Eye Can't Do It... Or Can I?

My friends... I have a confession to make.

I have issues with eyeliner.

There. I said it.

I speak the truth, y'all.

I am terrible with eyeliner. I can't draw a straight line to save my life. I rely on excruciatingly slow processes and painstaking application methods to get something that even resembles a straight line, and even then I usually end up having to use a q-tip or a smudge brush to soften it.

I don't know what my problem is. I've watched the YouTube tutorials, I've spent limitless time in front of the mirror trying to practice... I just can't get both eyes to have the same, even, straight line unless I spent about twenty minutes on each one.

It is so frustrating.

There is one thing that really helps, though... The influx of gel & cream liners that seem to be flooding the market lately make me so happy! For some reason I have much better luck applying liner with a brush than with an actual eye pencil. For this reason alone I've spent way too much money on various shades of Bobbi Brown's Long-wear Gel Eyeliner.

At $21 it's not heinously priced, but it's not quite easy on the wallet. It is, however, my favorite of all the cream/gel liners that I've tried. It's easy to use, goes on smoothly, and stays on forever.

On a recent drugstore makeup binge, the same one that led me to discover the Maybelline Eye Studio Color Plush quads, also gave me a potential alternative to my beloved Bobbi Brown.

Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner

It's priced at $9.99 it is certainly easier on the wallet, the packaging is pretty close to Bobbi Brown's, which I love, and it comes with it's own application brush... This is a no-lose situation, girls.

[photo credit: Temptalia]

I immediately lunged for this little baby in the Plum shade and tore it open the second I got home.

[photo credit: Temptalia]

The consistency is a little... I'm not sure how to describe it, but I don't think it is as thick or pigmented as the Bobbi Brown. The swatch above is from the fabulous Temptalia, and the reviewer there loved it. It actually took me a few tries before I decided that I did, indeed, like it very much. At first I couldn't get an even application and the color looked a little sheer, but once I got into a groove it really did look the way it does in that swatch. It's a very pretty color, it goes on pretty smooth, but you may need a few layers to really get a saturated color.

All in all, a pretty decent product at half the price of Bobbi Brown.

Anyone else tried this liner? Did you have the same issues I did with getting a fully saturated application? Let me know!

[photo credits: bobbibrowncosmetics.com, temptalia.com, maybelline.com]

Made of AWESOME

There are a few things in life that earn the title 'made of awesome' from me...

These things include NYC pizza, Midnight in Moscow nail polish by OPI, Stitch, Bond No. 9 Perfume - especially Chinatown, Rob Pattinson's hair, the Balenciaga Motorcrycle bag... And now I can add something to the list.

Bobbi Brown's Limited Edition Chrome Palette is made of something even better than awesome - SPARKLES!

No, seriously. Tons and tons and TONS of sparkles and I LOVE it! There's a few lovely matte shades to compliment the shimmers, but the standouts for me are the awesome metallic shades. Storm Cloud and Moonlight Sparkle Eye Shadows practically make the price tag worth it ($75 bucks - yikes!).

I haven't experimented much with the other colors yet, but I have no doubts that they're all super fun. The lip glosses are all very pretty and very flattering - they're pretty neutral so they should work on all skin tones. You also get a pretty decent shadow brush and a mini lip brush with the kit, so when you think about that, plus four glosses and ten shadows, the price tag isn't that bad.

So? Worth the hype? How about the cash? Let me know what you think!

[photo credits: bobbibrowncosmetics.com]

Shimmer Me Timbers!

Metallic is so the new black right now.

Bobbi Brown Metallic Long-Wear Cream Shadow is the perfect way to add a little shimmer into your daily life. Bobbi's cream shadows are some of the best I have ever tried. The pigment is always very pretty, very buildable, and practically goof-proof. They also last forever. This award-winning product is now being offered in 8 new shimmering shades that can give you the slightest hint of sheer iridescent sparkle or an all out dramatic night-on-the-town look depending on how you apply it.

The sparkle... Oh, the sparkle!! Be still my heart. I can't wait to get my hands on this stuff!

Anybody tried it yet?

[photo credits: temptalia.com]

Purple haze all in my brain...

Is it just me, or has purple been the it color for like...years?

Not that I have any problems with purple. In fact, I'm a pretty big fan. I have tons of clothes and accessories in every shade from lilac to plum to violet and I use them regularly.

But purple makeup is a stumper for me. I always oooh and ahhh over it at makeup counters. I'm constantly told that purple shades will make my hazel eyes appear more green, which is something I love since it's sometimes hard to convince people I even have hazel eyes because they're kind of dark. I also have a drawer full of various shades of purple that I absolutely love...in theory.

I'll use a dusting here or a sweep there and that's about as far as I ever go. I even have purple blush that does quite a brilliant job making me look bright and glowy (thank you Bobbi Brown Violet Face Palette!) but I even find myself shying away from that and have no idea why.

Well, color me totally shocked when I saw this on the Sephora website and immediately wanted to drool:

Oh. Em. Gee. Make my eyes look like THAT!! Pretty please?? (a little lighter on the eyeliner, especially under the eye, and I think this could even be considered appropriate for daytime)