Maybelline EyeStudio 24-Hour Lasting Drama Swirl Gel Liner in S01 Black & Silver

If you had read my last blog post dated January 26, you would have realized that I lied about blogging the next week, and I apologize right here, right now. Heh. It's almost a month after and here I am with a fresh new product review blog entry! 

To my faithful readers/followers, thanks for sticking with me. :)

                                                                                                                                                                     

The product name is really a mouthful so let me just call it the Maybelline Swirl Gel Liner, alright? I have had this gel liner and used it for about four months now and it is high time I share my thoughts about this product.

Simply, this gel liner is AWESOME. Haha! The end. 

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C'mon, keep reading.

I first heard word about this 'swirl' gel liner from Tinkerbell because she first spotted it at a Watsons store. After that, I was searching high and low for it - visiting four Watsons stores before I got my hands on this gel liner gem. And when Tinkerbell mentioned 'swirl', it was difficult to picture what it really meant until I saw the product itself and was pretty amazed.

COLOR

The gel liner I got consists of two colors - black and silver, swirled together like a lollipop. Very pretty in the jar, really. It is like having three colors of gel liner in one jar for one price. I could use only the black, only the silver or mix those two colors for a shimmery grey. Very very cool, Maybelline. Good job! I usually wear only the black because it is such an opaque matte black which I really like. I also have the MAC Blacktrack gel liner which is like the best of the best gel liners in the market and I dare say that Maybelline is almost there. Just a few more tweaks in the formula and I guess it will be as great! For me, MAC wins over Maybelline because its gel liner dries faster on my eye lids.

LASTING POWER

And yes, this gel liner is very water-proof and smudge-proof on my eye lids. The lasting power of 24-hours I have yet to test and will never get to it. That is a pretty big claim by Maybelline but I will never wear make-up for 24-hours to test the product. So if any of you want to try it out, let me know! :)

The added advantage that Maybelline has with its gel liners over other brands is that each jar is sold with a brush. This is such a brilliant idea and mind you, the brush is really of good quality. It is densely packed and slightly stiff, just nice for gel liner application. This would definitely ease the use of the gel liner for beginners. And also, the brush head is protected with a transparent cover which really is the winner for me. 

I now leave you pictures of the Maybelline Swirl Gel Liner in S01 Black & Silver... :)

L-R: Black only -- Silver only -- Black & Silver mixed 
(The lighting of the photo somehow washes out the color. Trust me, the black is black!)

My hooded-lid-eye wearing the black & silver liner

I end this blog entry with a tip on maintaining gel liners : make sure the caps are screwed tight and jars overturned after use to avoid gel liners from drying out too quickly. 

Till then...

D.E.A.D

AHhhhHhhhhhHHHH!!!

It.is.dead.

My blog, that is.

My last post was... last month! Oh no. This is not acceptable.

BUT, I have a reason.

I was hit by the festivity bug (Christmas-New Year-Chinese New Year) thus the absence from the blogging world.

I do hope to get back-to-business soon.

I have a few new products to talk about! Teehee.

Do check back some time next week for a new post, alright?

Thank you!

Till then...

Nicole's Mirror Mini Christmas Giveaway

Oh yay!

Nicole of Nicole's Mirror beauty blog is having a giveaway for Christmas.

Great prizes to be won so... give it a shot! I know I did!

All you have to do is follow her on her blog and Facebook.

Easy peasy.

Check out the giveaway on her blog --> Nicole's Mirror Mini Christmas Giveaway

*fingers-crossed*

Contact Lenses - Living With It!

No, not a sponsored post by the brands about to be mentioned whatsoever.

I picked up an Acuvue booklet from Focus Point last week and it's a "First-Time Contact Lens User Guide". I thought it'd be pretty fun to share some advice/tips that I read where make-up and lenses are concerned.


~LIVING WITH CONTACT LENSES - Make-Up and Lenses ~

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ONE:      Put your lenses in before you put on your make-up.
(Erm... well, I do that... sometimes. :P)


TWO:     Apply eyeshadow and liner gently, so you don't jostle or damage your lenses.
(Yes, very good advice. You don't want your lenses tearing up in your eye now, do you?)


THREE:     Use oil-free and fragrance-free eye make-up.
(Most of my make-up are oil-free and fragrance-free. So, that's good.)


