Maybelline Lasting Drama Black Shock 36h Gel Liner

While Benefit's They're Real Push-up Liner caused quite a splash, Maybelline quietly released their version of what looks to me pretty much the same product. What they hoped to achieve was to create an eyeliner with a gel formula that doesn't require a separate brush, rather it has a build-in silicone nib to do the job. Well, they certainly got the formula right, but the application method needs some improvement.

It's a twist-up eyeliner and the product comes out of the silicone nib, however, there is no way that you can apply it straight on the lid, but you have to apply it on the back of the hand first, get the nib covered with the product and then go ahead to do the line. The fact that you need to apply the product on the back of the hand means that there is a lot of wasted product which I'm not to happy about. The nib has a nice shape that due to the diagonal cut enables to create a flick very easily. I managed to do a very thin line, however, it took a lot of time and patience, so it's more of a liner you'd use to create a thick line. The problem is that it is incredibly difficult to create a super sharp, even line, instead it's more like a diffused line on the edges, which is not a bad look, but I'm just warning you that's it's not as precise as felt tip or liquid liners. 

The formula is a complete winner for me. It's intensely black and stays on like nobody's business. I even tested it on my holidays and I can confirm it is pretty much waterproof, though I wouldn't exactly go snorkelling with it. It is almost impossible to remove it without an oil based remover, micellar water removes it just partly and it smudges everywhere, so for that reason, I would advise you use a sticky tape on the back of the hand during application or a small plastic plate (even an old DVD is nice), since it's ridiculously hard to remove it from the skin and you wouldn't want to walk around with a black smudge on your hand all day (soap hardly touches it).

I don't want to show you just the eyeliner looks came out nice, but also when the application wasn't the best. The fact is that it's a hard product to work with and I want to show you what to expect. I spent a lot of time applying it, but I just couldn't get the edges even, however, from far away it really wasn't that noticeable.

I love the formula and I plan to check out whether their pot version is the same one. The silicone nib was a lovely idea, however, it leaves much to be desired. The ability to do flicks easily is nice, however, it takes a lot of time and faffing around to apply it decently and I really wish the application would be smoother as well as more even. This is not an eyeliner for beginners or for those with little patience and I still prefer my L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim for a quick and precise application, but I like this for those days when I want my eyeliner to stay all day.

At 13 € it's not the cheapest liner, but it's worth checking out if you're looking for a very long lasting formula and are prepared to put more effort into application. By the way, it's not available in Slovenia yet, so check for it online or in other countries.

Have a great day!

Manhattan Eyemazing and L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim Felt Tip Liners

I have quite fallen for eyeliners in the past months. Even though I have probably one of the most difficult eye shapes for makeup, lately you would have rarely seen me without my trusted eyeliner including a small flick gracing the top lash line. It's a wonder this eyeliner thingy, I firmly believe it makes my eyes look bigger and I have in general been embracing more elaborate eye makeup, though I don't in any way presume I have any significant eyeliner or eyeshadow skills. I've owned a fair share of different eyeliners, from regular pencils and gel liners to the most unusual one - Teracotta Khôl from Guerlain, but I have settled on what I find is the easiest and most precise option - felt tip liners. I have two today to compare - L'Oreal's and Manhattan's version, and as you can already see from the top picture they appear very similar, but does that mean they also perform the same?  

Starting with the general similarities, both have a thin, precise felt tip, they are super easy to apply and are able to create very thin lines as well as a bolder, graphic liner look. And the differences? Well, Manhattan's nib is ever so slightly bigger and thicker, the formula is not quite as black as L'Oreal's and it has poorer staying power. It might not be so apparent from the picture, but Manhattan's is somewhat greyer than L'Oreal's.

L'OREAL Super Liner Perfect Slim

L'Oreal's liner is super black, applies so easily and is very precise. It can manage to last all day, even the flick, but that's all provided your lids are normal/dry and that you don't have a habit of rubbing your eyes. It doesn't really fade though the day and it stays intense. The tip of the eyeliner stays saturated for at least 4 months and on my old liner the base of the nib still has plenty of colour after 7 months of very frequent use.

