Review of Maybelline eyestudio gel eyeliner.

Hello everyone,
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I did!!! : )
Well over my mini holiday vacation I did a tiny bit of shopping, and I finally decided to buy the Maybelline eyestudio gel eyeliner in "Blackest black" after my favorite gel eyeliner, Stila smudge pot in "Black", ran out. :( So being a college student on a budget I decided to buy it after reading great reviews that its an amazing dupe for higher end gel eyeliners. I actually purchased mine at my local target for $6.99, instead of buying it at a local drugstore like CVS or Rite Aid for $9.99. I actually think that this gel eyeliner is worth $7 instead of $10 at CVS cause the jar is really small and I'm not sure how long the moisture in this eyeliner will last as it is a drugstore gel eyeliner. So on to the review...





What it comes with:


The Eyeliner brush

Maybelline Gel eyeliner "Blackest Black".

Review:
So far I am really liking this product! For a drugstore brand gel eyeliner its pretty decent and a great inexpensive dupe to higher end eyeliners such as Mac Fluidline or Stila Smudge pot. I have read a few reviews on the maybelline gel eyeliner and from my understanding there are a bit of good reviews. For starters let me compliment Maybelline on their amazing eyeliner brush that comes with the package. It is very delicate on the eyes and VERY percise. Personally I it makes the product. However, I did read alot of reviews where most people said they hated the brush ( so I'll let you makeup junkies decide). In my opinion, the brush easily follows the curve of your eyes and can give both a nice natural line or can give you a more dramatic one (your choice). Secondly, the pigmnent intensity is great! You don't have to worry about having to keep building on the color by going over it repeatedly. What you see in the jar is what you get. Thirdly, I am a bit disappointed with the amount of product that comes in the little jar, which is about 3 grams. Then, there is the issue that this product claims to be "smudgeproof" and "waterproof". I can honestly say from wearing this product its hard to say. It takes a very long time to even fully dry on your eyes and can easily smudge after 5mins of putting it on. So when it does fully dry it doesn't smudge...much.

Swatch:

Here is a swatch of the eyeliner. As you can see what you see is what you get.

Pros:

• Color intensity is great!
  
• The eyeliner brush is very percise, a perfect hand fit and picks up color well( so you can do a soft cat eye look or a soft winged look).
  
• The eyeliner brush is very delicate on the eyes (compared to other drugstore brushes I used that came with the packaging * cough* Cough* Loreal Hip cream eyeliner).


• You don't have to worry about flaking as its a gel eyeliner.
  
• Comes in different colors (eggplant, brown, and charcoal).
  

Cons:

• It smudges easily


• Wouldn't recommend it for the waterline cause it smuges easily


• Its not waterproof or smudge proof.


• I wish it comes in a blue eyeliner color.
  

Would I recommend this product? Yes! Overall, I am very impressed with the color intensity and the smoothness of the brush and the product. For a drugstore gel eyeliner I expected something a bit more low quality, but it impressed me. The color intensity is good enough to create optional soft smooth looks or add drama by building the color. Lastly, as I said before what works for me, may not work for someone else and vice-versa. The color intensity will never be as good as Stilla or MAC, but its still workable. For me it adds the right amount of optional intensity for daytime looks as I am transitioning into doing more natural/ sublte makeup looks while still wearing makeup.

However, i wouldn't recommend this product for someone that tend to brush their hands by their eyes as it smudges very easily. I left it on my eyes for like 2 hours and checked to see if it would smudge and it still did on my fingers(plus i applied it without a primer and i have oily lids sometimes(so that might be why).

I will do another update on how to get the best maximum wear out of this eyeliner...

Checkout my gingerbread man soap!!!

Hey everyone!

I am just going to be doing a short blog on a really cool holiday project I was working on last night. I made a gingerbread man soap with vanilla outer frosting...yummy!!!. Sadly, it didn't come out the way I had anticipated; because I was missing an essential soap making tool to fill in the detail as well as didn't give the soap enough time to stick.

On the bright side this soap is actually very, very moisturizing on the skin as I made it out of aloe vera, olive oil and shea butter(The shea butter is actually the white outline).




