Pencil-Perfect with Marc Jacobs Sky-liner

It's a bit early for Xmas giftsets.

 Then again, it isn't that early yet. So I have been so nice to do some research into makeupsets and get the Marc Jacobs Sky-liner set; purely for the aforementioned altruistic purpose, ofcourse.

Like last time with the Dreamer palette, I had a back-to-school feeling when opening the box:

 It would be a sandwich-box for one-slice-only people, but as far as I understood bread is sooo non-fashionable?

This lunchbox is more of a feast for the eyes:

It contains 7 pencils in mini sizes: five are from their permanent line and the hottest two are limited editions to this set. Ohhh...

And with names:

Time for swatches; at 1st sight:

Closer:

•  [O]vert is that dark-khaki colour that looks either dark-brown or -grey from a distance. Up close it looks like a moody green that will make hazel eyes appear more green. Also, a soft colour for natural redheads & blondes. It has less sparkle than the others but is still lustruous
• Brown[out] is a vivid & sparkly darker brown with a mix of warm & neutral tones. 

 

• Sunset [LE] is a brick orangy colour that will make blue or green eyes appear either brighter or perhaps a bit rabbity (depends on your natural lightness & whether you tightline). It will bring out a soft glow in brown to darker eyes. It has a metallic formula
•  Midnight in Paris [LE] is a navy colour with a lightblue sparkly overlay.

 

• [Th]ink is a deep blue-based purple with a soft metallic glow (slightly pink-purple). Absolutely gorgeous!
• [Plum]age is a purple with a red base with a fleck-like pink metallic overlay.

As for Blaquer: it's just as matte & velvety as the 1st photo so I will not show different angles of it.

I really love the quality of the pencils, but this is a personal preference. It's a softer formula which makes it easier to blend and apply to more mature eyelids. It stays on me for about 8 hours before I get some wear. It does not flake or merges on my cheeks.

Also, the easy twist-up shape is wonderful for people who don't like to sharpen like every day:

Hence, travel-friendly.

Generally, I really adore my new pencils and I have some brilliant new colours I did not have in my collection. They remind me of Pixi Endless Silky Eyepencils, in both quality as colours. The sizes are quite big for mini-sizes, but small enough to tote around. The glossy overlay over the pencil protects it from denting, hence I have a feel they will stay pretty for longer. It will make a perfect gift for any girl or even an edgy boy-mate: IMO, even the most makeup-shy women seem to wear a bit of pencil every now and then.

CONCLUSION: The sky is not the limit with these adorably beautiful and functional eyeliners.

Available at Sephora for $45.00

Gosh Lip Laquer in Funky Lips, Dangerous lips and Forever Eyeshadow in Green

This week I blogged about some newbie Gosh. Today I'll show some swatches:

Eventually I bought one, but this week they were discounted to 5 euro so I added another one:

Funky Lips (006) & Dangerous Lips (008)

It is a 'quite nailpolish'-like bottle. Pure marketing strategy: Gosh claims it to be "Manicure for lips"...

 

Opening the bottle is a diffent story: meet the standard lipwand for applying lipgloss: 

The selection has been limited to a modest amount of eight colours: that is normal from Gosh as they do that with almost all of their lipcolours, However, they haven't picked out the most 'universally flattering' hues: the first numbers are quite a pasty bunch.

I picked out 6 and 8 as they were quite opaque and had the right mixture of red and pink enbedded. 7 is suprisingly sheer compared to the other formulas.

I'll start of showing 006: Funky Lips

brrr, goosebumps for early spring weather

 The formula is a dense & glossy reddish pink that covers the lips quite well.

The formula is quite reminiscent to YSL Laque:

I basically added Essence Stay with Me longlasting lipgloss as another drugstore 'longlasting' one, but noticably it doesn't compare to either YSL as Gosh, neither texture nor longevity. 

Hence, I zoomed in on the two comparable ones:

They are absolutely no sisters or twins, colourwise. More like nieces. The texture does compare: both opaque and they adher nicely to the skin. YSL 13 Rose Tempura has shimmer embedded and Gosh 08 Dangerous lips has no shimmer.

Instead of Essence I added Gosh 006 in Funky lips. YSL Rose Tempura is in the midde (cooler and shimmery) and Gosh 008 Dangerous lips is the deepest corally pink:

The feel is somewhat different: YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis a Levres has that certain sticky feeling that I learned to love. Gosh Lip Laquer feels like a total balm on the lips: almost absent.

Gosh fragance is a different story: it is quite a present chemical fruity one that you either tolerate or not. Or perhaps it might dig up some nostalgic teen memories out there. It will dissapear within 10 minutes.

