BH Cosmetics Gel Liner in Paradise

Making a post on the altar of cheap makeup I'm gonna show you a decent gel liner: Gel Liner of BH Cosmetics in the color Paradise.

Eyeliners are crucial as they can ruin any otherwise flawless and/or fabulous makeup if they lack in quality.

Description: "This creamy Gel Eyeliner collection is a dynamite product for your beauty arsenal. Colors range from dark and smoky, to bold and bright. Amazingly versatile, these gel eyeliners also double as smooth eye shadows. Use a precise, slender brush for liner, and a sponge or finger for smudgy shadow effects. Net wt: 3g/0.11oz"

Paradise is a nice warm pink, almost peachy, that you can pull off as a summery day eyeliner. Even for work.

Until someone catches you on their camera with flash on....then it turns into a hello-i'm-hot-here-pink (see below).

With a good brush it is easy to work with. Packs pigment evenly.

Use a good primer underneath as it won't stay on all day long, but no need to worry about it turning into a smudgenado. BTW, have you watched Sharknado2? OMFG It's sooo horrible! XDDDD

All in all, for 7,95USD or rather 4USD (with all the sales going on) it is a very good catch. I think having some fun colors like Fresh or Garden is a good idea!^.^ 

Holika Holika Jewel Light Waterproof Eyeliner

Just a fast showcasing: Holika Holika Jewel Light Waterproof Eyeliner in 08 Pink Topaz.

I bought this as a highlighter for my waterline and/or inner corner.

These pencils come in 16 colors total and there's a pure white and golden one too to use for this purpose, however, white is often too unnatural near the white of your eyes. You see, you don't go to photoshoots on an everyday basis, thus you have to opt for something more natural.

And that's why I chose this pinkish pencil. Gold tones look bad on me, but this gives an innocent vibe. Not too glittery, not harsh, glides well and does what it is supposed to.

Do not expect it to stay put forever, keep it with you for touch-ups, but I dare say it beats many shimmery/glittery/sparkling creamy eyeliners.

Not to mention its price: 5-6 USD on Ebay with free shipping? Yes, please!

Illamasqua pencil swatches

Next up form my Illamasqua hauling craziness is Fat Pencil in Perverse and Medium Pencil in Strumpet.

Scored these during the big summer sale, each for GBP5 which is a good price IMO.

Fat Pencil (Perverse) on the left is pale gold shimmer (indeed it is), however on the official Illamasqua swatch it looks much darker.  

Medium Pencil (Strumpet) on the right is a classic cherry red. And truly it is! Even tho I don't wear red lipstick (they unflatter me), one cannot live without makup for a killer red lip! :D

Both pencil applies nicely, no dragging whatsoever. =)

HG: K-palette Real Lasting Eyeliner 24h WP

For many years I stayed away from liquid eyeliners since they require precision and I'm lazy....pencils are mush faster anyway HAHA

But, they aren't as strong in color or long-lasting as liquid liner can be.

 I wanted a pen liner that truly is waterproof (super oily lids hellooo~) and deep black in color. All the well know bloggers featured the "1 day tattooo" from K-palette and I thought 'why not?'

I ordered my 1st Real Lasting Eyeliner from Adambeauty and it came with a CD. Never heard of the singer tho >.< The non-CD version was out of stock back then, but the interesting thing is later a friend of mine wanted this eyeliner too (coz she saw this on me, tried it and fell in love) and bot the non-CD and CD version was available and the non-CD one was cheaper! HAHA

The casing says it's 24h and waterproof, but tell me, is there a non-waterproof version too? o.O

Color is 'jet black' which is a nice deep black. The tip is thin, but too soft for my taste. I prefer stiffer ones for precise handling. Shaky hands like mine are meant to work with such wiggling brushes =D

See above, they were intended to be straight! =D

The liner is indeed long-lasting, but not entirely waterproof, and definitely won't hold against crying or oily lids in the corners.

