Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Gel CreamLiner

A few weeks ago, I saw a blog post by vintageortacky about new gel liners from Physician's Formula. Gel eyeliners are my absolute favorite and 3 shades for $11 seemed almost too good to be true. I was excited when I found them at CVS! This isn't really a review, just my initial thoughts and swatches.

The 3 gel liners snap together. The kits come packaged according to eye color; I purchased the one for brown eyes.

You can see my fingerprints all over the packaging.. I can deal with that though.

It comes with a brush that's actually not half bad. I prefer to use angled brushes though.

Dark brown.

Purple.

Black.. once you dip the brush into this one, it actually has tiny purple glitters!

After applying these, I rubbed my hand over my arm for a few seconds to test out the staying power. They did not budge. At all. These are definitely worth checking out.

99 Cents L'Oreal HIP

Once in a while, I find something good from the 99 cent only store that's usually sold at drugstores. I wasn't expecting to see anything interesting today since I haven't in a while... but there were a couple of L'Oreal HIP items! 7 items for $7.

Color Rich Cream Crayon - Unmistakable


Color Chrome Eyeliners - Green Flash (left) , Blue Spark (right)


(left to right) Unmistakable, Blue Spark, Green Flash


Jelly Balm - Savory


Jelly Balm - Luscious


Luscious (left), Savory (right)


Cream Shadow Paints - Nervy (top), Secretive (bottom)


Secretive (left) Nervy (right)

Hard Candy, Sallys Update

You might have heard that Hard Candy has been revamped and is now being sold for drugstore prices at Walmart. I was excited to see the beautiful new display!

Blush Crush Baked Blush in HONEYMOON: This looks gorgeous in the pan. A soft light pink with some tiny purple veining. I was expecting this to be similar to MAC's mineralize blushes, but this is much more similar to the mineralize skin finishes. There isn't much color payoff, but it gives a beautiful shimmer that's great for highlighting.

Kal-eye-descope Baked Eyeshadow Duo in ROCK N ROLL: Another gorgeous looking product. Very smooth and shimmery.

Balm Girls Moisturizing Lip Balm in JULIE: I'm not too sure if I like this one. With the word "tinted" I thought it would add some color to my lips, but it's extremely sheer. It almost looks like clear lipgloss on my lips. It also has that weird plastic/play-dough/crayon type smell. On the plus side, it's really moisturizing and glossy with a unique packaging.

Curl Up & Dye lash curling mascara in INK: I'm really disappointed in this one. I got sucked into buying it because of its promise to curl. I have stick straight lashes and I need a mascara that can hold a curl. This did the opposite. After using my lash curler and applying this, my lashes drooped down. The mascara felt very heavy and wet.

Overall, it seems like a nice brand. I'll probably be avoiding their mascaras, but I'm willing to try more Hard Candy products.

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On my previous post, I talked about my bad experience at Sallys. I wrote an email to their customer service explaining the incident. The company called me, but I wasn't able to answer because I was in school. They left a voicemail, apologizing for my experience. They also said that they would forward the incident to the district manager here and investigate the store or something.

Milani Haul & Swatches

Milani is my favorite drugstore brand of makeup. CVS had their products at buy 1 get 1 50% off this week, so I couldn't resist picking up a few things! I got the Touch of Brown eyeshadow quad, Sunset City sunset duo, Enchantment nail polish, and Fairy Tale nail polish.

I thought the blush bronzer duo looked similar to Nars Laguna/Orgasm duo, so I took some comparison swatches. I also compared them to Milani's old luminous blush, which is often said to be an Orgasm dupe. The Sunset City blush is more golden than the Orgasm blush. But as you can see in the photos, they're still pretty similar.

The polishes are from a limited edition collection called, "Black Magic." It includes nail polishes that are all dark but have different colored glitters. I'm not a big fan of plain black nail polish, so I love the hint of glittery color in these. I'm thinking of picking up the other colors sometime!

eyeshadow quad: 01 touch of brown


top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right shades


sunset duo: 01 sunset city


bronzer & blush combined, bronzer only, blush only


nars laguna/orgasm on the left, milani sunset city on the right


nars orgasm, milani sunset city blush, milani luminous


nailpolishes in fairy tale, enchantment


close up of enchantment


close up of fairy tale


i'm wearing fairy tale right now. it's so pretty!
sorry about the sloppy application, i was excited to try it.
*click thumbnail for larger view*

I also put a new layout on my blog since I felt like the default ones weren't spacious enough. I like it, what do you guys think? I used to make layouts for xanga, myspace, etc but I was too lazy to make one for blogger. So, I found this lovely layout at http://designs.bloggerbuster.com.

Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara

Maybelline Pulse Perfection Waterproof Mascara

Official Website Information:

It’s our first vibrating mascara. Transforms your lashes to perfection.

• Patent-pending elastomer brush vibrates 7,000 times per stroke
• Provides clump-free definition, intense color, and shine
• Waterproof; also available in washable formula
• Builds lash volume, length, and adds curl
• Buildable formula
• Ideal for All Skin Types
• Contact lens safe

Overall Rating: 5/5
Would I Repurchase: Yes

POSITIVES:
- Nice, sleek packaging
- Applies dark and black
- Adds a lot of length and volume
- Holds a curl and doesn't make my lashes droop down
- No clumping, even with more than 1 coat
- Waterproof, so it stays on all day
- More affordable than other vibrating mascaras (ie: Lancome, Estee Lauder)

NEGATIVES:
- You have to keep your finger pressed down on the button for it to vibrate

OVERALL:
I was pleasantly surprised with this mascara. I wasn't sure if the whole "vibrating mascara" would actually work well and I wasn't willing to spend so much on the ones from Lancome and Estee Lauder. I'm more of a drugstore mascara girl since you have to toss them every 3 months anyway. I don't really have any major complaints. This mascara is one of my new favorites. It adds really nice length and volume. Most importantly, it holds a curl which is important for my stick straight lashes. I think the vibrating does make a little bit of a difference. I feel like the bristles grip my lashes better. I'd definitely recommend this mascara. The shade I'm using is "Very Black"

close up of the button on the handle


close up of the wand


my bare, uncurled lashes


after curling & adding mascara

Studio Tools Dual-Fiber Brush

Yesterday I was with Raymond and we were passing a Target. He asked if I wanted to go and I said no, but we went anyway. We got to the makeup section and saw the Sonia Kashuk highlighting brush, a dupe for the mac 187. I was SO excited when I saw it, because the Target by my house NEVER has it. I have the 187 and I love it, but was looking for an alternative to use for blushes and bronzers. I grabbed the Sonia Kashuk one but then I saw a similar one from the brand "Studio Tools." I remember seeing a few great reviews for this new brush on makeupalley. I chose to get this one since it was only $7 compared to the $13 sonia kashuk one. Almost half the price! Raymond said, "Aren't you glad we went to Target now?" Yes.

REVIEW: Studio Tools Dual-Fiber Brush

Rating: 4/5
Would I repurchase: Yes

- Only shed a few bristles when I first washed it with baby shampoo.
- A little bit smaller than the 187, but not by much.
- Really soft, doesn't feel scratchy at all on your skin. Not quite as soft as the 187 though.
- Very dense. More firm than the 187, so it applies products a bit more heavily.
- The bottom of the handle is flat, so it stands up on flat surfaces.

Is it a good brush? Yes.
Is it better than the 187? No.
Is it worth the $7? YES.

I think the MAC 187 is better, but it's $42. The Studio Tools one is only $6.99. Some people even found it for $1.99. For the price, it's a really good brush. If you come across it, I'd suggest checking it out. I would repurchase :)

Review: Maybelline XXL Curl Power Mascara

MAYBELLINE XXL CURL POWER MASCARA
Product information from the official website:

This mascara dramatically curls and extends lashes 45° from root to tip. Patented formula gives lashes 12 hours of hold.

• No clumps
• Exclusive PowerCurve brush
• Ophthalmologist tested and safe for contact lens wearers
• Washable

Overall Rating: 1/5
Would I Repurchase?: No

POSITIVES:
- Can be found at drugstores, readily available
- Adds volume
- Color payoff is good, goes on very black

NEGATIVES:
- Feels heavy and weighs lashes down
- Doesn't hold a curl
- Slightly clumpy
- Huge curvy brush makes it difficult to neatly coat inner lashes
- Not a lot of product

OVERALL:
The idea is good. It comes with a white primer that you apply first. The primer has tiny little fibers that grab onto your lashes. Then, you apply the actual mascara.

I was very disappointed with this product. It drew me in because of everything it promised. However, it didn't deliver length or curl like it claimed. It made my lashes look clumpy and droopy. Oh well, at least I got it when Maybelline products were buy one get one free.


double ended tube


primer side


mascara side

APPLICATION:


bare lashes that stick straight down


curled with my shiseido eyelash curler


applied the primer side


applied the mascara [lashes fell]


after curling again


from a lower view.