Product Review: Fashion 21 Dip Liner

Hello everyone! It’s a happy Friday as I’m sure most of you are looking forward to the weekend. As for me, I will still be working during the weekend so it’s not really a happy Friday for me L Anyway, today I’m going to be reviewing Fashion 21’s Dip Liner.

My sister bought this one because she wanted to practice using liquid liner and didn’t want to shell out a lot of money to practice. Being the beauty junkie that I am, I tried this out too and I’ve actually used it several times.

Here’s what I find:

PROS

• ·         Once it dries, this thing is REALLY smudge-proof, even without a primer or eyeshadow underneath! And to think that I have really oily lids…

CONS

• ·         It sometimes dries up in patches; some parts sometimes become darker than other parts so you might have to put on another layer
• ·       Since it’s also very smudge-proof, it also means it’s hard to remove
• ·         The pointy end doesn’t feel soft on your eye

Here's a swatch:

Conclusion:  Despite the fact that it can be a little patchy, the fact that it really doesn’t budge makes this a good product especially for students who are on a budget or people who just want to practice using eyeliner. 

How much: P120.

NYX Jumbo Pencils in Strawberry Milk and Yoghurt

I've read so many good reviews about NYX Jumbo Pencils, but they said that it's creamy that it can crease! Being the greaseball that I am, I ran in the opposite direction. BUT! I found that though I may not be able to use them on my eyelids, I found a use for them... on my waterline!

My quest for a perfect pink pencil on the waterline started when I was in makeup school. One of my mentors, Ms. Nina, showed us what she used for her waterline: it was a pink jumbo pencil from MUFE. She said that pink was the natural color of our waterline which is why she preferred a pink or nude colored one instead of the white ones that a lot of people use. Well, since MUFE is expensive, I decided to turn to NYX to find a cheaper alternative. Thus, here we are!

Presenting, NYX Jumbo Milk Pencils in Strawberry Milk and Yoghurt:

Here they are when swatched:

When applied to the waterline, it indeed does make your eyes look brighter (because of the shimmers too) without using white.

Here's what I love about it:

• It's very creamy. You know how sometimes it takes pencils forever to show up on your waterline? Not this one!
• Staying power is good! More than 6 hours and there's still a good amount left! Some pencils disappear quickly in my waterline, but not this!

Here's what I don't love about it:

• It's jumbo-sized, so it's possible to accidentally smear some on your lower lashline. You have to be careful with application.

Please note that I am reviewing this as a waterline pencil, and not as anything else, but of course, don't be afraid to try and use this as eyeshadow!

Will I buy this again? When I run out, yes!

Eyeliner Showdown: Black Pencil Liners

Hello everyone! I'd like to do another eyeliner showdown, which I love doing. I'll be doing four eyeliners, ranging from expensive to downright cheap. So I'll be doing black eyeliners. I have four contestants: Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil, NYC Waterproof Pencil and Nichido Girls Night Out. I bought these four based on good reviews.

So here they are when swatched. Please excuse the MUFE swatch. I wasn't able to do it so properly.

I let some time pass, and then smudged them with my finger.

 

As you can see, there is no change in MUFE and NYC while UD smudged a little. Nichido smudged a lot.

Here are they after getting wet. No change in any of them.

 

  I once again smudged them with my finger. Nichido smudged even more.

 

So in the end, it was the MUFE and NYC that held up. Pretty nifty considering that the NYC pencil is only $5! Yey for cheapness!

Gel Liner Showdown: MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack vs. Stila Smudgepot in Black

Hello dearies! I have a lot of work to do but I took a quick break to post this entry LOL! I love gel liners. I don't know why haha. That's why I bought both Stila Smudgepots and MAC Fluidline. I put both to the test to show you which withstood more. I'll also reveal which one is my favorite.

First let's go look at the product. The Stila Smudgepot you see here is not the full size. It's the mini size I got as part of a set. The full size of the Stila Smudgepot is bigger than the MAC Fluidline that you can see on your left.

MAC Fluidline: P1,100

Stila Smudgepot Full size: P695 (I'm not sure as I bought this from Ebay)

Packaging: I find that MAC has better plastic, since Stila's plastic cover is made of thin plastic, as opposed to MAC's cover which is made of thick plastic.

So here are the swatches. MAC Fluidline on the left and Stila Smudgepot on the right.

 

As you can see, both liners make a good black, dry fast, although I find that MAC Fluidline is a teeny tiny bit creamier than Stila Smudgepot.

An on to the test. After waiting for both of them to dry, I rubbed both hard with my dry finger. Let's see what happened:

 

As you can see, MAC Fluidline smudged quite badly while Stila Smudgepot smudged just a tiny bit, although it's hard to see in the photo.

I wet both of them through running water:

 

Both showed no change.

Then while they were still wet, I tried rubbing both with my finger.

 

Both smudged a bit, but just a little bit as compared to it's previous state.

