Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
5L, 17L, 20L, 12L, 7L, 15L, 10L
Aqua Eyes Eye Liner
Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Eyes line is probably one of the top eyeliner formulas on the market to-date. It’s extremely budge-proof, smudge-proof, and water-resistant. It actually holds up quite well to all three claims. Add to that a diverse range of color choices (Sephora sells 25), and you have a winning combination. They’re smooth, well-pigmented, and deliver long-lasting color.
- #5L
is a khaki-bronze with a hint of green in it. It’s like a deep, slightly green-toned antique gold. I love wearing this with golds, browns, and greens.
- #17L is a soft, yellowed spring green with soft shimmer sheen. I was hoping for a little more chartreuse in it, but it’s still a nice, subtle liner color.
- #20L is a forest-green with teal in it. I adore this one — a definite must-have. I pair it with blues, teals, and greens.
- #12L is a dark blue with a subtle shimmer-sheen. It’s not super unique, but it’s a nice blue shade.
- #7L is a nice pop of blue-based turquoise. It’s the brightest color that I own.
- #15L is an violet-blue shade. I liked this one, because I felt like it was fairly unique. I don’t have anything like this in my collection of eye liners.
- #10L is a bronzy-copper. It’s very “me” in a sense, because I love these kinds of warm-toned bronzes. It’s great with warm-toned looks, particularly neutral looks, for an extra kick.
See more swatches… Continue reading →
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
Kitten Smudge Pot
Stila’s Fall Collection also included the launch of Kitten Smudge Pot, Black Cat Smudge Pot, and Kitten Lip Glaze. I have to tell you that I am absolutely in love with Black Cat. The swatches don’t even do it justice, just because the way the shimmer/glitter catches the light is stunning. These new products will be available September 2009, but you might see them pop up on stilacosmetics.com earlier (perhaps late August).
- Kitten Smudge Pot is a beige-y champagne shade. It’s definitely neutral, and it’s wearable alone or as a neutral base. It’s fairly frosty, though, so if you’re more of a matte finish person, this probably wouldn’t appeal to you. I like it as a one-swipe-and-you’re-done kind of color. It’s also nice on the lower water line.
- Black Cat Smudge Pot is a fairly opaque black-base smudge pot with golden glitter/shimmer laced through the color. It’s really glitzy and reminds me of Hollywood glamour. This is awesome as a liner, but it also makes an awesome base for that totally dark, black smoky eye.
- Kitten Lip Glaze is a sheer gloss with a peachy base and peachy-gold shimmer. It’s pretty, extremely wearable, and has a little stickiness to it. Compared to the Lip Enamel Luxe, it didn’t excite me so much. For those who love sheer, shimmering glosses with a neutral kick, this is definitely up your alley.
See product photos and swatches… Continue reading →
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
Indigo Charm Eyeshadow Palette
Lancome’s Declaring Indigo Collection is an inspired collection amongst the fall launches, but it is (clearly, my opinion only!) the best Lancome collection to-date. It is stunning. It’s wearable, but there are pops of bold, indigo-blue weaved throughout the launch to make it intense. The collection itself is fairly large, encompassing well over twenty different items to please your makeup tastes. I have a few pieces to show you, and also some swatches I did while at Nordstrom last week for the ones I didn’t end up with, but since it’s such a large launch, you can expect a few posts over the course of the day showcasing my favorite pieces!
For my favorite item from the launch, it’s a tie between Indigo Charm Eyeshadow Quad ($40.00) and Indigo Paris Le Vernis ($18.00). (It seems I might have a thing for blues, yeah?) The eyeshadow palette is a stunning mix of deep blues and softer antique golds. Long-time readers know I am a big fan of antique golds and that hasn’t changed, so this quad is completely after my heart. I really didn’t stand a chance, I swear! There is a bold, satiny velvet blue, a deep, rich antique-gold, a softer, more golden-toned antique gold, and finally a shimmery dark blue with silver sparkle. Each is extremely pigmented, feels smooth and velvety to the touch, and leaves no room for questions. High quality and not a single mediocre shade in the bunch.
