I'm a sucker for anything free - even if I don't need it. Case in point, not too long back, Ulta was running a GWP promotion and I opted for a particular smokey colored eyeliner as part of my GWP because I was lacking in a smokey, dark gray eyeliner.

I would have done better to just refuse this part of the GWP in all honesty.

Smoke is a dark, blackened gray that would make for a perfect smoky liner shade - which is what I had in mind when I picked this one up. It is housed in a normal pencil format and sharpens like an actual pencil - no bells and whistles about it. Its about an average length for drugstore liners - not as short as CoverGirl Liquiline Blast and just a touch shorter than Revlon ColorStay. 

I don't even know where to start...You know that sigh of defeat when you purchase something without the luxury of swatching it - and when you swatch it you quickly become aware of your mistake? That's where I was; which is probably why I put of using/testing this shade for as long as I did. This thing is nearly as sharp as an actual pencil! It felt scratchy even against my hand when I first swatched it - Imagine how it felt on my waterline! When I finally got a little bit of color to deposit on my waterline, it was still incredibly sheer - I found myself applying copious amounts of UD Mushroom over it with a push liner brush. It doesn't apply, it doesn't stay and it almost hurts to apply!

The goth kid in me that, deep down, still remains decided to take a lighter to it to try to amp up the color and make it more creamy (which I still swear by!)...and, erm...don't mind my mobile photo, but...?

So...it just kind of disintegrated into a puddle of goo. Needless to say, that technique was out of the question - not to mention that it dried down to a finish like candle wax and flaked off. So weird! 

Overall:

Pros;

- None.

Cons:

- Tugs/sharp.

- Sheer/uneven.

- Difficult to apply.

- Very short wear time.

Can I go as far as to say this is probably the worst eyeliner that I've ever used? I'm actually nearly speachless about how badly this liner sucked. For $8 or less go for something like Milani Liquifeye or CoverGirl Liquiline Blast and steer clear of this awful thing. 

Thank God it was free.

1/10 - Absolutely not.  

Review - NARS Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Barrow Street

I was able to sneak this product into the rotation before my complete eye allergic reaction meltdown this week, thank goodness. NARS' summer collection is (finally) live at Sephora!

As much of a neutral hoarder that I am when it comes to eyeshadows, one could take that and multiply it by at least twice as much and it would show my tendencies towards liner. I have a couple colorful liners in my collection, but I find myself often just staying with black, or when I'm feeling pretty feisty, maybe gray! I'm boring, but I blame it on my tendency towards a bold lip and a neutral eye.

So needless to say, this shade is a bit out of my comfort zone. However, it wast just so pretty; I had to have it.

Barrow Street is housed in a black, matte, automatic pencil with a pop of color at the end to show what  to expect from the shade. Do not try to sharpen the whole pencil, as it is completely automatic - It just looks like an average pencil.

There is a small sharpener to keep the tip sharp that fits into the very end of the pencil.

NARS describes Barrow Street as a "seafoam green" and I believe the shade is named after a street in NYC. Seafoam Green is pretty on point as its a touch to vibrant to be considered a mint green and it does have very subtle blue undertones. 

I began by trying to apply Barrow Street on my waterline, which was both successful and unsuccessful. It was successful in application; it applied opaque and even on my waterline and for anything this pale of a shade, it really surprised me. But the lack of success was in how it looked on the waterline - just a little too crazy for work. 

I then decided to wear this on my upper lashline and wing it out ever so slightly. This is where the shade really shines. I wore this with NARS Euphrate on the lid and MAC Copperplate in the crease and just built this up across the lashline and it was stunning! Super vibrant and fun while still remaining work appropriate. It applied very opaque without much work, but did tug on my lid, which kinda bummed me out. If I were to warm this with my lighter (yes, I still do that) I feel like I could eliminate some of the tugging.  