Also sorry about the missing buttons for some reason it didn't stick. Look on the bright I don't think its too bad for a first time soap maker.


Stay tuned for another blog about more cosmetics!!!: )

I am Finally back!!! Drugstore Haul and Homemade Body Scrub

Hello EVERYONE!!!
I am finally back!!! (Hooray!) As promised, I bought a few new things, as well as wanted to share some other cool news. For starters, during my mini hiatus(which is still not fully solved) I started picking up a brand new hobby, and have really taken up a huge interest in making my own spa products such as soaps, eyeshadow and body scrubs. So I may create a 2nd blog(don't worry i am still keeping this one) or incorporate it into this one. You have no idea how excited I am about this new hobby of mine. I have created alot of neat soaps and body scrubs that my family just loves! So far I made a few soap cupcakes, a lavender body scrub, a brown sugar body scrub and more soap that looks like food.

OK so on to the reviews:
What I bought?

• Loofah & Cotton Bath Pad


• Loreal HIP cream eyeliner in "Midnight blue"


• Vaseline Cocoa butter deep conditioning

Reviews:

Loofah & Cotton Bath Pad:

This bath pad is amazing! I actually NEVER used a loofah pad before and so I purchased one at my local drugstore, for the first time in my life, because I am actually starting to make my own homemade body scrubs. On my skin it really does feel like it is exfoliating and the super cool perk is the fact that it has a strap in the back of the loofah so you can buffer your skin without the hassle of dropping it. Also I didn't know the loofah pad would expand if wet with water.

Would I recommend this product?: Yeah, I would. I am still getting use to this loofah pad as I don't know much about Loofah's.

Loreal Hip cream eyeliner in "Midnight Blue":

Hmmm.,...where do i begin? The color is very beautiful. I have dark brown eyes and have grown tired of wearing black gel eyeliner on days where I don't feel like wearing makeup, but willing to wear eyeliner with intensity, so I bought this cream eyeliner in midnight blue which actually reminds me of a cobalt color with micro shimmers. I haven't tested out this eyeliner long enough to give a detailed review. Although, the bristles on the brush, that comes with the eyeliner, is a weapon!!! That thing hurts alot. There is nothing soft about those bristles!!! The brush is the one thing I WILL toss with this eyeliner.

Lastly, Vaseline Cocoa butter deep conditioning:

Now that we are in Fall and winter is around the corner next month I needed a new skin care regime for my very dry skin. This is my first time trying this product and before I can give an accurate review may need to try it out a little longer before I give the verdict. However, what I can say is that unlike other creams i have tried in the past it smells awesome, gives my skin a nice sheen/glow, but is a little sticky.

Oh, and before I forget I have a picture of a prototype of one of my homemade body scrub.

I actually call this homemade body scrub a citrus body scrub.

Sorry about not posting a new blog in awhile!!!

Hey everyone,
I am really sorry about not posting in about a month or so. It's just I have been going through ALOT of family issues that I need to resolve before I can even start up again. So thank you to everyone that is following my blog. I promise, I will be coming back with some new stuff very soon. So keep following my blog and stay subscribed. In the meantime have alot around my blog and keep occcupied with what I have so far.

Once again, I am really sorry and will be posting new stuff soon as I do have some new goodies. : )

Loreal "Cobalt Smokes" quad

Hey everyone,
This blog is going to be on another drugstore goodies I picked up which is Loreal "cobalt smokes" quad.


What it comes with:

• 4 eyeshadow colors(which are numbered)

• 1 dual ended applicator

Review:

I am really impressed with this eyeshadow quad collection! At first, I wasn't very impressed, but after using it for awhile and letting it grow on me this quad is a keeper! With this eyeshadow quad you can easily go from daytime smokey to night time smokey. Now to get the nighttime smokey eye follow the directions that come on the back of the quad. Secondly, the dual ended applicator it comes with is very handy (I wish other brands like the Maybelline stylish smokes quad did that). The pointed tip does an amazing job of lining the eyes and the applicator does an amazing job on blending the eyeshadow. For some reason it creases on me, but then again I have oily lids so I have to use a thick base like concealer or my NYX eyeshadow base to keep my smokey eye looks together.