Paired with the rich indigo-blues of the launch is Indigo Charm Ink Artliner ($23.50). There are also two other shades available: Brun Elegance and Noir Magnificence. Lancome’s Ink Artliers are a new gel-based eyeliner formula that feels creamy, without being too creamy. They dry down fairly matte–they don’t have a wet look–and look much like they do in their pots. Indigo Charm is a rich, navy blue with slight blue shimmer and a little sheen. This is a color that really makes peepers pop (especially brown eyes), and it’s bold enough without being overly bright that it is great to wear alone for just a hint of color.
See swatches/product photos… Continue reading →
Friday, July 17th, 2009
Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow/Liner
($19.00 each) is available in twelve different shades, ranging from soft white-gold to golden brown to gray. The Creaseless Cream Shadow is a crease-proof formula that can be sheered out or layered for a more intense effect.
I found that they did indeed live up to their name — they didn’t crease or smudge on me at any point during the day, when worn alone or as a base. I will say they did seem to perform better when used as a base, but I imagine most cream-based products do. Since I didn’t notice any creasing or fading when they were worn alone, I think they held up incredibly without anything on top, too. All of the shades I tried had a light sheen or subtle shimmer to them, which was just fine with me, but I’d definitely love to see Benefit add some more matte shades to the line-up in the future.
If you’re a big fan of MAC paint pots, I think you’d adore these! I found these more blendable/buildable than some paint pots, and I didn’t have as much trouble blending shadows on top of the deeper shades as I have with some of MAC’s darker colored paint pots (e.g. Nice Vice).
Creaseless Cream Eyeshadows
- R.S.V.P. is a slightly warmed-up champagne shade with not much shimmer but more of a golden sheen. This makes for an excellent all-over lid color when you need a quick look, but it also works well as a base shade, particularly for golds and greens.
- Skinny Jeans is a smoky, pewter-green shade. It’s kind of like like gray meets green meets gold. So, basically, all sorts of awesome. (I’m totally obsessed with the color pewter–go figure!) I love using this as a liner on the lower lash line or as a base for a really dark green smoky eye.
- Stiletto is a soft, reddish-burgundy shade flecked with microfine golden shimmer. I found this to be one of the sheerer shades just from the get-go, but it layers really well so you can increase the intensity if you want to use it on the lid. When I used an angled eyeliner brush to apply it as liner, I didn’t have any sheerness issues, it was pretty deep and intense.
- Tattle Tale is an opaque shade of white-gold with golden shimmer laced throughout. This was one of my favorites, just because it looks amazing on my warmer skin tone. It works well as an all-over lid color, neutral base (and I love that it’s a bit on the white side, so it helps colors pop more), as well as a highlighter on cheeks! Gotta love a multi-tasker!
- Busy Signal is a golden-toned bronze-copper shade. It’s incredibly pigmented, needing just one thin layer to get intense color. It is definitely a little warm, but not overly so. It seems almost neutral at times. I found I preferred to use this one as a liner than an eyeshadow (just because I personally prefer to use cream shadows as bases rather than individual shadows).
- Strut is a silver-gray with slight bluish-gray sheen. If you want a smoky eye, try this as a base!
- Flatter Me is a neutral, slightly subdued pinky shade with a little bit of peach and gold shimmer. I think those with cooler toned skin may find this perfect for an all-over color when warmer, more golden tones shades don’t work. I’m warm-toned, but I still like this as a soft lid color. It also can double as a blush if you work quickly with it!
- Birthday Suit is a soft, antique gold shade, which means I am ALL over it. It is such a gorgeous shade, and it has great pigmentation. I love it for layering with brown and gold shadows, as well as greens. I love wearing this alone or as a liner.
