes look a bit larger. My favorite nude liners are Stila Topaz (0.04 oz, $18) and Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude (0.042oz, $4.49). These aren’t exact dupes; Topaz is peach toned and Rimmel is yellow toned. Both are extremely creamy and last a long time in the waterline. I think the Rimmel liner lasts a bit longer because of its waterproof formula. Depending on your skintone and eye color, one may be better suited to you.
Photos of Products and Swatches Below!
The Blacks
This is my absolute must have. I never go without it, and am always on the hunt for the darkest black I can find. I look for the inky blackness that is in a liquid liner but in the pencil form. The two that make the cut are Urban Decay Perversion (0.04 oz, $19) and Milani Liquifeye in Black (0.04oz, $5.97). Urban Decay liners are very smooth, pigmented and creamy. Everyone seems to go on and on about Zero, but to me that’s not a true black. Perversion is much richer and stays put on the waterline. The Milani liner, just like the name suggests, is literally a liquid liner in side of the pencil. It’s crazy how soft, smooth and dark this liner is. I keep wanting to pick up some of the colorful ones, but my drugstores always seem to be out of stock.
The Browns
For days when I want to look like I didn’t try very hard, I reach for my brown liner. I also like to use brown pencil liner in my waterline for a darkening effect that isn’t as intense as black. My top two picks are Urban Decay Whiskey (0.04 oz, $19) and Prestige Spiced (0.034oz, $3.99). Both are warm toned browns that give just enough definition to lightly thicken the lashline. The Prestige liner isn’t quite as soft, but its very pigmented and isn’t hard like liners from the 90s.
The Nudes
As a person who suffers from insomnia, nude eyeliners are basically my best friend. If you wake up with redness in your eyes or just look like death, a nude eyeliner will instantly make you appear more alive and awake. If you have smaller eyes, it can also help your eyes look a bit larger. My favorite nude liners are Stila Topaz (0.04 oz, $18) and Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude (0.042oz, $4.49). These aren’t exact dupes; Topaz is peach toned and Rimmel is yellow toned. Both are extremely creamy and last a long time in the waterline. I think the Rimmel liner lasts a bit longer because of its waterproof formula. Depending on your skintone and eye color, one may be better suited to you.
Photos of Products and Swatches Below!
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Haul: Mac & Estee Lauder
I finally got a chance to venture over to a real mall this weekend, and while my main purpose for going was to focus on a few new wardrobe pieces for spring I obviously couldn’t help myself from taking a quick peek around the makeup counters.
When wandering through the MAC store, I came across the pigments section (0.26 oz, $21) and remembered that I’d seen some positive reviews for Tan pigment. I started out swatching it and quickly understood why it was so popular. It’s a perfect everyday shade with a bit of oomph because the pigment finish is bolder than your regular eyeshadow. I plan on using this both as an eyeshadow, and maybe even as a highlight during the summer when I want a golden glow. Of course, I couldn’t stop myself from swatching a few others while I was there and of the others I tried out, Rose pigment was the one that stood out. If you’re familiar with Expensive Pink which is a regular eyeshadow, Rose pigment is similar in its pink-gold duochrome but its a much darker and bolder pink. I will probably use this mainly as an eyeshadow, but it would be lovely as a blush, and even as a gloss for the lips. I also really liked Pink Bronze pigment but decided to pass on it, and I’m really having buyers remorse now for leaving it behind. Ah well, something for next time!
On my way exiting the mall, I went through Macy’s and the Estee Lauder counter just called out to me. I don’t have many products from Estee Lauder but the ones that I do are absolutely divine. I think this brand is usually associated with older women, and I don’t really understand why. The sales rep who was helping me out was lovely, and we got to chatting. Turns out her day job is actually being an accountant and she does makeup counter work on the weekends and a few nights a week just because she loves makeup. Not going to lie, this actually sounds pretty great to me and maybe I’ll have to look into doing something similar once I get done with graduate school. Anyways, I ended up picking out the Desert Heat eyeshadow palette (0.27 oz, $48). I’ve been trying to refine my purchases to things I will actually wear, so instead of picking out something bright blue because it’s gorgeous in the container, I try to get things I know will be easy to wear. Desert Heat is perfect because its all neutrals along with a smokey olive green. Plus the palette has two matte shades which is great. I find a lot of higher end palettes (Lancome, Dior, Chanel, etc) are just all frosty shades and I would never use more than one color at a time from them. Which makes having a palette sort of pointless.
Sadly it seems like the weekend is already coming to an end. Time to get to those last minute chores…
Photos of Swatches Below
When wandering through the MAC store, I came across the pigments section (0.26 oz, $21) and remembered that I’d seen some positive reviews for Tan pigment. I started out swatching it and quickly understood why it was so popular. It’s a perfect everyday shade with a bit of oomph because the pigment finish is bolder than your regular eyeshadow. I plan on using this both as an eyeshadow, and maybe even as a highlight during the summer when I want a golden glow. Of course, I couldn’t stop myself from swatching a few others while I was there and of the others I tried out, Rose pigment was the one that stood out. If you’re familiar with Expensive Pink which is a regular eyeshadow, Rose pigment is similar in its pink-gold duochrome but its a much darker and bolder pink. I will probably use this mainly as an eyeshadow, but it would be lovely as a blush, and even as a gloss for the lips. I also really liked Pink Bronze pigment but decided to pass on it, and I’m really having buyers remorse now for leaving it behind. Ah well, something for next time!
On my way exiting the mall, I went through Macy’s and the Estee Lauder counter just called out to me. I don’t have many products from Estee Lauder but the ones that I do are absolutely divine. I think this brand is usually associated with older women, and I don’t really understand why. The sales rep who was helping me out was lovely, and we got to chatting. Turns out her day job is actually being an accountant and she does makeup counter work on the weekends and a few nights a week just because she loves makeup. Not going to lie, this actually sounds pretty great to me and maybe I’ll have to look into doing something similar once I get done with graduate school. Anyways, I ended up picking out the Desert Heat eyeshadow palette (0.27 oz, $48). I’ve been trying to refine my purchases to things I will actually wear, so instead of picking out something bright blue because it’s gorgeous in the container, I try to get things I know will be easy to wear. Desert Heat is perfect because its all neutrals along with a smokey olive green. Plus the palette has two matte shades which is great. I find a lot of higher end palettes (Lancome, Dior, Chanel, etc) are just all frosty shades and I would never use more than one color at a time from them. Which makes having a palette sort of pointless.
Sadly it seems like the weekend is already coming to an end. Time to get to those last minute chores…
Photos of Swatches Below
Friday, April 5, 2013
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