Eyeliner Pencil Collection and Swatches - Plus Urban Decay review

All my pencil eyeliners - including the 24/7 pencils. The order is the same in this photo as in the swatches.

L-R: Urban Decay - Radium, Physician's Formula - Shimmer Strips Eye Enhancing trio for blue eyes,  Milani Liquif'eye -  Blue, Milani Liquif'eye - Aqua, Jordana Easyliner - Bliss, Revlon Luxurious Color Eyeliner - Electric Blue, Urban Decay - Junkie, NYX eye pencil - Acid Green

Just a note- the Revlon and NYX liners above don't go on that pigmented over shadow on the eye area - probably because they are a bit harder so it's more difficult to apply the right amount of pressure without hurting the eye area.

L-R: Urban Decay - Ransom, NYX Slide On Eyeliner - Pretty  Violet, Jordana Easyliner - Purple Fusion,  ULTA Automatic Eyeliner - Raisin, Urban Decay - Woodstock

As you can probably tell, the Urban Decay and NYX purples are almost identical, with the NYX being even a little bit more pigmented.

L-R: Urban Decay - Perversion, Milani Liquif'eye  - Black, Physician's Formula - Shimmer Strips Eye Enhancing trio for blue eyes, Jordana Kohl Kajal Eyeliner - Onyx

I heard from several people that Perversion is the blackest black they'd seen...but from this photo the Milani looks even darker and the others don't really seem that different in darkness (of course the Physician's Formula liner has blue shimmer which changes it a bit - although it's hardly visible on the eye). The Jordana liner looks a bit shiny but I think that's because it never really sets. I never use that liner for that reason.

Physician's Formula - Shimmer Strips Eye Enhancing trio for blue eyes, Jordana Easyliner - Coffee Bean,  Rimmel Soft Kohl eyeliner - Pure White,  Rimmel Soft Kohl eyeliner - Stormy Grey, Milani Liquif'eye - Silver

After I had taken the regular swatch photos and uploaded my computer and then even waited a few more minutes, I just swiped down over all the liners with my clean, dry fingers to see how they smudged. The Milani and Physician's Formula liners definitely have the least smudging. The Rimmel and Jordana liners were the worst, and the others were somewhere in between. The Urban Decay liners didn't smudge a ridiculous amount, but they definitely did smudge.

I liked the color Junkie from the Urban Decay set since it was a more unique color that also had pretty good pigmentation. I wanted to really like Woodstock, but it wasn't as bright as I'd hoped. Radium is kind of in between bright and dark blue and while I didn't dislike it, I didn't get the feeling I'd reach for it often. I already have (slightly better, in my opinion) dupes for Perversion and Ransom in my collection, so it just isn't worth the money for me to keep this set. They're not awful liners but they're certainly not outstanding and I think better quality can be found at the drugstore price level, if perhaps lacking in shade range. But what good is a great shade range if the colors are only sort of pigmented and they smudge fairly easily?

What are your favorite or least favorite pencil eyeliners?

Sephora Haul and Swatches!

About a month ago, I won a contest on Erica's Facebook page with this look. (She also has a fantastic blog here.) As the prize, Erica mailed me a $100 Sephora gift card! I was so shocked to have won at all, and then there was such a fantastic prize. I've bought a few small items from Sephora in the past, but never anything over $10. I never thought I'd actually be buying full size items from there, despite how often I'd wander through and dream about what I would get if I could. After I made a list of some things I wanted to try, I went to one of the nearby Sephoras to get samples and otherwise try products out on myself. I also knew I was going to buy Stella McCartney's perfume in a rollerball since I've been wanting that fragrance for so long - I  would spray some on myself every time I went to a Sephora - but I didn't want to use up more than half of the gift card on an actual bottle. I've been using it most days since - I just love that scent!

