Shakeup Your Makeup

Nonie Creme Colour Prevails, a new line I have stumbled upon at Walgreens, is full of color and some of the most unique packaging I've seen recently.  I'm a sucker for butterflies, so when I saw the gorgeous colors and butterfly wings across the display piece, I immediately walked over to see what it was for.  

A full line of cosmetics, from foundation to nail polish, Colour Prevails is full of shimmer and color that isn't typically seen in the drug store scene.  Not only are the colors bold, but the packaging is beautiful too.  

I picked up an eyeliner and eyeshadow to try out.  Black Eyeliner is a staple in my makeup bag, so I'm always willing to try a new one.  The eyeshadow was about as close to true crushed gold as I've seen in a while, 

Here is a closeup of the packaging.  The "handles" are essentially butterfly wings.  At first, I thought this might be cumbersome to work with, but it actually works out quite well!

The eyshadows have a sponge applicator.  This makes for easy application, although I did dip my eyeliner brush in there to smudge along my lower lashline.  The shadow was quite pigmented, blended very easily, and lasted all day.  This color, appropriately named Gold, along with the other eyeshadows are $10 in the Walgreens store and on their website.  

The Eye Calligraphy Eyeliner has the same handle, with a super fine tipped applicator.  I used this applicator, but actually switched over to dipping my eyeliner brush in the bottle because I prefer to use brushes, not felt/rubber tipped applicators for my eyeliner.  There are several colors available (see below) and these run for $9 at Walgreens.  

Swatches below - as you can see, the eyeliner applicator truly gets a thin, smooth line with one dip.  I am just weird in that I prefer a brush!  

Below is an EOTD using the Gold eyeshadow and the Black eyeliner.  Full face as well.  The eyeshadow wore all day without any issue.  I did use it over my UDPP.  The eyeliner applied smoothly, but I did start to experience some "chipping" in the corner by the end of the day.  I always have this happen with liquid liners, so I do tend to use gel liners more often than not.  I will say, though, the smooth and pigmented liquid liner was a breeze to apply!  

Have you seen or tried these products yet?  I would love to hear your feedback about the rest of the line!

After the holidays are over...now that's when you really can get a good bargain.  Take this Color Workshop Kajal & Lash set from Walgreens.  Regular price, $5...but after Christmas, I found this guy 75% off, meaning it was $1.25!  Now, that is $1.25 for not one, but four Kajal eyeliners and a mascara (which immediately went into the trash as it did nothing for my lashes).  

The liners, though, where a different story.  I have to say I wasn't sure what to expect - probably chalky, brittle and non-pigmented.  These kajals were anything but - instead they were smooth.  Creamy.  Long lasting.  And VERY pigmented.  So pigmented, in fact, that the colors on my swatch did not come off after I washed my hands, or showered, or washed my hands again.  Particularly the blue.  But, a little makeup remover did the trick!  Also, they stayed put on my eyes.  No tears, not smudging in the corner....and no irritation.  For the price, I couldn't be happier with these four colors!  

The other bonus - colors other than black!  

Did any of you get lucky enough to grab these before, or after, the holidays?  

(Milani Constellation Gel Eyeliner: Enchanted Lapis)

Milani is one of my favorite drugstore brands - not only are their "everyday" items staples in my makeup bag, but the Limited Edition offerings that are introduced into the market are always unique, typically quite beautiful, and tend to become something I want to become part of their core line.  The Milani Constellation Gel Eyeliners are no exception.  

Unfortunately, I was not able to find these in my local Wags or CVS (both displays were sold out), but I did stumble upon someone who had them up for purchase on Instagram, so I grabbed all three. Unfortunately, I have misplaced my picture of the closeup of Enchanted Opal, so please forgive me.  

Gel eyeliners are my absolute go-to when it comes to eyeliners.  Liquids tend to flake on me, pencils tug and don't last, but gels are my favorite.  The three Milani Constellation gel eyeliners are a step away from the basic blacks and browns, as these certainly are multifaceted.  Yes, the sparkle you are seeing is a spray-overlay, but the actual liner itself does have some significant complexity and shimmer to it.  These are very smooth and creamy.  A little does go a long way, too.  I also think this is very "smudge" worthy, and could create some really pretty smokey eyes.  The lasting power on these were great for me.  I did not experience any flaking or the typical "tear" that tends to develop under my outer corners of my eyes from eyeliners.  

