L'Oreal's HiP Color Truth Cream Eyeliner, $10-12

I've heard a lot of good reviews about L'Oreal's High Intensity Pigment (HiP) line, so I decided to try their cream eyeliner. I chose this beautiful dark teal color with a metallic sheen. I figured teal would be a good way for me to wear a blueish color (the green in my eyes generally clashes with blue or navy).

The cream eyeliner comes with a tiny angled brush that does more harm than good. It's okay that it's a small size, but the brushes are really bushy. This does not lend itself to good control. Don't worry--I keep my Sephora angled brush handy just in case. The review must go on.

The eyeliner itself is kinda of dry and clumpy. It didn't go on easily. It took me a long time to get a nice clean and even line.

But look at that color! It's so pretty. It's really bright and has a slight metallic shininess. The color reminds me of teal corduroys. Goes great with my eyes, too! And (worn over primer obvs) it's lasted all day with no smearing or running. Just sucks that it took so long to get to that.


Final verdict
Cost: $10. Not exactly cheap. I'd gladly spend $5 more a high-end one.
Texture: Dry, clumpy. Not as rich and creamy as Clinique's.
Color: But oh, the color is amazing. It's really pretty.
Repeat offender?: No, I wouldn't buy this again. I'll use it on occasion because the color is so pretty, but I'll make sure I have some time to sit and do it. It sucks because it doesn't smear or run, and the color is great, but it was a pain to put on! But, I did buy one of their loose eyeshadows . . . we'll see if I have more luck with that later.

-T

Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner, Black, $5-8

This is by far my number 1 go-to eyeliner. I have been using this eyeliner for years and have tried others that are similar but none of them ever compare. Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner is a twist-up eyeliner that does not even require sharpening (but comes with a small sharpener anyway!). I hate hate hate to sharpen eyeliner pencils. I feel like I always end up wasting a bunch of pencil and/or always screwing it up and breaking the pencil somehow. When I look for an eyeliner it definitely has to be the retractable kind.


I use this eyeliner almost daily. I like to try different eyeliner (obviously) but I always come back to this one as my main product. The Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner often comes in a two pack (as pictured) so I always try to buy a few since I know I will be using it often. The two pack is also usually priced about the same as the single pencil.


The eyeliner claims to last up to 16 hours, but I can testify that it lasts LONGER than 16 hours, especially when used with a primer. Although it does not say it on the front of the packaging this eyeliner is actually always waterproof. I've said this before but I usually have makeup on when I go to the gym in the evening (I don't apply it for the gym I swear--I'll admit I do touch up sometimes--yikes!) but it does not move at all even with all the sweating! I also want to note that while I was writing this review I drew a little line of eyeliner on my hand and a few minutes later tried to rub it and it did not budge at all.


The tip of this eyeliner in not very thick and if you practice it enough you can definitely get a handle on how to achieve a thicker or thinner line. I find that it has a very versatile tip that is controlled by the pressure you apply and how close you hold the pencil to your eyelid. Overtime the technique you develop will help you control the pencil even better. I can pretty much apply this stuff in the dark. The eyeliner pencil is soft so you can either layer it on or use just one stroke and blend it with a brush to "smear it." Even though the pencil is soft, it is not weak. What I mean by this is that it doesn't break if you apply a lot of pressure to it like some other retractable pencils do.


Final verdict:
Cost: The Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner is priced between $5 and $8 depending on where you look. Like I mentioned above, I recommend the two pack because it is a great value and you will have some eyeliner when you run out of the first pencil!
Tips: Do not roll up the pencil too much but don't keep it too low either. You should have the pencil rolled up around 4-5 millimeters (you don't need to measure I'm just estimating). The pictures of the pencil in this post are a good example.
Does the pencil actually go on black?: The pencil is a true black. It does not go on light black--I've had this happen with other brands it is so NOT COOL. I feel very strongly about my black eyeliner dammit.
Repeat offender: If Revlon ever stopped making this I'd wear black for 40 days straight. No really, I swear by this stuff.
-M

What I'm Wearing - 5/21/10

Happy Friday! Last weekend I tried a new look on my eyes. I was going for a more interesting way to get the "no eyeliner" look, different from my usual "as much eyeliner as possible" look. I used:

-Urban Decay's primer (Sin on top lid; Original on outside and bottom)
-Urban Decay eyeshadow in Scratch (a beautiful shimmery baby pink for across the lids included in this palette)
-Maybelline eyeshadow in Urban Brown (for the outside wing, crease, and a little underneath)
-Urban Decay Liquid Eyeliner in Roach (just a little on the outside half of the top lid)
-Clinique Lash Power Mascara Long-Wearing Formula in Black Onyx (top and bottom, for a clean, "awake" look)
-Nars Orgasm blush


After priming, I swept Scratch across my entire lid with an eyeshadow brush (from EcoTools). Then, using the top of the brush, I worked Urban Brown into the crease, extending the line past my eyelid for a little wing. I took the angled brush and smudged some Urban Brown into and right underneath my bottom lashes (outer half of my eye only) and connected it to the wing. I cleaned the eyeshadow brush and used it to blur and soften the lines, making it look more natural but still dramatic. I lined the outer part of my top lid with Roach--I couldn't go completely without eyeliner! I think it looked really cool but I'll still need to work on perfecting the angles. The colors are amazing though--brown and pink are so flattering on hazel eyes.





I also put up a new discussion on our Facebook page: How much makeup do you carry in your purse? Click on the icon in the sidebar and become a fan!
Muah!
-T

Hot Topic Glitter Eye Pencil, $2

So I was in Hot Topic lately, checking out their latest inventory of studded platforms and skull rings, and I noticed their updated makeup display. In high school I bought some bright pink eyeshadow from there (like 10 years ago!) and I remember being obsessed with it. Hot Topic's stepped up their game lately (totally fell for some crazy platform heels) so I figured, why not check out their makeup too? I grabbed 2 glittery eyeliners in purple and black at $2 a pop.

The designs on the pencil are geared toward their customers--a silver casing with a black fishnet overlay and a skull and crossbones logo--which, by the way, I'm totally into. When I used the eyeliner, I noticed that it goes on really smoothly and the pencil is really soft (well, the purple is softer than the black, which felt a little grittier).

The colors go on pretty well (shown above with just some primer and mascara) but the glitter is pretty subtle (read: doesn't really show up). The slight sparkle would probably just look like excess eyeshadow. The liner seems comparable to other nonwaterproof pencils in color and lasting time (just average) but at least the purple is really pretty.


Final verdict
Cost: $2--you could probably find that buried in your couch cushions.
Color: The color shows up pretty well (I especially enjoyed the purple) but the glitter isn't really noticeable, so that's kind of a drag.
Lasting power: Pretty average. I wouldn't expect it to last all day/night. It would probably be best to stick to the top eyelid for this one.
Repeat offender?: Sure, I'd try another one. For $2 it's really not a bad eyeliner pencil. I'd recommend it for experimental looks, like, how would my eyes look lined in teal? I'll probably try their other products as well--this $5 bright eyeshadow palette looks fun!

-T