Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner

I love eyeliner as much as the next girl, but I seem to be such a klutz when it comes to applying it. I can't seem to get liquid liners to look sharp and professional for the life of me, and I generally smudge pencil liners to clean up my less-than-sharp edges. I had heard good things about Maybelline's Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner, part of their Eye Studio line, so I decided to take the plunge and give it a try. I haven't had much experience with gel liners, but thought maybe this was the missing piece of my eyeliner puzzle... 

I purchased Charcoal, since I figured a dark grey with some shimmer would be more forgiving (and easier to wear during daytime) than a true black. I'm a big fan of my dark gunmetal grey eyeliners!

As you can see, the product comes in a glass jar and a brush is included. The brush is actually quite decent, and it's what I used to test the product with, although I'm sure a higher quality brush with a longer handle would make the product that much easier to apply.

You'll be able to see some of the shimmer below; I've swatched it heavily on the bottom, and blended it out some on the top.

So, how did it work for me? I found this eyeliner long lasting; it didn't budge after it set. Application wasn't a piece of cake, but it wasn't difficult, either. I think with some practice I could get used to this product, and I'm sure people who aren't as eyeliner-challenged as I am would be quite pleased with this product. 

Here I am wearing the eyeliner on two separate days as part of two separate looks:  

With my first look...

And the second!

Another angle from the second look. Sorry for the stray hairs!

Summary: I would recommend this product, and I'd definitely be open to trying more colors. That being said, I don't know that it's reached holy grail status; I'm still interested in trying other gel eyeliner formulas to see if I find one that's foolproof even for me! It seems easiest to create a thin wing with this product; maybe when I work up my nerve I'll be able to build up the line and create bolder eyeliner looks!

Have you guys tried this product? What do you think of different types of eyeliner: liquid, gel, pen, pencil, etc...? 

Guess what I found for $4 each...!?

I know I haven't been blogging as much as I want to lately. As usual, there are myriad circumstances conspiring to keep me from doing the things I enjoy (like keep up this blog and keep up on everyone else's blogs)! But I do like popping in and catching up with you guys when I can! Mostly I've just been busy with work and trying to get back into the swing of things with school. I've also been getting sick a lot! Infections, colds, you name it. I blame stress. I've also been trying not to splurge on makeup, and unfortunately I find myself using the blog as a way to justify unnecessary purchases... And let's face it, it's not as fun to blog about products you've had for years as opposed to new and exciting things. Do you guys find yourselves using your blogs to justify purchases? How have you lovely ladies been? Anything new and exciting in your lives?

Anyway, I stumbled upon a great deal at my local Sephora inside JCP that I had to share with you guys... Illamasqua nail polishes on sale for $4 each! I don't own any Illamasqua nail polishes, since they're normally just too pricey for me to justify. My "high end" nail polish collection before this find consisted of 2 Butter London shades and 2 NARS shades (one of which I bought on sale at TJMaxx). I'll shell out $25 for a lipstick every once in awhile, but $16 on a nail polish? Still can't wrap my head around it. At any rate, I saw some Illamasqua nail polishes unceremoniously piled up in a clear plastic bucket on the sale shelf and pounced. There were about five shades available, and I snagged Viridian, a duochrome featuring teal with a flash of purple, and Bacterium, a yellowed taupe with a violet/silver thread running through it. I didn't have the heart to destroy my current manicure (Ginger Lily, one of my favorite Orly shades) to swatch these just yet, but I wanted to let you guys know since this is somewhat time sensitive! I have no idea if these shades are on sale at all Sephora locations, or just the Sephora inside JCP stores, but it's worth investigating if you've been wanting to try out Illamasqua nail polishes, or if the sale colors were ones you'd wanted to pick up! Here are some pictures of the bottles...

Bacterium

Viridian

In the boxes! 

Has anyone else found some great deals lately? I am still pretty stoked about these, I can't wait to try them out in a couple of days!

A year of makeup.

Hi Guys,

No look or review for you today. But I saw a really interesting video that I wanted to share with you guys. They applied a year's worth of makeup onto a model in one session and filmed it. It's fascinating to see how unnatural and grotesque it is when worn all at once. It's definitely made me think a little bit about what I put on my face!

You can read a little bit about the making of the video and the inspiration here. Isn't that crazy?

