Review: ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer (Sheer)

15 oz/4.5g

$3/₤3

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/minerals/eyes/concealers_and_primers/eyeshadow_primer

http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/en/restofworld/concealers+primers/mineral-eyeshadow-primer/invt/6531/

Found on ELF US website

Found on ELF US website

The ELF mineral eyeshadow primer claims to have “ultimate staying power” to “create longer-lasting, crease-proof eyeshadow” and “beautiful and vibrant color that lasts”. According to ELF it is “100% mineral based with no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes”. Yay. Also contains Vitamins A, C, and E to “help prevent aging and moisturize the skin”. Comes in two colors, sheer (being reviewed) and blush.

Ingredients:

Isododecane, Cylopentasiloxane, Octyl Palmitate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Triacontanyl PVP, Propylene Carbonate, Titanium Dioxide, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Mica (CI 77019), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163).

 

This primer had a strange texture, almost like a little silicone-y, even though there isn’t silicone actually in it. It dries down to an almost powdery finish. It creates a very smooth surface on the lids though, and intensifies the color of eyeshadows a little weenie bit. It isn’t actually completely sheer, I felt it still had the tiniest bit of color- not enough to really be noticeable, but enough to work towards evening out the color of the lid. A nice little touch, I thought, and unexpected at that.

As for longevity… eh. It was better than the cult classic UDPP (you can read my review here, if you are interested to see what I thought), in my opinion, but still a bit lacking in the long-wear department. By the end of the school day (about 8 hours) my eyeshadow would most likely be creased. I do have very oily eyelids, so I really wasn’t expecting miracles.

 

To sum up:

I liked it better than the UDPP, but it still didn’t work for me. For those who like the UDPP, I think this would be a fabulous option and a great way to save what, $15? For those whose lids secrete oil at the rate that mine do, we’ll just have to keep looking, unfortunately.

Rating: D+

ELF Haul!!

I ordered all this stuff ages ago but only got it now… sadly not because of ELF’s shipping, but because I sent it to the wrong address -.-

Anyway, I am super excited about everything I got, and can’t wait to really test it out!

 

Studio HD Blush in Headliner- $3

This blush seems to be a really pretty dolly pink color, I have only swatched it on my hand as of yet. I believe MUFE has a similar product, so I am really interested to see how this one works out.

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio/face/blush/hd_blush

 

Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzer Cream in St. Lucia- $3

I was never super excited by the powder version of this duo. But when they came out with a cream version, I was sold. The blush is a very pretty peachy color with almost a hint of terra-cotta in it. The bronzer is a bit orange, but when applied correctly is pretty wearable… if you are not super pale like winter-me. However, it does look really good on more tanned skin, I tried it out on my sister who lives in Houston, and it looks really nice.

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio/face/blush/contouring_blush_and_bronzing_cream

 

Studio Blush in Blushing Rose- $3

I have used this blush several times since opening it, and really love it so far! It is beautiful rose color with a subtle gold shimmer running through it. It gives a gorgeous flush to the skin, and looks really nice on my Caspar-like skin. I think this would also look really nice on darker skin as well, but you might have to use a denser brush (I use a stippling brush)

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio/face/blush/studio_blush

 

Mineral Eyeshadow Primer in Sheer- $3

I have really oily eyelids so I don’t really have high hopes for this primer (read about my experience with the famous Urban Decay primer here). However, I figured since it was $3 I could try it out before trying the more expensive primers. If it does work, then I have saved myself a fair amount of money. If it doesn’t, it was $3.

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/minerals/eyes/concealers_and_primers/eyeshadow_primer

 

Custom Eyes Eyeshadow Refill in Navy- $1

This looked like a really interesting color, so I figured I would pick it up. I think this would look really good as a smokey eyeliner with a defined upper lash line. I had ordered the color Aubergine too, but they were out of that, apparently. I can’t comment on the quality of the shadow yet as I haven’t done anything more than a quick swatch on my hand.

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/elements/custom_eyes

 

Essentials Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Bark- $1

This is another product that I have worn some since receiving the order, and so far I really like it! It is a pink/brown nude, a very natural color. On my lips it is a very my-lips-but-better color. It seems to be reasonably pigmented. It is a strange texture, more like a gloss than a lipstick, but a very very thick sticky gloss at that. It smells strongly of mint and vanilla and has that tingling sensation you get with plumping glosses, even though this isn’t advertised as being plumping. These features are fine for me, but may put some people off.

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/makeup/lips/lip_stick/luscious_liquid_lipstick

 

**DISCLAIMER: all individual product pictures found on eyeslipsface.com**

Review: Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original)

UrbanDecay.com: $20 (full sized, 11 oz), $9 (travel sized, 0.13 oz)

http://www.urbandecay.com/eyeshadow-primer-potion/296,default,pd.html?start=1&cgid=1_503

Contains parabens.

courtesy of Urban Decay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Urban Decay Primer Potion is advertised as an eyeshadow primer that prevents creasing in eye makeup for up to 24 hours and makes colors more vibrant. It comes in the Original formula (which I will be reviewing), which dries to be invisible, as well as Greed, Sin, and Eden which are all tinted.