The wear time of this was actually pretty freaking phenomenal, especially due to what I tried to put it though. Towards the later hours of my wear test of this shade is when my eyes were really starting to give me problems, and they were very much swelling and watering. This liner, however, Did. Not. Go. Anywhere. It stayed intact until I decided to remove it about 8 or 9 hours after application when my eyes could not take any more and I started flushing them with water. (By the way, I'm seeing a bit of an improvement today! Hallelujah!) Even then I had to do a teensy bit of scrubbing to get this liner 100% off my lashline, which kind of impressed me.

Overall:

Pros: 

- Vibrant shade.

- Great color payoff and opaque without work - wherever you decide to apply.

- Very sturdy packaging, especially for a automatic pencil.

- Incredibly longwearing.

Cons:

- Tugs a bit in application.

I'm really surprised by the incredibly long wear time of this shade, as I'm not used to liners wearing that long on my upper lashline. I can absolutely deal with a little bit of tugging if the finish is so mess free and has such longevity. Barrow Street definitely makes me want to check out the rest of the Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner range. 

Note - I am not sure if this is limited edition or not, but since it is part of the Summer Collection, it may be a safe assumption that it is. Pick it up now rather than later.

9/10.

Review - Flower Cosmetics Easy on the Eyes Long Wear Eyeliner in Aubergine

I just love Drew Barrymore. Something about her as an actress; shes both talented and genuine. Naturally, when I heard word of her cosmetics line, I had to get in on it!

The swatch on the left is lightly built up and the swatch on the right is one pass. Aubergine is a blackened plum with warm tones to it. Its one of those "colored liners for people who don't do colored liner" shades. I wore it with a very neutral eye for a little bit of character and it was very subtle. 

The pigment of this liner actually surprised me, as I normally do not have a whole lot of luck with drugstore eyeliners. It defined my waterline with not very much work and did not tug or pull. As habit, I always set my liner with a correlating powder eyeshadow, and I saw very little migrating of this product, which I even get from higher end liners. 

My only complaint goes along with this type of product in general. I don't particularly like automatic pencils. I feel that they are flimsy and more difficult to work with. This one "sharpens" quite quickly and its easy to accidentally sharpen/retract the liner while using it. It also makes it feel a little shaky. I find that automatic pencils in general are so much more prone to breaking, so it is a touch bothersome.

Overall:

Pros:

- Longwearing.

- Neutral take on a "fashion color"

- Cruelty free.

Cons:

- Automatic pencil, flimsy packaging.

It is a pretty solid liner across the board, I just wish it was in a pencil form rather than an automatic pencil form. The formula is definitely top notch, and I'm strongly considering revisiting the brand.

8/10

Review - Rimmel London Scadaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in Taupe

If its taupe, I need it. When I saw this shade debut, I was thrilled. I don't have a liner in my collection like it.

Do you know how many drugstores I went to before I found this? Ugh.

After a thorough testing, I've come to the conclusion that it isn't a holy grail, but it has its place in my collection.

The shade of this eyeliner is actually true to its name. Its not gray, and its not brown. Its actually taupe. If you were to use the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tough As Taupe in a liner, this is what you would get. I ADORE the color of this liner. It is very flattering on my skin.

I very rarely wear liner on my upper lash line unless it is a liquid liner or a very sturdy gel, so I did not test this as such. I have big eyes, so I can pull off having any degree of liner on my waterline without making my eyes look too small.  On the waterline, this wasn't the 100% most pigmented shade in my collection, but it very much accentuated my lower lashline while depositing a smaller amount of color on the waterline itself. The outcome was actually beautiful. I had a slight brightness to my inner waterline, but I didn't have to go as far as lining under my lashline. It almost looked like it was in between each and every lash. It gave me a nice, subtle definition, while taking a step away from my usual bold black liner. The wear time in turn was actually pretty great. It didn't migrate, and it lasted all day.

Overall;

Pros:

- Unique finish on the waterline.

- Newer take on a neutral eye.

- Great wear time.

Cons:

- Not 100% pigmented on the waterline, but not in a dealbreaking manner.

I really like this product; I find myself reaching for it when I wan't a little less drama or a huge doe eyed effect. I already have this in Deep Blue, which is awaiting test, and every time I see someone swatch Light Blue I just really want to try it, even though it is WAY out of my comfort zone. 

