BEAUTY: Sephora Birthday Gift 2016

Awww yeah - it's that time once again! New year, new free Sephora Beauty Insider birthday gift!

This year, Sephora gives you a choice for your birthday freebie: a skincare set including Fresh Soy Face Cleanser and Rose Face Mask, or a cute little Marc Jacobs cosmetics set. 

Decisions, decisions...

I went the makeup route, because duh, and the set includes a black eyeliner pencil and a rosy nude lipstick. Specifically, you'll receive the Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye Crayon in Blacquer and the Le Marc Lip Creme in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The eyeliner is 0.01 oz and the lipstick is 0.03 oz.

I'm pretty happy with this set overall (I mean, it was free so I'd be kind of a jerk to complain), and I'll actually use up both products, which is nice. I have many black eyeliner pencils in my life, but I can see a spot for this lil' guy to work his way in. The formula is very creamy and smooth, and it glided easily on my waterline without hesitation or the pigment weakening. The darkness you see in the swatch (below) is what you'll see on your eye. 

I'd compare the velvety feel of the pencil to Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Perversion, as both are incredibly black and almost shockingly smooth. Yes, shockingly. I guess I'm easily shocked?

One note - you CAN sharpen this eyeliner, despite its plastic/metal packaging. Some people assume these can't be sharpened (like NARS lip pencils or NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils), but they can if your sharpener is sturdy enough. I use the NARS sharpener, which is only $6 and honestly life-changing, assuming your life only needs changing in sharpening-related matters.

This lipstick is a sleeper hit; at first, I was like, 'oh cool, another pinky-nude, whatever' (side note: when did I get so spoiled and jaded about free designer lipstick?), but once I applied it I was surprised how much I loved it. The color is more pink on my lips and reads as more of a standout shade than you might assume by looking at the tube. It's just really good! It would also work nicely on a large spectrum of skin tones, I think.

The tube if small, but not flimsy so it's perfect to throw in your purse. It also has a satisfying 'click' when you close it, and I love nothing more than a satisfying click, lipstick or otherwise.

It goes on opaque in one creamy swipe, with a satin finish that lasts for hours, provided you don't eat or drink anything, making it the perfect lipstick for both fictional characters and ghosts. Humans will probably have to reapply every few hours.

Swatches: Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Creme in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (top) and Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye Crayon in Blacquer

Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Creme in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on my lips

Are you looking forward to the Sephora Beauty Insider birthday gift this year? Any other awesome birthday freebies you'd like to share with the class?

BEAUTY: Purple Smoky Eye Tutorial

I would say that I lean toward the colorful side of the world (maybe you noticed?) and I just can't get down with neutral smoky eye looks, no matter how many times Cosmo or whatever tells us how essential they are. I do like brown and gray eyeshadows, but when I'm going to the trouble of using multiple shades, like in this smoky eye look, I want some color payoff that pops. I love purple eyeshadow because it can be dark enough to seem conventional or bright enough to seem experimental. Also, it is supposedly a "good" color for those of us with brown eyes, according to the companies that are trying to sell us eye-color-specific eyeshadow palettes. Who can we trust if not them?

WHAT YOU NEED

 Purple Eyeshadow Palette {I'm using the Wet n Wild Petal Pusher palette}
Purple Eyeliner Pencil {I'm using Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On Liner in Lust}
Black Gel Eyeliner {I'm using Wet n Wild gel liner in Little Black Dress}
Mascara  //  Eyeshadow Brush  //  Crease Brush  //  Eyeliner Brush

HOW TO DO IT
As you can see above, I added numbers to the shades we're using to keep it simple. First, use the eyeshadow brush to sweep shade #1 all over your lid from lash line to brow bone. 

Next, apply shade #2 to your crease with the crease brush (duh).

Use the crease brush again to apply shade #3 in the outer corner of your eyes. You're going for a "V" shape situation here, so imagine a letter "V" with its butt diagonal from the end of your eyebrow and its mouth about to chomp down on the outer half of your eyelid. That analogy actually makes this sound more complicated than it is, and it really makes the letter "V" out to be kind of a jerk, but work with me here.

Use a small fluffy brush (I'm using my crease brush AGAIN mostly because it was right there) to apply shade #4 just under your eyebrow and in the inner corner of your eye as a highlighter.

Next, I applied a bit of shade #2 to the outer half of my bottom lash line and shade #4 to the inner half of my bottom lash line. An eyeliner or smudge brush works best here, but I'm using an eyeshadow brush because I can't stress enough how close it was to me.