Besides the perfume, I knew I would get the Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box and the 24/7 travel set as soon as I saw them. I also was considering MUFE Mat Velvet + foundation (which I decided I liked but not enough to pay 3x as much as my current foundation), a MUFE Aqua Cream (maybe in the future - this is something I'd be more likely to use in the summer), MUFE Smokey Lash mascara (I will DEFINITELY buy this in the future! It's amazing! But I have quite a few mascaras open right now so I'm going to wait until I've used up a few of them), and NARS Pure Matte lipstick in Carthage (an amazing color and product...but $25 for one lip product was a bit much for me...especially since I have so many pink lip products)

My eyes after going to Sephora to try things out - MUFE Aqua Cream #13 all over my lids, UD 24/7 liner in Ransom , and MUFE Smokey Lash mascara. I didn't have my lashes curled at all beforehand and I was using the disposable mascara wands, and I was still really impressed with the way my lashes looked. Plus it didn't flake or transfer AT ALL and it wasn't even the waterproof formula!

After I'd narrowed down my choices, I found out that the Friends & Family sale was coming up, so I decided to wait for that to take advantage of the 20% off and maybe be able to get something else! I ended up getting two MUFE eyeshadows instead of just one. So here are the things I got in my order!

The samples that came with my order - I'm excited for the perfume samples, but none of the Clinique samples are the options for my skin type! They're meant for dry skin but mine is oily.

These Makeup Forever eyeshadows are SO bright and fun! It was really hard to get them to photograph correctly in pan - the swatches are a bit closer to how bright they are in real life. The purple is #92 and the pink is #75. I also love the packaging on these. I wish all shadows came magnetized in their containers!

I love colored eyeliner so when I saw this set I knew I had to have it. It's the  24/7 Travel Size set of 5 in Electric.

This is one thing I have been eyeing at Sephora for quite awhile. I love bright colors and wanted a palette that had a good variety of them and I've always heard such good things about Urban Decay eyeshadows. Plus since it has a few neutral shades, including the black, I think it would work well as a travel palette for me. It also came with a small Primer Potion.

If you have any thoughts or experiences with any of these products or the ones I didn't end up purchasing, please share them! 

October: Haul and Swatches

ELF glitter eye Beauty Book from Target

Wet n Wild I <3 Matte palette from Walgreens

Milk of Magnesia (to use as a primer) - I am really loving this!
L'Oreal go 360 cleanser for sensitive skin - I don't have sensitive skin but I love this because I can put it over my eyes and it doesn't burn at all, which makes it easier to get all the makeup off.
Bottom left photo: Wet n Wild blushes in Pearlescent Pink and Heather Silk.
Middle set (from CVS) L-R: Milani Infinite liner, Miliani Liquif'eye liner, (accidentally switched the order of the eyeliner swatches but the lipsticks are in the right order) Milani HD Advanced Lip Color in Vivacious Fuchsia, Wet n Wild lipstick in 908C
The lipstick on the right is Rimmel Lasting Finish in In Vogue - LOVE this color! I found this at Walgreens.

If you have any questions on my thoughts on any of these products, let me know! I'd love to know what you think about any of them too.

Face of the Day - September 9th

Eyes:
Palladio eye primer
Ulta minerals eyeshadow - Marine (used wet on the entire lid)
ELF Beauty Book Bright Eye Edition - Teal (to fade lid color out)
Milani Infinite liquid liner
Maybelline One by One mascara

Lips:
Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick - Rosette

Face:
I honestly can't remember what I used on my face that day! I know I used Milani baked blush in Terra Sole and the Physician's Formula Happy Booster translucent powder on my cheeks, but I can't remember what I used as far as a foundation or powder, sorry!

Rimmel Collection and Swatches

Soft Kohl Kajal Eyeliners in Pure White, Denim Blue, and Stormy Grey
Sexy Curves waterproof mascara

Vinyl Shine lipgloss (the name wore off! Sorry!)
Moisture Renew lipstick in Rosette
Lasting Finish lipstick in Airy Fairy

NYX Collection and Swatches

My NYX collection &amp; swatches.

Eyeshadow swatches are done first alone and then over NYX white eyeshadow base.

