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!