Pros:

• It blends very well
  
• Has a great applicator
  
• Pigmentation on the darker shades is what it is.
  
• It has a nice shimmer to it that reflects very well in certain outdoor lighting.
  
  

Cons:

• In terms of applying the shades some of the lighter colors apply sheer, so you have to build the color.


• It does crease, although I have a little oily lids, so I have to use a thicker primer that's not Urban Decay.
  
• Last all day(with primer- I used NYX eyeshadow base).

Swatches are in the same order they are numbered on the quad.
From left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Would I recommend this product? YES! Believe it or not I know I talked highly about the Maybelline stylish smokes, but I like these just as well. For some reason this Loreal quads adds color dimension and the applicator it comers with bought me.

Another NYX Haul: Golden/Rust/ Walnut Bronze, (slim) eyeliner pencils, NYX pencil sharpener. LA Splash nail polish.

I am going to be doing another haul, a NYX haul. YEAH!!!

What I bought?:

• NYX Golden/Rust/Walnut Bronze Trio
  
• NYX (slim) eyeliner pencils
  
• NYX Pencil Sharpener
  

Reviews:


Sorry about the slight glare again


L-R (Golden/Rust/Walnut Bronze)

(L-R) Golden/Rust/Walnut Bronze as swatched.

NYX Golden/Rust/Walnut Bronze trio:

• This trio is by far one of my favorite NYX trios (compared to the Copper/rust/bronze trio) that should be a must have for this Fall 2010. I think the colors are perfectly coordinated, very smooth, and really makes my dark brown eyes POP. For those of you that are new to NYX it comes with a dual ended applicator, a small mirror and, of course, 3 eyeshadow colors.
  
  
• Would I recommend this product? Yes. This product is amazing! I love their color coordination, its highly pigmented, and it would be a great everyday look for this Fall. The application is very smooth and not chalky like some of NYX's other products.

Top-Bottom( 24 karat, Seafoam green, Satin Blue)


Top -Bottom (Satin blue, seafoam green, 24 karat) Sorry again about the fuzzy photo. My camera just won't pick up the colors on my hand well.

NYX (Slim) Eyeliner pencils:

• Right now I am really loving these eyeliner pencils. I bought the following colors: seafoam green, Satin Blue and 24 karat. Apparently NYX really stepped their game up with their eyeliner pencils, because I once bought this product before( about a year ago) and every time I would sharpen the darn pencils it would break before I can even sharpen it to a fine point. So they must have changed the formula or something because they have been a life saver all week for when I have been running late for class and need that pop of color. This time the eyeliner pencils applies smoother and more vibrant. The only con is that it does not last very long in the waterline.
  
  
• Would I recommend this product? Yeah. It is a temporary cheaper alternative to color eyeliners from popular higher end brands like Urban Decay, Mac and Makeup Forever. This is one of those product where you get what you pay for, but a slight bit more.
  
  

This is the covering on the sharpener. It has one on the bottom and one at the top.



This is the stick thing I was talking about. It cleans out any left overs.


Sorry about the glare once again.

Lastly,( NYX dual Pencil sharpener)

• If you are into NYX jumbo pencils and their other liner pencils then you NEED to get this pencil sharpener. From my understanding it is the only pencil sharpener that can sharpen the NYX jumbo pencils (that i know of). They do a great job of sharpening without breaking your pencils. I'm not sure if anyone knows this, but the NYX sharpener comes with this really cool cleaner kind of stick that I guess is used to clean out any pencil residue. (There is a better photo on the link I added for the sharpener).
  
  
• Would I recommend this product? Yes! It does a great job of sharpening the NYX pencils. However, I have never tried using it to sharpen any other pencils brands from Urban Decay, Milani, etc. So sorry on that one.
  

RANDOM MOMENT!!

I forgot to mention that I also bought the LA Splash nail polish in "Embellished". Just a quick review DON'T buy it . This nail polish is TERRIBLE. I have read alot of great reviews on this nail polish and some people keep swearing by it. I, on the otherhand, will NOT.

Here are swatches of the nail polish. As you can probably tell the applicator is clumpy.