FOUR:     Use water-resistant mascara and eyeliner to prevent flaking and smudging.
(Oh, yes! Especially if your eyes tear-up easily. Water-proof/water-resistant make-up is necessary!)


FIVE:     Remove your lenses before your remove your eye make-up.
(This is so important, people! And, always always always remove your make-up before going to bed!)


And here's a professional tip (...from the booklet, of course. I am no eye specialist...) :

20/20/20 BREAK RULE:     
Every 20 minutes, rest your eye for 20 seconds by looking at a distant object at least 20 feet away.

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Cool? So, are all you users of lenses doing the above? Do share!
I am off to rest my eyes for 20 seconds.

Till then...

(Haha! I am probably going to take 2000 seconds... well, it's nap time! :D)

EOTD 03 : Bright Greens

~ " Green is the best color in the whole wide world! " ~ Elaine Chin

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The above shows my quote of the day. :)

Here's a quick eye look that I put together today. Only three eyeshadow colors for the lid and brows. 

Easy-peasy!

Eyes

NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Rocky Mountain Green

Elianto Vibrant Shadow in Jewellery Green, Young Lemon and Ivory Black

Jewellery Green, Young Lemon, Ivory Black

1) Apply a green base (NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Rocky Mountain Green) all over the lid area, a little passed the crease.

2) Place a bright green (Elianto Young Lemon) on the lid area where the base was applied earlier, leaving the outer corner untouched.

3) Now, use a deeper green (Elianto Jewellery Green) on the outer corner and blend it in with the bright green.

4) Use a black eyeshadow (Elianto Ivory Black) to line the eyes and to lightly fill in the brows.

Photos taken with flash.

Photos taken without flash in normal daylight.

This look is great for hooded lids as well! The color still peeks through!

And here are both eyes, one all made up and the other as bare as it can be. Hahaha!

Till the next post... 

Part Two: Brush Roll Review

I am back, everyone! Thank you for dropping by my blog. Do not forget to leave a comment. That would be much appreciated. :)

If you have missed out Part One, click here!

10) Angled Flat Eyeshadow Brush (three of them)

Great for placing eyeshadow at the outer-V area of the eye. Good for blending out eyeshadow at the crease as well. I have three of them in this brush roll. One can never have too many brushes like this. 

Verdict : YAY

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11) Pencil Eyeshadow Brush

One of my favorite kind of brushes! I really like pencil brushes. The pointy tip makes precise eyeshadow application an ease especially for crease work or lash lines. I definitely want more pencil brushes. This brush is really soft but stiff enough to smudge out eyeliners.

Verdict : YAY

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12) Angled Blush Brush

You will see that this brush and the one mentioned after this looks pretty similar. The reason I picked this brush as a blush brush because it is much softer and it does not give that much precision as I would like for contouring. But, I wish the brush head was a little bigger so that blending color on the cheeks would be easier as it would cover more area on the cheeks. 

Verdict : NAY

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13) Angled Contour Brush

If only the blush brush mentioned above had the size just like this contour brush. This is stiffer and bigger and great for contour, in my opinion. It gives precision when blending a darker-than-my-skin-tone powder onto contour areas such as the temples of my forehead, under the cheekbones and the jawline. The bristles are not too dense therefore it won't pick up too much color. 

Verdict : YAY

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14) Face Powder Brush (two of them)

For the face, my favorite kind of brush is the powder brush and the one that comes in this brush roll is no exception. It is one of my favorites because it is big and soft and feels great on the face. I prefer using powder brushes over powder puffs for reasons of hygiene. Do check out the Etude House powder brush because that is simply awesome! This comes second. :)

Verdict : YAY

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15) Fan Powder Brush

Definitely the biggest brush in the roll. This fan brush is huge! It is spanned out really wide and covers a good area on the face while powdering. Bristles are very soft and it feels great on the face. I am new to fan brushes but this one is slowly growing on me. It might become my favorite face brush soon. 

Verdict : YAY

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16) Fan Blush Brush

A smaller, thinner and sparser fan brush compared to the one above. Because of how sparse this brush is, it tends to get out of shape pretty easily. I have tried it on as a blush brush and it does pick up a good amount of color, just right for the cheeks for application but that is just as good as it gets. Do not rely on this brush to blend out your blush because the bristles are just not thick enough. I definitely prefer the conventional blush brush.