8/10

Color Close-up - In honor of Saint Patrick's Day, Green!

Being mostly of Irish descent (Irish and French) I feel that the color green is genetically predisposed to look phenomenal on my skin. So I kinda hoard greens. For fun and in honor of St. Patty's day, I decided to swatch em' all out! (Pic heavy!)

 Liners;

Left to right: 

- Wet N' Wild ColorIcon Eyeliner in Green - Emerald, but a bit teal-y

- Wet N' Wild ColorIcon Eyeliner in Olive - Golden olive green.

- Milani Liquid Eye Liquid Like Eye Liner in Green - Blackened emerald.

Shadows:

- The Body Shop Eyecolor in Spearmint - Icy blue-ish mint green. (PHENOMENAL FORMULA! I thought it was discontinued, but I just found it was available on line. I'll have to ask my contact in store!) 

- L'oreal Infallible 24 Hour Eye Shadow in Golden Sage - Cool toned sage green. Not really golden..

- Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Wet/Dry Shadow in Glamerald - Cool toned emerald green with silver shimmer. Baked formula. (Discontinued)

- Victoria's Secret Shimmer Eye Shadow in Forbidden - Sage-y green with slight metallic sheen. (Discontinued)

- L'Oreal Infallible 24 Hour Eye Shadow in Golden Emerald - Dark sage green with gold shimmer sheen and incredible pigmentation.

- Victoria's Secret Silky Eye Shadow in Risk - Deep, cool toned emerald. (Discontinued)

- NYX Nude Matte Shadow in Confession - Khaki/olive green. Matte and lovely.

- Urban Decay Loaded - Blackened emerald with metallic sheen and phenomenal pigmentation.

- Wet N' Wild Drinking Glass of Shine (Lid Shade) - Matte kelly green, pulls a bit teal. (Discontinued)

- Wet N' Wild Comfort Zone (Lid Shade) - Pearly gilded sage.

- Wet N' Wild Cool as a Cucumber (Browbone Shade) - Matte pale mint.

- Wet N' Wild Cool as a Cucumber (Lid Shade) - Medium emerald with soft sheen.

- Too Faced Bouquet toss - Pale chartreuse green; matte. 

- Too Faced Honeymoon - Golden sage with strong sheen. 

- Bare Minerals Ready Eyeshadow in Editor's Pick - Metallic emerald with teal undertones.

- Urban Decay Libertine - Black with strong green tones and glitter/shimmer. (Discontinued)

- Maybelline Perfect Pastels in Seashore Frost (Liner Shade) - Blackened emerald with very soft shimmer.

Nails:

Disregard my horrendous handwriting; more for me to remember what I put where!

- L'oreal Pistachio Dream - Cool toned, pastel mint. Very light. (Limited Edition)

- Sally Hansen X-Treme Wear in Mint Sorbet - Mid-tone mint green.

- Essie Maximilian Strasse-Her - Pale sage with gray tones. Stunning in the nail! (Limited Edition?)

- L'oreal Safari Chic - Medium khaki green. On my nails right now.
- Hello Kitty Nail Polish - Don't judge me. This is a warmer, avocado type green.
- Essie Mojito Madness - True Kelly Green.
- Sinful Colors Green Ocean - Clear Base with green and blue microglitter. Definitely a layering polish.

- Sinful Colors Leap Frog - Blackened teal green.

- Essie Stylenomics - Deep blackened emerald creme.

- Essie Crocadilly - Metallic silver with green tones.

- Maybelline Color Show in Tenacious Teal - True emerald with blue tones.

- Sally Hanson HD in Resolution (I think.) - Medium green with multi-colored shimmer. (Discontinued)

- Sally Hanson X-Treme Wear in Emerald City - True, rich emerald.

- ELF Green Machine - Cool, dark emerald.

- Revlon Top Speed Fast Dry Nail Enamel in Mistletoe - Black metallic with sage green tones.  

Between Saint Patrick's Day and Emerald being Pantone's Color of the Year, I'm definitely stoked on the greens as of late! Leave some of your favorites from your collections in the comments!