MANHATTAN Eyemazing Liner 
Precise Eyeliner Pen

Manhattan's Eyemazing liner (how clever is the name?! I love it) is very similar to L'Oreal's in terms of application - it's easy to use and allows a high level of precision. However, there are a few differences - for one, it's not as black. It also doesn't quite manage to last as long as L'Oreal's and the flick is the first thing to go. It loses a bit of intensity during the day or it can even fade on random spots.

My biggest issue with Manhattan's liner is how fast it dries out. I've only purchased mine about a month and a half ago and the tip is not as saturated with ink as it should be or at least compared to the L'Oreal's. My old L'Oreal's one, which I purchased seven months ago, still has more ink in its tip than Manhattan's currently does. Both were stored upside down to allow the ink to seep freely towards the tip, but somehow Manhattan's just isn't saturated enough. I can do the main line above the eye with the middle of the applicator, but when it comes to the flick, it barely manages to do one.

When new, you'll barely notice a difference between the two in terms of application as the similar shape of the nib allows a high level of precision. However, Manhattan's is less black, has poorer staying power and dries out way to fast, so for that euro or two of price difference, I'd still pick L'Oreal's every time. In fact, I already repurchased it. One last thing to report is that both of these can transfer in the crease during the day if your lids are oily, so in that case I would suggest a primer or at least translucent powder under it.

You can get L'Oreal's Super Liner in some drugstores (7.99 €), for those who live in a country where it's not sold, there is always Feel Unique (9.09 €). Slovene's can get it on Salma (5.60 €).

Manhattan's is sold in DMs and Müllers for 5.99 €.

Thank you for bearing with my poor eyeliner skills, but I like reviews like that - the ones that aren't über perfect as it makes them more real and more average-consumer-like.

Have a great day!

Product of the Week #17

Back in the days, when I went through the enough-with-the-black-eyeliner phase in my teens, I discovered this gem - Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Stash. You know something achieved the coveted holly grail status when you're using it since secondary/high school. Stash is an olive green old gold shade with gold shimmer that just works so well with my grey-blue-green eyes. It's dark enough to give a sufficient amount of definition while not overpowering the whole look by looking too harsh, but it also gives you a bit of colour. I wear it either on the top lashline, waterline or on the lower lashline, it works everywhere.
I have a few of these UD's 24/7 eyeliners and all are amazing quality - so pigmented, creamy and smooth. They don't tug on the eyes, there is no need for a million swipes to show up, they really stay on and most importantly, they don't go hard after a while (looking at you Max Factor Liquid Effect Pencil. I'm sorry to inform you that our romance is over). Despite the heavier price tag, these are absolutely worth the money. The black one, called Zero, is my favourite black eyeliner. 

Here is a comparison of Stash with L'Oreal's Infallible eyeshadow in Bronze Goddess (bottom).

What's your favourite non-black eyeliner?
Have a great day!

Milani Liquif'eye Metalic Eye Liner Pencil 03 Gold

This is basically the best gold eyeliner I ever found. It's incredibly soft and very pigmented, a slight touch is enough to get some colour. It transfers well to the waterline and manages to last there quite long, while it lasts for over 8 hours on the top lashline and the entire day between the lower lashes. The colour is just perfect, a proper old gold. It's easy to blend for the first 30 seconds, then it sets and doesn't budge. The texture is very similar to Avon's Supershock eyeliners.

I've been wearing it on my waterline instead of my fleshtoned Max Factor Khol, because I think it brings out my eye colour and makes it more blue. It's also great as an eyeshadow base for gold shades, I use it with E.l.f.'s Studio pigment eyeshadow in Golden Goddess. Because it's so soft, I have to sharpen it very often, but that's my only negative. If you're on a hunt for a great gold eyeliner, look no further.

I got it from Cherryculture.com and it was 6.99$ (or currently about 5.3€).

MUA Haul: Blushes, Eyeliner and Eyeshadows

And now for the second part of the MUA haul. Starting with cream blushes. They are actually bigger than I expected. There is a nice quantity of product and the packaging is big enough to be able to use a blush brush. I picked two colours out of four, Bittersweet (light barbie pink) and Dolly (coral-tan colour). These are very creamy and give a dewy glow to the cheeks, more so than Maybelline's Dream Cream blushes. 