Beautiful color, bad application

Pros:

• True to color
• It dries VERY quickly
• Decent price (you get what you pay for)

Cons:

• It chips as soon as you put it on.
• It smells awful (way to much alcohol).
• Glitter overload( I think that's what makes it clumpy)
• VERY clumpy
• Drying on the nails
• Looks dull

Would I recommend this product? NOOOO! This product was a waste of money. I wish I never bought this. I will stick with my opi nail polish thank you very much.

That is all for my haul today. Please feel free to comment....

Eyeshadow tips for Brown Eyes

(image credit: onetalentsource.com)

This post is mainly for future makeup junkies or for anyone that wants to expand their makeup look horizons. The other day I was talking with a friend of mine and it brought so much sadness to my soul to see a bunch of women wearing eyeshadow shades that don't flatter their eyes or even their complexion. Brown eyes is one of the most beautiful, versatile eye colors that can get away with ALMOST any eyeshadow shade you want. Alot of women, for some reason, take their gorgeous brown eyes for granted. Why? (Any comments on the matter). So I mainly constructed together some tips and rules that will help brown eye beauties accentuate their lovely brown eyes to the max.


Rule # 1: NEVER wear a combination of eyeshadow and eyeliner that is the same color as your eyes. I don't know why, but alot of women keep doing this. Brown eyes are not meant to be covered by brown. It's like dropping a penny into another pile of pennies and expecting to find the same one you dropped in. You try it? I'll wait...LOl.



Tip: It's either you use one or the other, but personally I wouldn't recommend brown eyeshadow. However, if u do, opt for a soft brown eyeshadow that at least has flecks of gold in it like Maybelline's "Cinnamon spice" single eyeshadow that has a nice shimmer to it to awaken any eyes. As for brown eyeliner which makes for great, soft, daytime looks. You can still use as long as u line the eyes top and lower lashes, but on the lower lash line don't go to far in (maybe 1/3 of the way is cool). Black eyeliner also makes a great dramatic look on any eyecolor. Milani has a great liquify eyeliner pencil that does wonders.



Rule # 2: Look into eyeshadow shades like purples (esp Lavender), blues, teal, gold, silver, green, copper or other neutral shades (Ex: Champagne). These eyeshadow shades really make brown eyes POP. I would know. For some reason blue on my dark brown eyes and my complexion really make my eyes stand out for attention. LOL



Tip: Try the "Urban Decay" Sustainable eye palette" or Urban Decay's "Naked" palette(when they are in stock...whenever that will be (sigh) ). These palettes are great starter kits for women with Brown eyes. A cheaper option would be NYX For your eyes only Brown eyeshadow palette. These palettes have all the great shades to do neutral or eye popping looks. So don't be afraid to experiment with palettes like that, that's coordinated for brown eyes.



Rule # 3: Get creative with your eyeliner. I don't know why, but I have been noticing that alot of women are afraid to play around with color eyeliner looks. I can't seem to find any youtube videos that pertain to these looks. Sometimes, ladies, there is nothing like a fast pop of color on the go.


Tip: Sometimes Gold, or Bronze eyeliner on the upper and/or lower lash line gives u that eye attention you have been looking for. I would know as I have tried this before. Even a dab of white eyeshadow or eyeliner on the inner lash line spruces up those eyes and can even make them look bigger. You should even try this combination black winged eye liner on the upper lash line and seafoam green OR lavender eyeliner on the lower lash line really POPS brown eyes right out. Look into brands like Urban Decay, and Makeup Forever for intense, fun, eye popping eyeliner shades. For Drugstore/cherryculture: NYX Slim eyeliner pencils, Cover Girls liquiline eyeliner pencil or Milani metallic liquify eyeliner pencils.

Rule #4: Don't be afraid to experiment with different shades of mascara. Mascara that has hints of green, blue, purple OR gold in it really helps to bring out eyes. Depending on the one you buy, you don't have to worry about the color being so vibrant. It's not until someone gets close they MAY see it.


Tip: Try Covergirls mascara in Lash Blast Luxe in colors like "Black Royal", "Black Emerald" etc. You chose.

So that's all for my makeup tips. Remember you are not obligated to use the products I recommended here in this blog. These are mainly products that have worked for me and I am recommending for you. "What works for me may not work for you".

Thanks for reading my blog! : )