Lip products are swatched alone.

I have already done a separate post swatching all my jumbo eye pencils, which can be found here: http://vibrantbrush.blogspot.com/2011/04/nyx-jumbo-eyeshadow-pencil-swatcheswit.html

Single Eyeshadows: Top row - Cherry, Yellow Funk.
Bottom row - Black, Lime Green.

Jumbo lip pencil in Soft Fuchsia, Megashine gloss in La-La.

Lipliner pencils in Hot Red, Rose, and Pinky

Lipsticks in Louisiana, Tea Rose, and Femme.

Eyeshadow base in White, Concealer in a Jar in Fair,
Automatic brow pencil in Dark Brown, Eyeliner pencil in Acid Green

Look of the Day: Pink & Purple

Products Used:

Face:

Palladio primer

L’Oreal True Match liquid – C1

NYX concealer in a jar – Fair

L’Oreal True Match powder

Eyes:

Palladio primer

NYX jumbo eye pencil – purple

88 palette – matte lavender, matte dark purple, matte nude

Revlon Colorstay liquid liner – black

Maybelline The Colossal mascara – glam black

Lips:

MAC lipstick – Candy Yum Yum

Look of the Day: Fuchsia liner

Products Used:

Face:

Palladio primer

L’Oreal True Match and Revlon Colorstay liquid foundations, mixed

NYX Concealer in a jar

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Covergirl Cheekers blush (color unknown…sorry!)

Eyes:

Palladio primer

ELF Silver Lining quad – pale and dark purpley shades

L’Oreal HIP duo – Reckless – fuchsia shade

Revlon Colorstay eyeliner – black

Maybelline The Colossal – glam black

Lips:

Revlon Colorstay lip liner – blush

Rimmel lipstick – Airy Fairy

Liplicious lipgloss – Lemon signature vanillas

Jordana Haul and Swatches

I picked up a few Jordana products from Walgreens last month out of curiosity.

L-R: Fabuliner liquid eyeliner (marker style) in black, Pretty Shine lipgloss in Dazzling and Darling, Squeeze n Shine gloss (in clear...don't know if it has a name), Lipshine (brush style) in Watermelon

I'm not very impressed with the eyeliner. It's not very black and it seems to pick the color back up if you go over the same area too many times. Because the tip is felt tip and therefore pretty stiff, it's also hard to get a smooth line. The Pretty Shine glosses are nice. The gloss in the tube apparently had a slice in the package that I didn't notice, which then got ALL OVER my school bag and its contents. It's also a very sticky gloss. The lipshine is really nice - I love glosses that have a brush; I feel like it gives much more control in the placement. It's a really nice color, too. I really wish it didn't smell like watermelon, though...

Physician's Formula Gel Creamliner Glam Brown Eyes Swatches and Review

I couldn't resist the 40% off sale at CVS and decided to get another one of the Gel Creamliner Trios, this time in Glam Brown Eyes. I don't usually do much with gold but I actually really love this trio. I think it made my green eyes pop more than the set for green eyes! I actually did a look using only these as my eye products, using the gold on the lid, the copper on the outer 1/3, and the black as liner. I was blown away at how well they lasted! I used a primer but did not top them with any powder eyeshadow and they looked the same at the end of the day! Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of that look, but I liked it enough that I'll probably do it again and photography it then!

With Flash

Without Flash

Physician's Formula Custom Eye Enhancing Liner Swatches

Gel Cream Liners - Glam Collection for Blue Eyes

Gel Cream Liners - Glam Collection for Hazel Eyes

Eyeliner Trio for Blue Eyes

Gel Cream Liners - for Green Eyes

The Gel Creamliners come in a stack that you can take apart into the individual containers if you want. The eyeliner pencils twist up and come with a tiny sharpener on the bottom, so you can maintain the sharpened point they come with. These last FOREVER on! I had them on my had probably 5-10 minutes and struggled to remove them with a regular makeup wipe. They last all day if you're wearing them and go on really creamy. I really recommend these.

