To line or not to line...no question!!

Last week, my brown cream eyeliner started to flake off into my eyes...not exactly a great look. So this weekend I went in search of the perfect brown cream, gel or liquid eyeliner.

I love eyeliner and I am always looking for interesting colors and textures, even though I typically use black or brown on a daily basis. I had seen an ad for a metallic liquid liner by Too Faced (Metal Eyed Liquid Shimmer Eyeliner, $17.50 @ Sephora). Since metallics are all the rage these days, I thought I would at least see if it was something I would like. Now when I think of metallic, I think of super shimmery, like more shimmer than color. While this eyeliner had a nice thin brush and good texture, shimmery it was not...it was a fine, iridescent GLITTER!! Some people love glitter, but they are usually under 30 and don't have a professional job. I'm over 40 and generally don't do glitter (I'm sure my CPA boss appreciates that). It was very pretty liner and comes in 8 beautiful colors (my favorite is Get Lucky, a glimmering forest green), but definitely not for Moi.

I decided to skip looking for metallics and focus on the brown I was in the market for. I found two candidates and decided to put them to the test.

I picked up Bare Escentuals' new cream eyeliner, Buxom Lashliner ($15 at Sephora). The black (Leatherette) looked like it might be shiny like patent leather when it dried (oooh, something to try later!) but the Suede color was the dark brown cream I was in the market for. Using a MAC 209 brush, I applied it as I usually do, first under my upper lashes, then on the top of my lower lashes, then on top of the upper lashes, making sure no lid showed between the lashes. This is the most silky soft liner I can remember using! It went on smoothly and stayed on perfectly all day. At the end of the day it came off completely with my usual eye makeup remover. It doesn't get much better than that. Don't tell anyone, but I think this may be better than MAC Fluidline...SHHH!

As I was shopping, I came across Clinique's Brush-on Cream Liner in Deep Brown ($14.50 at Sephora), which I have used before. As I was trying to decide between the BE and the Clinique, I discovered a Clinique color I hadn't seen before: Black Honey, a nice medium brown with a very fine shimmer. That settled it, I needed BOTH! It comes with a teeny little brush, but I like a longer brush, so I chucked it. The liner went on smoothly with the MAC 209 and that fine shimmer was perfect, even better than the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner ($21 at www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com) in Chocolate Shimmer that I was replacing! It is a slightly lighter brown than the BE liner, but darker than the BB Bronze Shimmer I already have. The lower price and availability of the Clinique make it a hands down winner.

As a side note, I have several friends that swear that MAC's Fluidline in Graphic Brown (dark brown with shimmer) was the best eyeliner ever made, but because it isn't a part of the permanent line and is only rarely repromoted, we are all in search of a suitable replacement. This creme liner might just be comparable!!

So this morning, I reach for my HG eyeliner, MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack, and OMG, I saw the bottom of the jar!!! I wonder if they have any more of the BE Leatherette at Sephora... :-)

Suz