I'm curious what you guys think of that! Does it make you re-think wearing makeup every day or inspire you to wear less makeup? I don't know that it will change how often I apply makeup, but it does make me think a little bit harder about whether or not I really need to be putting so much unnatural stuff on my face every single day. And not that any of us would apply this much makeup in one sitting, but it also re-frames makeup as something that masks your real face; it helps me see where people who criticize makeup as something people hide behind are coming from, since it really does look like the model is wearing a mask at a certain point in the video. If nothing else, it's fascinating to see what happens if you layer that much makeup on top of itself! It's kind of horrifying.

Vintage NYE Look

Hi Guys,

I know it's a little late to be showing you my New Year's Eve look, but I've been so busy with work I haven't had much time to do fun faces for you all, so I figured I'd post photos of this since it's already been photographed. I won't give you the complete run-down of products used, mostly because I don't remember them all, but I know I did use a lot of my basics; MUFE Face & Body Make Up for the foundation, Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara, etc...  I was inspired by a kind of 1940's/ 1950's look for this; I know you can't see my outfit, but I was wearing skinny black pencil capri pants and a faux-wrap leopard print top with a mandarin collar and little cap sleeves with my hair in curls and pearl drop earrings. I did a variation on a cat-eye and red lip to match.

The stars of the show are Meow Cosmetics eyeshadow in Ra used wet on the bottom lash line and above Urban Decay's liquid liner in Revolver on the upper lash line, and NARS lipstick in Rouge Basque.  I was going to a friend's family party, so I didn't want to do a look that was too over the top, but I still wanted to look celebratory and festive, so I gravitated towards warm golds and reds. I can't say for certain what I used on my cheeks, but I suspect it was a combination of Hard Candy blush in Pin Up, Illamasqua blush in Beg, and NARS blush in Douceur...

Yes, my barrette matches my shirt. Don't judge!

And here's one where you can really see Ra glowing on the lower lash line. Enlarge for the full effect:

Using Ra wet on the lower lash line is my new favorite thing to draw attention to eyes; it's unexpected and glows like crazy, but because it's gold it's still something that works for lots of occasions.

I know it's a bit late for a NYE look, but I'm not supposed to wear crazy makeup to work so we don't detract attention from the brides, and I am too nervous wearing lipstick around all of those expensive white dresses that I have to get all up in all day long. It's been rough guys! I love my neutrals, but it gets boring day after day when I can't pair them with a bright lip! My days off are week days, so I'm generally not doing anything too exciting then, and I've been sick on and off, too... I'm not trying to throw myself a pity party here, but part of why I've been posting less frequently (aside from being really busy) is that I don't have as much to post; I can't just take photos of my everyday manicures and looks because I'm not allowed to wear much color to work, and I've been too busy with work to have a lot of makeup play-time on the side! Oh well, once I get settled into a routine I'm sure I'll find ways to make it work. Just be patient with me until then!

Do you guys have jobs where you are required to wear understated makeup or nail colors? Do you feel like you go crazier with makeup on your days off, or that it stifles creativity even when you aren't working with those restrictions?

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded

Hi Guys! I promise I haven't forgotten about you. I've just been crazy busy between recovering from the holidays, work picking up speed, and house guests...  So you'll have to forgive me if I'm not posting as frequently as I would like to.

I finally got a Maybelline Color Tattoo; I've heard all the hype but just never had an overwhelming urge to get one, as I had other great cream color products that work like a base. But when I saw Barely Branded on the new Color Tattoo Metal display, I thought it looked like a color that would brighten up eyes and work as a great base, and wasn't like anything else I had in my collection.

I don't know that there's much more I can add to the Color Tattoo dialogue. I can't use this shade as a base; it creases on me after about 7-8 hours. I know, that's pretty good, but I don't like to have to worry about touching up, so I use this on top of a primer. No biggie!  The formula is nice and creamy and blends easily, and this color is really flattering; it's a little frostier than I anticipated based on the color in the pot, but I suppose that's what makes it "metallic". It's a nice pale nude-pink color. Take a look!

Swatched heavily on the right, blended out on the left

Wearing Barely Branded on my bare lid 

Summary: I really like this color, but I have to say that I don't think this is the miracle product that all the hype built it up to be. I'd probably be more impressed if I hadn't heard as many people saying this is the alpha and omega of cream base products. That being said, I like it just as well as many higher-end brand cream shadows, and am eager to try a few more shades. I'll just be making sure to wear them over a base and set them with powder in the crease. I wouldn't say they're tricky to work with, but they just need a little help to hold up to a full day of wear. Suffice it to say these won't be knocking my precious Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams out of their Holy Grail position anytime soon.