Next, I applied my gel eyeliner. I wrote about some BH gel liner recently which I was not super happy with, but this Wet n Wild gel liner is pretty decent. I've been using it daily and have been happy with its lack of transferring and its staying power. It is SO easy to apply and very pigmented. I don't know how, but Wet n Wild keeps tricking me into buying things with Fergie's name on them, which I never saw coming.

Finally, I put on mascara and applied the purple pencil liner to my waterline for a purple-y pop. The phrase "purple-y pop" is like the word equivalent of a bouncy ball. Say it in your mind...now try to stop. Sorry, but it's actually impossible.

THE FINAL LOOK

You know it's summer because these nose freckles are OUT TO PLAY.

In case you prefer illustrations to humans, below is a instructional graphic that I made just for you. Also, you should know that an illustration will NEVER love you back no matter how hard you try.

Hey, these numbers match the numbers above - what a coincidence!

I should also add that the mascara I used is TERRIBLE. I got it free with the purchase of a small eyeshadow palette and thought I'd give it a try, which I did here, but found it to do almost nothing for my lashes. It felt too liquidy in the tube, and seemingly ceased to exist when I put it on my eyes. I would call this ghost mascara, meaning that it was invisible, not that it is a ghost beauty product, in case that wasn't clear. I don't want anyone getting any ideas.

So, are you down with purple eyeshadow? Don't you get kind of bored with neutrals and black/gray looks? Why is Wet n Wild so AMAZING most of the time and then truly suckish at others? The world's great mysteries...

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BEAUTY: BH Cosmetics Gel Eyeliner Review

I consider a cat eye look to be one of my closest friends (no offense to my human-type friends) and we generally get together every day. Usually it's a good time - a quick swoop across each lid and I'm good to go. I stick with liquid eyeliner 99% of the time because it's what works best for me (and because I'm fiercely loyal, but we can talk about my delightful qualities another time), but I was getting sick of trying new subpar products. 

I had a great run with an eyeliner pen, but when it stopped working out I went on a journey to a land I'd only read about: gel eyeliners. A sort-of-sister to liquid liner, gel is thicker and more pliable, but I'd never tried it myself due to a lack of good drugstore options. BH Cosmetics is an online brand selling eyeshadow palettes, loose glitter and tools among other things, and I found some favorable reviews of their gel eyeliner so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Here are my thoughts:

BH Cosmetics Gel Eyeliner

I bought the BH Cosmetics gel eyeliner in Atlantic (blue) and Onyx (black). These were on sale for $3.50 each (and currently are again - or maybe they are always "on sale?").

BH Cosmetics Gel Eyeliner in Onyx (left) and Atlantic (right)

My initial thoughts were that the blue was GORGEOUS and that both gel liners were super pigmented. Off to a great start! The product was really soft and easy to play with, which made application a breeze. I was shocked how easily these both applied. I've been using eyeliner for more than half my life, and I think these were the easiest liners I've ever applied, including liquid pens.

I used this angled eyeliner brush from ELF. Whoever invented this type of brush is a genius and deserves the many riches I am sure have been bestowed upon them. I can't believe I waited so long to use this brush! All this time I've been letting my own wrist do the bending like a fool.

Clearly I could not wait to touch this before snapping a photo. Don't steal my finger print, please

The gel liner in Atlantic is a great unusual shade of blue - not quite light or dark and really pops on your eyes. This one was completely opaque in one coat. It felt like I was painting, but somehow even easier. No snagging or smudging here. It was easy to build line thickness where I wanted it and even out any areas that needed it. The cat eye flick/wing was also simple due to the soft formula and controllable brush. It would also work well with a slanted eyeliner brush, but I am definitely partial to the bent brush.

Onyx was a bit of a different story because I found it to wear off really quickly after application. Like the blue, it was opaque and went on very smoothly, but within an hour I'd find tiny black smudges on my face and hands. The blue shade did not move AT ALL, so I was confused by the messiness of the onyx shade. Bummer too, since this was going to be my every day liner.

Just not quite crisp enough for my liking!

It didn't completely run off my eyes, but its general smudging made it too high maintenance for me. I tried it on several occasions and always got the same results. I'm trying to find another use for it so if I ever take up professional football (who knows?) I will smudge it under my eyes.

They offer so many colors at such a good price that I'm willing to gamble again on other fun shades, like Fresh (a pearly mint green) or Lilly (a shimmery purple) in the future. Now that I know I'm into gel eyeliner I'm willing to try some new brands, too.

Have you ever tried BH Cosmetics? Are you a gel eyeliner devotee or just gel curious? What is the best black eyeliner out there for upper lids?

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