Pretty Peepers: Smashbox Eyes Have It!

Hey Beauties!

This week I've been playing with my Smashbox toys for eyes and I've found some brand new keepers and a couple of items with the potential to line the trash can if they don't pass some new trial runs. I have to apologize for the lack of pictures...I took pictures, but technical difficulties have gotten the best of me this week. :-(

Photo Finish Lid Primer - This little tube has me questioning my loyalty to Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion...Gasp!! What it has that the UDESPP doesn't have is that it acts as a sort of concealer for the eyelid. It dries more completely and manages to cover any visible veins and darkness on my lids. I was able to blend eye shadows more smoothly and they stayed put all day. I think I may have a new fav! A+

Eye Beam Double-Ended Brightener - When I first looked at this double-ended pencil, I wasn't sure it was something I'd be using. I have the Photo Op Under-eye Brightener, and highlighters for the brow area, so why do I need this? WELL, the beauty of this handy little tool is the point of the pencil makes it very easy to precisely highlight the inner corner of the eye without getting the rest of the area messy. It also allows a precise application just the under brow. The "eye" end of the pencil is a slightly pink shimmer and the "brow" end is a pale gold shimmer. After practicing a few times, at least the brow end is quite useful. My only issue with the eye end is the shimmer...fine lines abound in my inner eye area...not a great look. I like to use a pale matte eye shadow in that area but younger eyes may like the shimmer better. B-

Cream Eyeliner in Black Plum - I really like the soft but not too soft texture of this eyeliner. It went on smoothly, even underneath my upper lashes, and stayed on all day. I love the Black Plum color also...purple, but dark enough to be grown up and not too flashy. And the bonus is, I haven't had a good purple/plum liner because I hadn't found one I liked...now I have one! A

Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner in Midnight Purple - I really, really wanted to love this liner. The color is great and it is waterproof! The first day I put it on, I used it under my upper lashes with a touch of pale eye shadow for a casual day. Within about an hour, it started flaking off into my eyes and it continued the whole day! I was miserable! The second time I used it, I put it on the top side of my upper lashes (with the cream liner underneath!) and it was just fine. The texture of this liner is very firm and sort of dry...been in the warehouse too long?? As long as I use a larger brush (MAC 209) to apply it, it is workable, but the small liner brush (MAC 208) just can't pick up any product. If I can't make this work, I'll stick with the creme liner. C+

Waterproof Shadow Liner Duo in Ideal Eyes - I wasn't quite sure what to do with this stuff when I got it. It is in a little compact, but it has a small plastic cover over the product inside. One side is a creamy pale gold, the other is an ashy brown. A liner/shadow brush was included in the set to use with this product, but it was a bit large and not pointy enough for the liner and shaped funny for shadow: I have other plans for this brush. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with cream shadow anyway, so my less than glowing experience just means I haven't messed with it enough. This product comes in other colors that may seem more useful to me...maybe I'll try one of those, but I'm keeping my mind open on this one. B

Glamoureyes Hazel Eye Shadow Quad - This is one of those products that only comes in a set and it comes in several eye colors: blue, brown, green, and this one, hazel. The hazel version includes a pale gold satin, a lavender taupe matte, an olive green shimmer and a very dark slightly shimmered dirty plum. I have been using the pale gold quite a lot and the green is very nice with it. I like the lavender taupe with the dark plum, but the plum is a little bit hard to blend compared to the other colors. Depending on the shade of hazel your eyes are, either the cooler purples or the warmer gold/green will make your eye color pop...mine look great with the purples because they are a greenish blue with a little dark gold around the iris. My sister has yellow green hazel eyes and the gold/green combo is striking. A-

And last but not least, my favorite and oddly enough the only real freebie in the bunch:

Eye Shadow Trio in Head Shot - These are my new favorite shadows for everyday or casual wear! Pale gold and beigey-pink shimmers and a velvety chocolate brown matte make for a nice natural, easy wearing combination. These shadows are extremely long wearing and stay true all day. Ding, ding, ding! I think we have a winner!! A+

Coming up: Mascara Madness!

Until next time, Stay Beautiful!

Suz

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