ELF Studio Products–Review and Swatches

Cream Eyeliner – Gunmetal

Lip Stain – Birthday Suit

Swatched on my hand

Lip stain on my lips (before I applied gloss)

 

The cream liner is very creamy and lasts well on my lids (I always set cream liner with powder; I haven’t tried it alone), however I do feel that it applies pretty sheer and takes a layer or two before it looks how I want it to. For $3, I’m not really complaining, though.

The lip stain is easy to apply, but takes a really long time to dry on the lips. Barely any gloss comes out each time I remove the wand, I need to re-dip the wand several times to get anything on my lips! As a result of too little product, I have noticed that it can sometimes pull the stain color back off with it. I’ve had much better luck when I just use the stain and then a different gloss. I definitely do not recommend using this product if you have dry lips as it can settle into flakey areas and highlight them, which no one wants! I do love the color. Pale pink is pretty much my nude, after all.

St. Patrick’s Day Look

Here is the look I did for St. Patrick’s day this year.



Products used for eyes:
ELF Mineral Eye Primer
NYX Eyeshadow – Lime Green
L’Oreal HIP Eyeshadow – Flamboyant (Gold)
Wet ‘n Wild Eyeshadow – Cool as a Cucumber (Dark Green)
L’Oreal Eyeshadow Single – Morning Light
Physician’s Formula Eye Enhancing Mascara – Green Eyes (Green Only)
Physician's Formula Gel Cream Liner - Grenn Eyes (Green Only)
Lips:
NYX Lip Pencil – Hot Red
MAC Lipglass – Russian Red
Face:
Revlon Colorstay foundation
NYX Concealer in a jar
L’Oreal True Match Pressed Powder
Physician’s Formula Happy Booster Powder

Collective Haul: Summer

Here's some stuff I acquired over the summer. Most of it is from Ulta, but a few items I picked up at Target.

 

I was attracted to the Essence products at Ulta because they were so cheap. I liked the yellow and salmon-colored nail polishes since they were so unlike the other colors in my collection. The yellow (Sundancer) is more opaque than the salmon (What Do U Think?) but they both have decent color payoff. They chip very quickly, though. They were only $0.99, after all. I was attracted to the "Nail Stampy Set" because it looked like a cheap dupe for the Konad stamper. It was only $2.99 and seems to work pretty well. I don't love the images on the plate, but I could easily get some actual Konad plates to go with this set. The mini Orly nail polishes were right at the checkout, and I just couldn't resist. The dark navy blue (Witch's Blue) was also different from other colors I already had. 

I picked up the top two items in the photo at Target. Both were in those two-for-one packs. I've liked Maybelline's The Colossal Volum' Express for quite awhile, but the Almay was a new one for me. I'd never tried any of the products available for specific eye colors before (I have green eyes), and I figured I could use a neutral-but not black- shade of mascara. It's a nice reddish brown color. I like the mascara's formula pretty well, too. Everything else was picked up at Ulta: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Purple (love these. I have 10 colors), Essence eyeliner pen (felt-tipped kind...not very black and seems to dry up quickly, but only $1.99), Ulta eyeliner in Raisin (good color, not too long wearing), Ulta lipliner in Beet (love this color), NYX brow pencil/brush in Dark Brown (LOVE this. best eyebrow pencil I've tried). 

Last two items: this Ulta blending sponge looked almost identical to the Sonia Kashuk version (http://www.target.com/Sonia-Kashuk-237-Blending-Sponge/dp/B00149XKOY) but $5 cheaper. I really like the finish and coverage it offers, plus the shape makes it easy to get every little area of the face. The Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Creamliner (again, for green eyes) I got at Target. I LOVE THESE. The colors show up really well and last a very long time. This is also by far the creamiest cream liner I've used. The one for green eyes has a green, a purple, and black with fairly unnoticeable green glitter.

That's all for now. In general, pretty successful. The only items I didn't love were very cheap, so it's hard to complain.