(Milani Constellation Gel Eyeliner: Enchanted Emerald)

Swatches of these liners are below.  From left to right it is: Enchanted Opal, Enchanted Lapis and Enchanted Emerald.  Were you able to find these?  What did you think?  

Revlon recently introduced a new line in the PhotoReady collection: Lid+Line+Lash.  This is a double ended set, one with a cream shadow and the other with a glitter eyeliner.  The color I purchased was Topaz Twinkle .  

Topaz Twinkle is a molten pale taupe, leaning almost rose in color.  The liner side has the same color glitter, along with a holo of the same size.  These can be worn alone, or layered (as seen below).  Interestingly enough, when these dry, they stay put.  I mean, no budging (see the video below for proof!).  I did not experience any smudging, moving, running, or creasing either.  

Personally, my only complaint had to do with the wear.  These did wear like iron for me most of the day, but when I used the shadow on the lower lashline, it started to peel by the end of the day.  Overall, for a night out on the town, these worked perfectly and added a nice pop of glitter to a look.  If you are looking for New Years, these would be a nice way to add some glitz at a budget friendly price!

After falling in love with the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows, I was very excited to see some new additions to the Infallable line with the Eye Crayons.  There are several colors available - if you haven't seen them head over to Nouveau Cheap and check them out - but I picked up two of the basic colors: Forever Taupe and Midnight Charcoal.

I don't have any EOTD's or FOTD's to show you yet, as I have been testing this out various different ways, but so far so good!  I have not experienced any budging or smearing, particularly when worn on my lower lashline, which is an added plus!

Below are some swatches, just so you can see the colors.  Have you tried these yet?  

NYX permanent displays have been popping up at CVS, and the two by me finally have theirs.  This display has a majority of the base items, including eyeliners (the black gel is my favorite go-to eyeliner), blushes, primers, lipsticks, and lip glosses.  I am a huge fan of NYX, so knowing I can pick up some of my staples right in town is fantastic!  

Sticking with my clearance section finds, next up Sephora Collection Waterproof Smoky Cream Liner in Betwitch Me - retail $12.00 - I paid $2.99!  This came out of a little end cap at the Sephora in the JC Penny next to my office.  I love little unexpected finds like this!  I actually snagged the green and bronze shade as well.  

This comes in a sizable jar, and the product itself is extremely light and whipped, smooth and easy to apply with your standard eyeliner brush.  I will say, this is so light and easily manipulated, I can see where this could be used as a cream shadow, or a base.  And, it doesn't budge.  I mean, does not come off with water!  I scrubbed and scrubbed under running water to remove this swatch.  Now, with that said, it's nothing a little makeup remover can't fix.  But, for those of you with lids that cannot hold onto a liner, this may not be a bad option for you to try.  The color selection is broad (both frosts and mattes), and it is easy to use. 

Below is the swatch of the product on my hand.  I will post a FOTD in the near future. 

Have you tried these Sephora Collection eyeliners?  What do you think of them?

My next purchase from Ulta - another NYX eyeliner.  This time, the NYX Glam Liner Aqua Lux in Glam Golden (08). 

Glam Golden is a black translucent base with gold shimmer.  When on, it looks like a really rich black to golden olive shade.  Depending on how you pair it, the color takes on more golds or more greens.  

The applicator is a fine brush, which I prefer over a sponge or felt tip.  The liner applies smoothly, can be applied thick or thin.  Again, I picked this up at Ulta.  There are several other colors available, and the price is $5.49 each.  I actually went back and picked up purple, gold and a teal.  More swatches to come of those as well.

After about a year, I finally hit the bottom of my beloved Physicians Formula Gel Eyeliner in Black from the Hazel Eyes collection.  Of course, this was clearanced out during the CVS beauty clearance, so I haven't been able to find this one to restock, and I missed out on the beauty clearance so I didn't end up buying anything to back up my inventory!  Whoops!  I have come to love using a gel eyeliner, particularly for black, because they go on smooth and don't crack or flake off during the day, where my liquid eyeliners tend to do just that.

Well, when I was in Ulta the other day looking for some St. Tropez self tanner, I spotted a new spread of NYX products.  Well, these are new to me anyway!  Included was a section of gel liners and smudgers, so I picked up the black, called Betwitching Betty.  I'm pretty sure I paid $6.49 in the store, but online they are $7.99 at Ulta.  The size is 0.11 oz/3g, and pretty much comparable in size to the Maybelline Eye Studio gel liners that come in a pot.