OR....sweating. Tested it on the LM.C concert back in May. 5th row and 'omfgigdish' heat with no fresh air. Everything from my forehead wanted to swim into my eyes and I thought I had been careful, just patting off my face. But NOOO! Imagine an accentuated black eyeline...only 2/3 of it on your eye...the inner 1/3 GONE! gyaaaaaa so lame~

The dirt cheap Essence Liquid Ink Eyeliner (wp) is way better! Won't come off even in the hottest rock concerts!

Anyway, I have a backup of it, since it's good as an everyday eyeliner.

ATM it goes USD15 on Adambeauty which is a good price IMHO.

Holika Holika Magic Waterproof Deep Eye Eyeliner

I think I haven't reviewed any of my Holika Holika stuffs, so here is the first item: Magic Waterproof Deep Eye Eyeliner.

Waterproof, yes, because my eyelids are super oily and nothing stays on me without being truly waterproof and aided by a good primer.

Deep Eye is a twist out pencil with a built in sharpener (which I've never used). Texture is creamy enough to apply without dragging, but you have to layer it at achieve a nice black color. As you can see on the below hand swatch, one stroke makes a greyish line, while 2 or 3 strokes give a black finish.

You can smudge it out for a smoky finish if you feel so, and it stays on fairly well without smudging during hot summers. IF paired with a strong eyeprimer (I used Etude House Proof 10)! However it does fade somewhat during the day...

I'm not sure about how it would perform without any primers on normal eyelids tho....I can only relate to super oily lids >.< 

It sells for around 9-10 USD on ebay and most of the time the international shipping is free.

Not an HG eyeliner, but definitely recommended! ^.^ 

Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Gel Eyeliner with Brush

Got it from Daituf in a love/birthday package I mentioned before (here).

This post is long overdue, but the time that has passed since i got this liner is exactly what makes this product an exceptional one. 

I see tons of reviews of high and low end gel liners, and one of the statements that make them all the same is that you need very little every time use it, thus the amount you get in the jars is impossible to use up before it dries out. And oh yes, they all dry out eventually, some does so in record time, others need more time, but the same end befalls all of them, without fail.

Well, nowadays I don't use this Elizabeth Arden liner that often, but when I do, I pay attention to screw the cap securely. The less air the product itself contacts with, the longer it takes to dry out. 

A good example for drying gel liners is my very first gel liner from 2009, the KATE one. I loved it so much! It didn't budge, smudge, made a streakless line, was truly black, etc, etc. But after a year or so it decided to retire from serving me and dried out. Creamy texture said bye-bye to me and crumbling took its place. After 2 or 3 tries of application with some helluva fallout I gave up and deemed it trash.

However, this Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue liner found me a little later that the KATE one, but it still works and is still creamy. It hasn't dried out! And this is the year 2012 I'm writing this! 

I know, hygiene fanatics must be screaming in pain that I haven't thrown it out yet, but unless it smells foul or my skin acts weird or gets irritated I will not throw away anything =D

The color is actually brown,but I'd say it's good for a not-pitch-black black too! 

Texture is very creamy and glides on easily.

It's not waterproof, but surprisingly it stays put even on my oily lids or during summer. 

I never expected this to be anything special, but it won me over.

It sells for around 12 dollars on ebay and holds 3.5 grams of product, which is a looooot =) Too bad it's discontinued.

Essence @Holografics.com Collection

Since I'm moving to Georgia I need to think over carefully what makeup I'm bringing along...I can't just pack  everything I own, right? First, becoz I'd easily surpass the allowed  weight I'm allowed to take and two, I hardly use many of the Essence stuffs. You know, Essence makeup is either a winner or a total crap, but anyway it's not pro enough to use on others. Well, I'm not packing crap, thus tons of them have to stay and since I haven't reviewed most of them, I'll try to post them in bunches (if poosible).