When I first tried Bittersweet, I was shocked to see that there was no pigment whatsoever, just a clear cream. Fortunately, it turned out it was just the very top layer that was like that. It's actually quite pigmented and shows up well on my cheeks (however, I'm very pale). It blends nicely and gives a very lovely kind of barbie/doll pink cheek. Very cute, but I wonder how it would perform on someone darker than me. Surprisingly it lasted a quite a few hours, which is more than I expected from a 2£  blush, especially since it is a pale colour. I apply it with fingers or with a brush (I use a synthetic Real Techniques contour brush).

Dolly is very, very pigmented. I can't apply it with fingers because I always get way to much colour on. I prefer to apply it with my Real Techniques contour brush to get a lighter flush. This shade looks on me almost like a natural slight sunburn or a bit of tan, quite a lovely natural colour. Because it's a more pigmented blush, it lasts very well on the cheeks and fades slowly.  

I got two individual eyeshadows. One is from the pearl line called shade 12, a brown green duochrome colour, the second is matte shade 15, a very light pink. Both are very pigmented and blend nicely. They are soft, the pearl one is almost like a creamy texture and the matte one is more powdery. Both drop a bit because they are so soft.

Shade 12 looks very dark green in the packaging, but applied lightly looks warm brown. When you intensify it with more layers it gets a slight greeny blue sheen. However, it's hard to get so much colour on the lid to see the duochrome effect, also it fades fast, so for the most part it just stays sort of brownish taupe colour. It blends out nicely into a light warm brown shade. I heard it's close to Mac's Club eyeshadow, but I don't have that shade so I can't compare. 

I got shade 15 as an all over colour. I wanted something matte and it was just a pound, so I gave it a go. It's a good brightening shadow because of this pinky hue. I imagine it would work well also as a setting powder under the eyes, but I haven't tried it for that yet.  

Intense glitter eyeliner in Gold Nugget is not exactly gold, but more a copper gold shade. It makes my eyes look more blue than gray. It's more creamy and applies without dragging. It can be used all over the lid as a base for gold eyeshadow to intensify the look. For a pound you can't miss.

I bought Heaven and Earth palette as a Christmas gift for my counsin, hence no swatches. There is a good selection of neutrals, so it's a nice palette to have.

Thanks for reading!

Loving Now

There is a reason I love favourites posts, because I always find great products that lovely bloggers recommend. I her June favourites Evi from Lipstick Wardrobe mentioned Max Factor's Liquid Effect Pencil and how great it is. So I had to check it out and I discovered a dark brown shade that is a great replacement for black eyeliner. It's similar to Avon Supershock eyeliner and works well both on waterline and on the top lash line (once it dries, it doesn't budge). Another eyeliner I got recently is from Essence and it's their gel eyeliner in 02 London baby. It's a great dark taupe shade and is another nice everyday alternative to black. 

Taya from Taya- My Little Beauty World posted swatches of Depend's Holographic nail polishes. Before that post I didn't even know Depend had such a line. I wanted a silver holographic nail polish for so long and I finally got it in a local drugstore for a reasonable price. Yay! I need 3 layers for full coverage. It is one of my favourite nail polishes in my collection. I tried taking pictures of it, it's not the best swatch in the world and it's already a bit chipped (this is the fifth day I'm wearing it, I have Seche Vite on top) but it'll have to do.

I much prefer cream blushes to powder and my recent addition is by Essence from their Ready for Boarding collection shade 02 Beauty on Tour. I tried taking pictures of it, but my camera apparently hates that shade and refuses to take a nice picture of it. You can find nice swatches of it here: click. It's a very pigmented bright pinky coral shade that really brightens up the face and also looks nice on the lips.

Pulse by Beyonce (original review here) has been sitting relatively untouched on my vanity since I bought it, until a couple of weeks ago when I ''rediscovered'' it and started using it almost every day. It's just the perfect combination of sweet orange candy and powdery notes. I'm really loving it right now.

Balea Bademomente Sinnesfroh has been lying forgotten in one of my mini baskets for months, I had no idea what a nice product was hidding somewhere in my room. The product itself is nothing special, just a regular bath salt that turns your water brown (could of been some other colour), but the smell is fantastic. It smells like a hot cup of cocoa, so chocolatey and sweet. I'll definitely get some more if I can still find it, I know it was LE.