Good morning and welcome to my blog in 2013! It feels so strange to be entering yet another year...

I focused a lot on lip products and brushes in 2012, but there was a product family that I was continually hitting pan on, repurchasing, and then just never blogging about. Yep, you guessed it: Eyeliners! Admittedly, the clue was in the title ;)


Maybelline 'Master Drama' Kohl Liner
I actually own this in black and brown. I bought the brown first on a whim, as during the Summer Maybelline released a load of new products and these were included in the line up. As I was going swimming later and was fully aware that a certain rugby player male type of eye-candy would be there, I decided to invest in some waterproof cosmetics. You know, just completely coincidentally.

Anyway, after a long discussion between myself and a friendly sales assistant in Boots who told me she owned this very pencil and used it on her eyebrows, I walked home with this. And it is incredible - so, so robust and waterproof. It lasted me two hours of swimming, which I was more than impressed with. On the hand, it persists for about a day with just casual handwashing.

I haven't actually tested out the black on the waterline yet, but I'm hoping it'll be more of the same story. Best part? This liner was about a fiver, and as Maybelline was 3 for 2, it worked out to be considerably cheaper.

The only downside for me is just how soft they are - it's easy to overapply if you're a little heavy handed (as I often am). I end up having to sharpen these fairly frequently, maybe every four or so uses. I'd still recommend them to anyone looking for a budget, waterproof kohl liner.


MUA Extreme Felt Eyeliner

This was my first felt liner (yes, I am always late to the game, and what?) so I have a little soft spot in my heart for it. It doesn't last too long, usage wise. Perhaps three weeks to a month of use before it dries out and the ink gets grey. But at only £2, it fits squarely into that "cheap and cheerful staple" category.


MUA swatch


Maybelline Swatch (closest brown to camera)


Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner - Black
This Maybelline offering is my second gel eyeliner (the first being Sleek's InkPot) and it has left a much better impression on me than my first.
It looks like the sort of thing that will stay moist for a long time - the lid is sturdy and seals tightly each time, and the frosted glass looks quite classy and evokes ideas of higher end brands such as Bobbi Brown. So I'm more than happy leaving the pot on my makeshift vanity.

For me, this is not a 24 hour liner, though. Out of all the liners I've posted, this gel liner actually survives the least amount of time before running; about six, seven hours. By the end of my college day, I end up with visible smudges by the corners of my eyes. It's quite disappointing. I've tried to remedy the problem by extending my eye primer over the parameters where it'd usually be, but it doesn't always stop the smudging. Boo.

Honorary mention: Sleek InkPot
 
Runs faster than Usain Bolt. No thank you.
Looking back at this post, I've almost exclusively purchased Maybelline eye products :/ I promise you, I'm not sponsored!

Apologies for the font/coding weirdness in this post. I'm still trying to work out what's going on.

I'm well aware we're nearly finishing February :(



Johnson's Face Cream - already repurchased because it's classy and has SPF in it and it's also very cheap and I like all of those things.

Barry M Base Coat - may repurchased, may not, I liked the fact that I could use it right down to the very last drop and it didn't thicken or anything, but it wasn't great at stopping chips. I'll shop around, see if there is anything better at a similar price point because again, this is very cheap.

MUA Pro 3 in 1 Eye Liner - I used this as a quick and easy eyebrow fill, but don't really like it as an eyeliner - far too soft, and not black enough. Wouldn't spend money on it.

Oh, I am pleased with this little pen. It was included in my little bag of MUA Pro goodies to review, fyi :)



For the small sum of £1.50, you get this sleek pen in cardboard packaging (as seen above) with instructions on the back as to how you form the three types of line.


The black plastic is so smooth. I thought it was a liquid liner at first because of the packaging, but I was delighted to know that it's a retractable pencil (I prefer pencil to other types of liner and use it most often).





I rolled this up about a third of the way. There's a decent amount of product concealed in the thin tube.

Now, onto the formula.

First off, the stick seems to be more oil/wax based, as it's surprisingly water resistant, and very very soft. It's a veritable dream to apply, no tugging etc. Longlevity is only an issue if there's no primer involved, and even then only on oily eyelids or if you keep touching your eyes. I don't know why you'd do that. I guess someone does :/ So to recap, it doesn't seem to dry down particularly well, so for those with oily lids you'd have to use a primer to ensure that it didn't run. 

So easyyyy to smudge. With just this and a coat of mascara, you can create a two minute smokey eye that requires little or no effort to do.


So soft, I accidentally broke it by being overzealous, lol.


Fail! Not the product, though. I'll be repurchasing this - it's great for students on a budget who want a very black pencil that's soft and easy to apply.

Looks a bit like a radioactivity warning symbol, amirite?

Ahead of the upcoming launch of the Professional line (which looks really, really interesting) I recieved some MUA bits and bobs to play with. I've already made no secret of how much I adore the eyeshadows and the nail polishes (just click the MUA tag to see my reviews of those) but I'd never tried the liquid eyeliners before, so I was interested in how they'd fare up. They've also just launched the Eye Kohls which I need to look at, especially the orange! What I love about MUA is that everything is a pound, so it's very student friendly.

 So I recieved the liquid eyeliner in shades five, three, and two. This photo tells you which shades correspond to which colours:

Right away, the applicator for the black was a little off. It seemed bent at the tip?

Sorry for the abysmal quality, just could not get my camera to focus on anything but the hairs on the carpet.

I could still apply it, but it was slightly more tricky than the applicator for Shade 3, which was great. I found the black took a little bit of time to set, (although didn't budge once it was set) but sadly, on me, it flaked off within about an hour.

I loved everything about Shade 3. The brush was completely straight and had just the right amount of "give" in it to give you a nice, thin, precise line. I adore the colour, as well - it's a gorgeous bronze which is great for everyday wear. Also, it didn't flake - probably because so little product needed to be used on account of the great brush. So thumbs up for that.

Shade 2 was in the middle - the brush wasn't as bad as Shade 5's but not as good as Shade 3's, and the colour flaked a little. It does leave a blue stain on your skin, which was quite hard to remove. All in all, I'd definitely purchase Shade 3 and leave the other two. The silver in the line looks quite interesting as well, so I will be checking that out.


I had so much fun photographing the shadows. They're so pretty.


So I have shades 10 (blackened indigo with gorgeous glitter sparkles, closest to camera) 12 (MAC "Club" dupe) 7 (bright grass green) and 4 (light pink). I actually already had shades 7 and 4, so one was passed onto my Mum (who loves it) and one made it's way into the giveaway pot - I opened them to take photos, but didn't swatch them - used my own for that!

MUA has a real strength in their pearl (shimmer) eyeshadows - all of them are pigmented and there is a wide range of colours. The microfine glitter in Shade 10 is absolutely gorgeous and really pops over a base like Pixie Epoxy. It really reminds me of my Urban Decay Black Palette - it's the same sort of dark, brooding, blackened shades with glitter to add complexity.

I've taken a ton of photos to illustrate the colour shift in Shade 12...sorry. It's too pretty, the sort of eyeshadow that can be worn without anything in the crease because it's so complex and interesting by itself.


High end dupes for a pound. God bless the UK.