Gosh longevity is quite potent: I had a full testing session and it stayed on quite beautifully after being stuck in a turtleneck shirt. Sometimes my lipglosses will take refuge in my beginning vertical liplines (or worse, da face). It stayed on quite strong for 4 hours and faded into something equally stained. It has been wonderful topping up as I didn't get pigment differences layering it over the older layer. It is not a waterproof/stainproof formula but the thickness really adhers to the lips.

Also new in the display are the Forever Eyeshadows:

The pencil itself:

I picked the Green one as I felt attracted to green that day. Today I made some more swatches of the other colours of my fancy:

Plum is my ultimate next want...It reminds me of my last Addiction Eyeshadow from the Eivissa range (Meeting at Dome). This picture only shows it from one angle but it sparkles around like the Mad Hatter on tea-overload...

I also like blue as it tends to be more purple.

Grey has light blue sparkles and some greens too...interesting.

They are really resistent to water and rubbing as well. Hence, you can use them as an eyeshadow, but be sure to blend them in within a minute otherwise it will stay like a waterproof eyeliner.

They retail for about € 9 which is not that cheap for a drugstore range.

The Gosh Liplaquers are on sale for € 5 right now.

 My cat approves on that price, and those flowers too...Or, it almost seems like Spring!!

Newbies: More Pixi Endless Eyeliners

After liking my first Pixie Endless eyeliner I ventured into more colourful options from their line:

On tissue:

Copper Glow | Deep Plum | Black Blue | True Teal

For more dimension, visit swatch-a-rina DrivellerKate!

PS: Armani Cosmetics [almost] landed in the Netherlands!

You can order it from the Bijenkorf's website right now and get a Mini Maestro lip laquer as a GWP. Or visit the Bijenkorf in Den Haag as it will be launched officially this weekend.

"Black is the new black": eyepencils ft Pixi Endless EyePen

Black eyepencils have a simpler reputation than they actually deserve. They are the working-horses of eyepencil-dom: most people can get away with it, and 'people' implies the rocker dude as well.

But I will refer again to my Orwelian "all black eyepencils are created equal, but some are more equal than others". Also, some are better for tightligning, others between the upper lashes (need some waterproof-ness) and others are the perfect alternative to the liquid eyeliner.

I bought another not so standard black after Drivellerkates claim that they are the closest thing to perfection, only brand Three to be a tad better. Also, there was this amazing Pixi set on Asos.com for €13:

Normally, the Endless eyeliner pencil is €13 alone, so I got a bargain with the Pixi Nailpolish and Tinted brilliance pencil in Rosy Red. (not available anymore)

So Drivellerkate adores her Pixi Endless collection: how would I like mine compared to my black faves?

I talked about purpose of the eyepencil. I use my pure blacks predominantly for tightlining between the upper lashes. That means I need something close to waterproof to keep put.

Swatches: (I have to work on my *symmetry* when doing these)

1. Topshop Waterproof Liner in Ebony
A real kohl formula looking slightly like that charcoal matte formula. I love this for tightlining as it is truly waterproof. Compared to Pixi, next to it, it looks slightly brown.
2. Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in BlackNoir
True black colour that has incredible pigmentation over the skin. Velvety exterior. I consider it bleeding a bit when applying as a tightliner along upper eyelashes.
3. Majolica Majorca Sugary Trap (LE)- Cream Pencil Liner in BK999 Bitter Black
*mine dried up a little*. The most powdery formula: it stays put as a tightliner
4. Mac Kohl Power eye pencil in Feline
Wow, look how glossy it looks? I got this from my *unexplored stash* lately and it looks really glossy and black. As a tightliner it bleeds slightly as well, but it never claims it is waterproof in the first place.
5. Pupa True Eyes eyepencil in 01 Extrablack
Marketed as "extra soft for eyes". Similar texture and colour as Majolica Majorca, this slightly powdery. Does an excellent job in staying put as an eyeliner.

Distance swatch photo:

 

I think the difference in my stash is between colour (true blackness or slightly brownish) and finish (powdery or glazed/glossy). The 'wetter' formulas are often less waterproof and I skip them for tightlining: instead, they function as eyeliner/undereye colour. The dryer formulas feel better in the tightline.

Verdict:

I can really see why DrivellerKate likes these pencils. However, I think they are not superwaterproof as a tightliner. So, the finish is gorgeous and I imagine them even more stunning in the coloured versions as the visible part of eyepencil, eg the traced above the upper lashes or framing the bottom lashes (pure black is a tad too stark for my paler complexion/hair/etc for doing that).

Availability:

Pixibeauty.co.uk has all gorgeous shades, but shipping is a bit steep. Asos.com only has 3 colours, but with free shipping.