So, this Holografics collection came out late summer-early fall this year (2011) and was so-so IMHO. The most interesting thing was the body oil, but I didn't buy it coz the amount was too much if I found it useless...@_@  I screwed up big time with the refreshing spray from the You Rock collection, but that's another post...  

These are the things I bought: 

I can't find the nail polish anymore....wonder where it went....>_< Well, it wasn't good anyway...Dunno its name without the actual product, but if you ever find this in a left-over sale somewhere only buy it if you need a top coat that gives your basic nail polish a nice twist by the holographic sheen it creates. Click on the photo to see it in better quality.

The 2 eyeshadows I choose are 01 Gagalectric (blue) and 02 Lilac. Yes, you see it right, Gagalectric XDDD

Their texture is like mousse, buttery. I'd say applying with finger is preferred as brushes and these creams are not the best friends I'd seen. However, this way don't expect precise, detailed application.

Pigmentation is low to medium. No matter how hard you pack on you won't get a perfect coverage. From some angles you'll still 'see through' the shadow. They are wearable colors...until you go out onto the direct summer sunlight. Then you realise these are for either winter (but then these colors for winter?) or hot summer night parties!

But not without a strong primer! That is a must for these to stay in place.^^ 

The lipgloss is 02 Holoberry. Why berry? There's nothing berry colored in this!? Anyway, it's not sticky, sweet-smelling (but you won't feel it on your lips), the pink base color is sheer and the holographic particles produce a very interesting effect when light hits them. The pink, green and blue paricles make a kind of silver-foiled look. You have to see it in real life to understand what I mean.

Finally the Holographic Eyeliners. The blue one is 01 Blue Ray and the white one is 02 Prism@tic white.

My favourite of the two is Blue Ray. It's not too sparkling so I can wear it anytime and it gives a little ooomph to my eye-look. Pigmentation is better than medium, still, you might want to go over the blue line a second time.

They are surprisingly good! I expected them to smear all around my face but they didn't! They held up well in hot weather too! :) 

Okay, don't rub them and use e/s primer, but they are still keepers!^_^ 

MAC Wonder Woman Lustre lipstick & Essence Fairy Tale Eyeliner Pencil

I'm not sure if MAC stores still carry the Wonder woman collection, but about 2 weeks ago or so the store nearest to me still had it. However, I wonder what was left of it by then.....imagine, the week, when the new Lady Gaga lippies came out I went to pick up the lipstick (not because I need one more, but it's just such a pretty color...duh)....and it was sold out already! 4 days! All it took the bitches, 4 days! Argh...they only had the lipgloss, which was pretty and all, but I wanted the lipstick T_T

Anway, back to Wonder Woman. The only item I found worth of my money was this liplustre: Marquise'D.

(BTW the shadow quads were utter crap)

As for the packaging, to me it looks like a child's play.

The color could be a nice neutral beige if not leaning into warm thanks to the golden flecks you can see below.

Texture is creamy and non-drying....it's lustre, right :)

Overall, I like it a lot, even tho it costed me ~25.50 USD

Since I have billions of items to write a review on, I'm featuring 2 things in one post. The following product is from an inexpensive drugstore brand I'm obsessed with.

Yes, Essence! Again....I think I'm sick. I really should say no whenever a new trend editions comes out. They re-use the leftover from previous collections, sometimes hardly altering them, except for the packaging. And just who wants to have doubles, triples, etc. in different cases? Not me. Yet I keep on buying them. >_>;

So, below is the only eyepencil from the late collection: Fairytale. (It was quite a pretty edition, I tell you!^^)

Is it sparkly like the rest of the collection? No. It's a mere black eyeliner pencil! Sporting the LE design. Cheating! 

In the picture: one line (bottom) and 2 or 3 lines layered (top).

Nothing spectacular, not even a decent colored black eyeliner, not to mention its smudging. It will not stay in place even for a half hour.

Not worth the 3.50 or 4 USD I paid for it. (forgot its price)