- Get Figgy is a mauvey-pink with slight golden shimmer. I liked this one with purple shadows, as well as some pinks, but I did find myself reaching for it more as a liner than a base color.
See more product photos and swatches… Continue reading →
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
Urban Decay Ink For Eyes is creamy, eye liner goodness!
For fall, Urban Decay launched Ink For Eyes ($22.00 each), which is a brand new cream eyeliner available in six shades just dead-on perfect for the upcoming fall season. Urban Decay tells us their secret ingredient is Nylon 12, which is an ingredient that limits drag for a smoother, more precise application while it softens and absorbs excess oil. I put on Zero yesterday, and it didn‘t smudge or fade on me, so I’m pretty happy with the wear on these so far.
The packaging is sleek and edgy, with a peacock drawing on the cover of the gunmetal-gray box. Flip it open, and you’ll find a sleek, narrow mirror, a double-ended brush (smudge tip and angled brush), plus the star – a strip of the actual ink.
- Binge is a rich, dark navy blue. It’s blue without being bright, and it’s dark without losing all of the blue. It’s definitely more navy blue than black-blue, too. You can also go less heavy to get a little more blue to stand out or go heavier and get a deeper color.
- Empire is a deep violet-purple with a little bit of sheen/glimmer. It’s pigmented, smooth, and really creamy when applied with a brush.
- Demolition is a deep, dark brown. It’s not too warm–almost seems cool-toned to me–and intense. Very creamy and chocolately.
- Zero is an intense, rich black. There’s really not much else to describe it as — it’s really quite black! I am *all* over liners and mascaras that are this rich in black.
- Loaded is a medium-deep forest green with tiny greenish-silver shimmer. It has good color pay off, and I love that it’s noticeably green, but it isn’t bright or OTT at all.
- Pyrotechnics is a sheer, glittery base. It has multi-colored glitter and goes on mostly clear. Layer it over one of the others or underneath one of the others to add more glitz!
Of the six, my favorites would have to be Zero (for how pitch-black it is), Empire (because can you just imagine how gorgeous it would be with Fishnet layered on top?), and Pyrotechnics (love that you can add glitter in an easy-to-use pencil form). What are your favorites? Have you tried these yet?
See product photos and swatches… Continue reading →
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
Earth Eyeshadow Duo
2nd Love Baked Powders Collection: Eyeshadow Duos
Currently, 2nd Love has six variations of the eyeshadow duos ($9.00 each for 5.4g/0.19 oz.). These all have the same quality and feel as the rest of the 2nd Love product range. They’re smooth, soft, and pigmented. The colors feel like velvet, and they blend easily. They can be used wet or dry, depending on the intensity and kind of application you want.
- Earth is a combination of silvery-white and subdued brown.
- Amethyst is a combination of pale pink with soft silver shimmer and a dirty mauve-berry.
- Go Green is a duo featuring a gray-green with gold sheen/shimmer and a soft brown with green-gold shimmer. This was my favorite of the six, just because it seemed so multifaceted.
- Starry Night is a mix of lilac with soft cool-toned sheen and a purple-blue with violet sheen. (It’s definitely more of a purple than a blue shade.)
- Sandstone is a combination of a lightly warmed up bronze and a golden beige.
- Solar is a duo of bright silver with shimmer-sheen and a rich, dark black with a bit of multicolored shimmer.
Compared to MAC: Similar in feel and texture, though these all were pigmented for me, and none of them were glittery or overly shimmery. I’ve found some of the MAC mineralize eyeshadow duos can be too frosty or have gritty glitter that puts me off. These are also flatter colors, and by that I mean that you’ll see a silver base color with silver shimmer or a purple base with purple shimmer/sheen. You won’t see a purple with gold shimmer or things of that variety–at least not yet. Of course, these are also cheaper — $9.00 each for 5.4g/0.19 oz. as compared to $19.00 for 2.5g/0.08 oz.
Check out product photos and swatches… Continue reading →