The idea behind this gel liner/smudger is it is multifunctional - use it simply as a liner, or smudge it out for a dramatic effect on the eye (above).  I will say, the formula is so smooth and creamy, it can easly be smudged out without tugging or dragging on the eye.  It is also so pigmented that one swipe with your eyeliner brush and this gives a rich, black line that blends right into the lashline.  It is wet enough to be very easy to apply, but dries quick enough that your eyeshadow doesn't fall out onto the liner and stick to it.  It's official.  I am in love. 

Below is a snapshot of the NYX liner pot next to the Maybelline Eye Studio as well as one of the Physicians Formula gel eyeliner pots, just for size comparison. 

Swatched side-by-side: Physicians Formula (top) and the NYX in Bewitching Betty (bottom).  One swipe each with my tarte eyeliner brush.  If you zoom in, you can see the Physician's Formula has a slight purple shimmer, which is to enhance the hazel in eyes.  The NYX is truly a pitch black liner. 

Like I said, I am in love.  I thought the Physician's Formula liners were easy to use, but this NYX is absolutly flawless.  It glides on, dries, and lasts all day without smudging, cracking, flaking or fading.  I like it so much I went and picked up the two browns in the collection - Charolotte (light brown) and Scarlette (dark brown).  I will swatch these in an upcoming post.

Have you tried these liners/smudgers?  What color did you try?  What is your favorite brand of gel eyeliner?

 

Several weeks ago while grabbing some stocking stuffers at Ulta, I found the remnants of an Essence Breaking Dawn makeup collection display and picked up a couple of the remaining items.  There wasn't much left of what looked to have been an interesting collection, but I was able to get two glitter eyeliners and a pigment.

 



 

Both come with a small and thin artificial bristle applicator.

 

The pigment I picked up, Jacob's Protection, is a dark almost black pigment with iridescent shimmer.  This would make a gorgeous eyeliner.

 

 

Swatches below.  The eyeliners required several swipes to get the color to pay off, so if you are looking for a subtle glitter to wear as an eyeliner alone or on top of your favorite everyday liner to kick it up a notch, these would be pretty good.  Once dry, they lasted all day without flaking off, which was also nice. 

 

The pigment is rich and dark - the picture below doesn't do it much justice.  I wore mine over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy and it lasted all day with nice color and shimmer payoff.  I haven't tried this as a liner yet, but think i would be a nice alternative to plain black.

 

There were several other items in this collection that I missed out on, including two highlights, a blush and three other pigments.  Prices started at $1.99 for the liners and went up from there.  Did you pick any of this collection up? 

 

 

'Tis the season for new displays and holiday goodies to really start popping up in the stores.  CVS had tons of displays along the tops of their health and beauty shelves the other day, and one that really caught my eye was the new Physician's Formula Smoky Nude collection.  If you frequent my blog, you know I adore the Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Eyeliners for Green Eyes, Hazel Eyes, and the Metallics that came out last Christmas season. I love the Green Eyes black pot so much, I have used the entire thing and am hoping to snag one when I go look at the CVS semi-annual beauty sale.  I swear these wear as well, if not better, than the high end department store gel eyeliners, and go on so smooth and pigmented, and for the set they average $4 a piece at regular price (a set of 3 is around $12).  Love, love, love...

 

Anyway, what really caught my eye were the new Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Liquid Metal Eyeliner Trios, and I'm kicking myself for not buying one when I was in the store.  I loved the taupes/nudes in the second picture.  It's hard to see, but the blacks actually have some shimmer to them as well. 

 

Have you seen these?  I am going to have to go get a set to try - the colors look gorgeous.  I know Nouveau Cheap ran a review on one of the sets, and she has some nice swatches up too.  If I get one, I will certainly post a review too...

 

Who doesn't love the bold yet simple look of the pin up or cat eye eyeliner?  Marilyn is probably the most iconic with this look, and for years we have tried to replicate her gorgeous technique with pencils, felt tips, liquid and gel eyeliners.  Well, if you are one of the many out there who haven't mastered the technique, Glam Republic has something new for you to try out: Illusion Eyes. 

 

Illusion Eyes are temporary and reusable eyeliner appliques, giving you a variety of options to create and play with your makeup look. 

 

I'm intrigued.  These are $5.99 a piece, and there are some bold looks that might be fun, especially with Halloween coming up.   Have you seen these?  Have you tried them?  Wonder what they are like!?