Upcoming posts

• Blush-palettes are the latest thing?

Nope, I've seen it before by Shiseido Maquillage. I was remembered by Frontrowbeauty's FOTD how fantastic these are, and will compare them with the Le Metier de Beaute's one.

•  More on the Palette Swatching project:

I finally will swatch The Shiseido Maquillage Alexander Wang palette. It has been a couple of years old when Alexander Wang was an upcoming designer.

• Black is the new black

This amazing post made me buy a Pixi Endless eyeliner pencil. I will compare them with my other 5 fave black eyeliner pencils to see how they can be different in their eyepencil blackness.

Lotree haul:

A couple of days ago I blogged about my new Lotree haul. I will show you the items I got in the Lovely  Faceline set:

Lotree Crazy Orange is a cheek/liptint in a transparant but vivid colour of orange. It is not Lotree's first time making a cheektint. I still have their Cherry bling Liquid Rouge (see below):

They are not of similar opacity: The Cherry Bling is of a more opaque quality whereas the Crazy orange is a rather transparent colour: UPDATED: Lotree crazy orange actually shows up quite well when layering two thin layers.

I think I prefer the deeper opacity of the former Cherry Bling, but I still consider the Crazy orange to be a cute additional colour for the cheeks, for example when pairing up with my orange-toned Burberry Coral lipgloss.

I think the colour is too transparent and too gel-like for lips, but it has a Cool-aid sort of taste so if you do it, it will taste like children's lollipops (in orange).

Secondly, the Longlash Eye Tention Serum is aimed to make lashes grow naturally

My understanding of Korean is quite limited, but like the Latisse products and the other eyelash growth serum it is probably best to use it once a day when the lashes are free of mascara and other makeup. I will keep you updated and plan to look back on it in a couple of months.

The Lotree Moisture Skin Primer Pact in 23 is actually not a primer, but a post-er. Ehm, to be used after base foundation as a powder (according to this site)

It is formulated with licorice, mineral powder, amino acid derivatives and other powder essences, making it a gentle yet skincare-enhancing powder.

Blush, my fave item! The Rosa Davurica Cheek came in 3 colours: there was no explanation or colour swatch of what colour was what, so I randomly picked no 3.

secret layer containing mirror & brush

It turned out to be the bronzer-type colour: slightly flecked with glitter and in beautiful title pattern:

The glitter is not too noticable and the bronzer turns out rather subtle when layered with my NARS Yachiyo brush  (will make better skinswatch soon)

Lotree Davurica Cheek 3

Last, but not least...a creamy eyepencil in a beautiful navy/purple hybrid: Violet DarkBlue Gel Pencil Eyeliner

 I really loved the colour and the texture of the eyepencil:

Until....

Geeeh, the pigmentation of the blue/purple/violet sparkles is more of an overlayer on a black undercolour. That is not a big problem, if only the multicolour of violet/blue/sparkles would stay on consistently: now it fades in the end, making the pencil not really suitable for blending.

Conclusion: I really like this haul although it has some hits and some misses. The blush-that-is-bronzer has already been used a couple of times to warm up my skin & to shade where there should be cheekbones/thinner nose...So that one is a hit so far. I know I shouldn't blend my eyepencil if I want it to appear in that gorgeous multiflecked navy/purple with reddish sparkles. I have been ordering the finishing powder before and I know I like it. I cannot tell anything about the eyelash serum yet. As for the Crazy Orange cheekgel, that one is probably more gimmicky for me than it would be a regular staple, but sometimes a girl likes something frivolous to alternate in the makeup-routine.

Summer Makeup wishlist

1. Jill Stuart Fig Tart blush from the Summer Patisserie Collection

First spotted by reading Rougedeluxe's blog. I love this one because it is a lot brighter and more reddish/pink than the usual collection of blush that Jill Stuart has. And as a food lover, I am smitten by the name :-)

I have seen it online but I still haven't ordered it yet. Probably because this one isn't cheap and I am not too certain about the people selling it.

2. Kose Addiction Lady of the Lake eyeliner pencils (or the lacquer)

screenprint from their video

I think it was the challenge that Yumeko from Bittenbefore gave other beautybloggers to show their collection in colour schemes. Some of the bloggers had trouble finding enough whites but I actually love white eyeliners, and saw that the Lady of the Lake collection has an awesome white pencil called Moonwalk:

Now I know Kose Addiction doesn't come cheap but they often excel in what they do in makeup.

I like the eyelacquers too, but I  am not really into high-makeup when going into the water (pool or sea) but a good pencil often gives out some definition or extra zest to the eyes.

Any specific makeup items you have been eyeing up?