Verdict : NAY

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That wraps up my brush roll review on all 24 brushes (some brushes are similar). Once again, bear in mind that this is how I PERSONALLY USE the brushes that come in different shapes and sizes. Thank you all for reading. Do not forget to leave a comment! 

Till then...

My Mini M.A.C Collection (edited)

I have several M.A.C (Make-up Art Cosmetics) items - some of which were given by very dear friends, but mostly purchased with my own money. M.A.C is in my 'pricey' or 'high-end' list of brands therefore I only purchase items I really want and which I think is worth my money. I definitely do my research online by reading reviews before purchasing an item. Overall, I think M.A.C is indeed a very good cosmetics brand and if I had a little more money, I definitely would not mind getting more products to slowly grow my personal M.A.C collection (am currently lusting the eyeshadows! gahhh!).

Anyways, here goes. :)

1) LIPS

M.A.C lipglosses are vanilla-scented which I really like. M.A.C carries several types of lipglosses such as the standard lipglass to plushglass and etc. Do check out their official website for a more detailed description of each type. 

L-R : 

(a) Tricolor Lipglass in SIMPLY DELICIOUS (sheer coral-red) - thank you MESHUGA!

(b) Lipglass in VIVA GLAM GAGA (semi-opaque cool-toned pink)

(c) Cremesheen Glass in FASHION SCOOP (sheer baby pink)

(d) Dazzleglass in VIA VENETO (shimmery purple with blue glitter)

(e) Plushglass in NICE BUZZ (shimmery champagne)

L-R: Simply Delicious, Viva Glam Gaga, Fashion Scoop, Via Veneto, Nice Buzz

2) FACE

I absolutely love M.A.C blushes. They have a great selection of colors and the blushes are long-lasting. The blushes come in a rather large pan size. Although I purchased these three over a year ago and use them relatively much, I have yet to hit pan! Great value, eh! Oh, definitely use a light-hand when applying M.A.C blushes because they are highly pigmented. Just see the pictures below. Va-va-voom bright!

L-R: 

(a) Sheertone blush in PINCH O' PEACH (matte mauve-pink) - thank you MESHUGA!

(b) Sheertone blush in INSTANT CHIC (matte coral-peach)

(c) Blush Ombre in RIPE PEACH 

     This blush is a gradient of shimmery orange to a matte coral-red (see blush pan).

     The middle swatch below is the bottom part of the pan which is the matte coral-red. 

     The fourth swatch below is the middle part of the pan which is a perfect coral.

     The last swatch below is the top part of the pan which is a shimmery orange.

L-R: Pinch O' Peach, Instant Chic, Ripe Peach

3) EYES
I own two cream eyeliners that come in pots. These eyeliners have a very smooth texture, great color pay-off and long-lasting power on my semi-oily lids.

BLACKTRACK is a matte black and RICH GROUND is a shimmery reddish brown.

I have a M.A.C Paint Pot in CORAL CREPE which is a deep coral eyeshadow base that is used before powder eyeshadow application. The paint pot will prevent creasing on lids and also enhance the eyeshadow color. Another base I own is the M.A.C Cream Color Base in SHELL which is a frosty pink-beige which can be used either on the eyes as a base or cheekbones as highlight. Finally, two M.A.C pigments - MELON (shimmery copper gold) and SHIMMERTIME (shimmery baby pink) are loose colored powder that I use as eyeshadows. These two shades or gorgeous! Check out the swatches below.

L-R: Coral Crepe, Shell, Melon (top-right), Shimmertime (bottom-right)

Paint Pot in Coral Crepe

Cream Color Base in Shell

L-R: Melon and Shimmertime (I forgot to take individual pictures of these pigments. Sorry!)

That is it for my mini M.A.C collection. No intention of expanding it just yet. Haha! But when I do, that will be another blog post.

Till then...


EDIT: I missed out on one more item - the M.A.C Powerpoint Pencil in PERMAPLUM. It is a pencil eyeliner that is a deep plum color. Perfect for days that you won't want to go totally black but something dark enough to enhance the eyes. This pencil eyeliner was a gift with purchase.