So who won? Well, obviously it was my Stila Smudgepot. I've said this a lot of times in Girltalk, Stila is definitely my favorite brand for gel liners! It got everyone beat. Plus it's cheaper than MAC Fluidline but has more product. Yey Stila!

Tip: Right after dipping your brush, close the jar immediately! Or else it will dry up.

To see another eyeliner showdown (Coastal Scents vs. MAC Fluidline), Click here

I Found my HG Liquid Liner!

I love Japanese products! First of all, it's more suited for Asian skin, so yeah, I take a leap of faith. Kanebo is the first Japanese brand I've encountered. Even when I was young, my mom used a lot of stuff from Kanebo, and if you've been reading my blog for a long time, you'll see that she even bought me lovely presents from Kanebo for Christmas.

Anyway, moving on, I got the chance to try this Kate Super Sharp Liner. Before that, I was really lemming for MAC Penultimate Liner because I'm fond of felt-tip applicators for liquid liners since I find that it's easier to use than brush-type applicators. As you might know, it's hard for me to find a budge-proof black eyeliner because I'm the oiliest gal you will ever meet! I'm serious. But one day, while hanging out in SM Makati, the SA of Kanebo applied this on my lids. After a few minutes, it smudged but after I wiped off the immediate smudging, the rest of it stayed put the whole day. So it seemed like a good product so yes, I went ahead and bought it!

I roadtested it now. I primed my lids using UDPP, and then applied this. I experienced no creasing for the first 3 hours! That's really a record for me! After the 4th hour, there was a very teeny-tiny crease in my right eye (because it's more monolidded than my left), but you couldn't even see it unless you look real close! Whoa, I was really impressed because no liquid liners has ever lasted this long without creasing! I've found my HG liquid liner. I didn't even buy MAC Penultimate Liner anymore when it came out.

So here's how it looks like:

 picture taken from www.kaboodle.com

My shade is BK-1 which is the blackest. It's not uber black, but black enough. I can always swipe again if I need it to be darker. I can make a really thin line with it as you can see in my swatch. The texture is not so runny. It's just right if you ask me.

 

I'm loving this because it gets the job done and it's affordable! I got this for less than P600. No need for more expensive brands.

TIPS

• During SM mall sales, Kanebo goes for 10% off. During Luxeasia sales, they become 20% off.
• Be sure to close the tip when not in use or else it will dry up easily.

So to end this I will leave you with an EOTD using the Kate Super Sharp Liner:

 

It's hard to see it well with my monolid eye, but it's there. I'm so happy with this EOTD. Do you know why? Because my eye has very little puffiness in this picture. Yey for enough sleep! Unfortunately, I can't say the same for today because I was so tired last night and I'm still tired today. Haha!

So what's your HG liquid liner? I'd love to hear from you.

Recent Hauls + Award

Let me show you a picture of my recent hauls. Mind you, I did not buy them all at the same time! I'm not that rich. LOL.

Anyway, since Stila is having some problems and is refinancing, I thought it was best to purchase some items already since I really don't know what will happen to them.

I bought the Stila Contouring Trio, it comes with tiny lights as you can see on the side. I'm sorry I forgot to swatch them, though.

Anyway, I also bought a set of mini Smudgepots. It has the bestselling colors: Black, Bronze and Gray. For me, Stila Smudgepots are better than MAC Fluidlines. However, I didn't expect it to be this small. When it said mini, they really meant it! This is much smaller than the regular Smudgepots (which is big). This is smaller than MAC Fluidline. I purposely didn't swatch it to prolong its lifespan since I still have my MAC Fluidline.

My Lumiere Pre-buy brushes have finally arrived! Thank you Grace (OD from Girltalk) for hosting these! We made our order last January pa and it finally arrived. I ordered the LHK, FO and angled FO. I haven't washed these so I can't say how they are. The LHK is very soft though. They're very well packaged for shipping! I can't wait to join Lumiere's next prebuy to get some more brushes since I regretted not buying the FT.

I also got my loot from EG minerals from an order we placed last January! LOL. It's been with Grace all this time. Thank you for holding this for me.

And here are my recent purchases from Rustan's. A Coffret D'Or liquid pen. This is my 2nd one already. It's not boxed anymore since I started using this already. Gia also informed me that Fasio mascaras are back in stock at Rustan's Gateway (Thank you Gia!) so I bought one when I happened to be in the area since I've been dying to try it for a long time.

I also got this friendship award from Chrissy, Donnarence, Khymm and Soapaholic. Thank you dearies! Mwah mwah mwah!
The rules are:

1. Take your award here

2. Put the logo on your post

3. Link the person who awarded you

4. Nominate at least 7 other bloggers

5. Add the links of those bloggers on yours

6. Leave a message for your nominees

So now, I'm passing this to 7 different bloggers:

1. Nikki

2. Nlng*Star

3. Gale

4. Shasta

5. Aileen

6. Yumeko

7. Blair