Ingredients:

Isododecane, Talc, Cyclopentasiloxane, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Trihydroxystearin, Triethylhexanoin, Isopropyl Lanolate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, VP/Eicosene Copolymer, Dimethicone, PEG-40 Stearate, Propylene Carbonate, Phenoxyethanol, Cera Alba (Synthetic Beeswax), Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Methicone, Isobutylparaben

May Contain:

Mica, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77163 (Bismuth Oxychloride)

I’m sure nearly everyone in the beauty community has heard of the Urban Decay Primer Potion. And everyone seems to love it. Which was why I was very disappointed when it didn’t work for me.

I have quite oily eyelids, and UDPP didn’t really stand a chance. Maybe it extended the wear of my shadows a bit, but they certainly never lasted a full 8-hour day. And this is coming from a product that claims to last 24 hours. I don’t really expect any product to do that, but for that claim, not lasting 8 hours just doesn’t cut it. In addition, I find that the product doesn’t deliver in terms of vibrancy claims either; my shadows don’t look any different applied with or without primer. I must say though, the primer does have a really nice consistency and makes the texture of my eyelid more even.

I have the travel-sized version (which has lasted me about a year, with pretty consistent use at certain times), and I really like the packaging of it. It looks really cool for starters, and I think the bent doe-foot applicator is a very good way to apply the product. I hate the new packaging of the full-sized product; I always squeeze out too much. For the clear version it’s not that much of an issue, but for the versions with shimmer squeezing out too much is guaranteed to make a huge, shimmery mess, which is a pain in the ass.

The Verdict:

While this product may work for people with less oily eyelids, it just does not work for me. The product fell way short of its claims; it claimed to make eyeshadow last 24 hours and then didn’t even last 8. This is very disappointing coming from such a hyped-up product.

Rating: D-

Review: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils (Yogurt, Cottage Cheese)

Ulta: $4.49

Douglas: €4.95

http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/products/eyes/eye-shadow/jumbo-eye-pencil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Yogurt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is probably one of the most confusing products I have ever tried. Confusing for several reasons, but the main reason, the ‘parent’ reason, if you will, is the fact that people continually rave about, recommend, and repurchase these things.

One major point that people that people always talk about when they review these guys is the pigmentation. That, I will allow for. The pigmentation is pretty good. And yes, they do make shadows way more vibrant. Ok, on that point I agree with everyone else.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils Swatches
Left: Cottage Cheese
Right: Yogurt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From left to right: Urban Decay Sidecar over Cottage Cheese, Sidecar over UD Primer Potion, Sidecar on its own

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But in every other respect? They suck.

People do normally talk about the creasing in their reviews, and I agree. My eyelids are pretty oily, and this creased like crazy without primer almost immediately. With primer, it lasted a tad bit longer, but nowhere near what it should. Setting it with a powder also helps, but it doesn’t completely solve the problem

Surprisingly enough, what I haven’t heard squat about (although maybe I didn’t look hard enough), is how unbelievably crappy the packaging is. The lids crack really easily, and so either continuously slip off or get jammed too far down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s bad, but honestly if this happened with another product that I liked it I could definitely deal with it. The cap never smushes the product, at least. But no, I have far worse gripes with the packaging. So when I got the product and was checking it out for the first time, I was pretty disappointed when I couldn’t find a way to twist the product up and down. It looked like what you could see through the lid was pretty much all the product you were going to get. OK, I know $4 isn’t going to break the bank, but for that much product? So not worth it. I’m not great with measurements, but I was pretty sure that what I was seeing was not 5 grams. I got curious and wanted to see how much product was actually in the stick. What did I do? I cracked that sucker open. By the way, I wouldn’t really recommend trying it, it makes a huge mess. And ladies and gentlemen, when I say huge, I mean huge. To my amazement, the product ran a fair ways down, about the where the color name was! All that product, and as far as I could tell, no way to access the product. Excluding breaking the packaging, or depotting it, of course. There was no way to twist it up, and the packaging is plastic so sharpening it down like a traditional wooden eyeliner pencil is out. I don’t know about you, but I for one do not call that good packaging. No one else seemed to be complaining about this though, so there may be some secret way that I don’t know about. If you know, please comment below. It bamboozles me. But even if there is a way, if I haven’t found it within like 5 minutes of looking at the product, it is too obscure and therefore doesn’t work.

Conclusion:

This product does make colors pop, but honestly if you need to depot it before you can actually use it (taking away the whole jumbo stick advantages) and even then it creases despite your best efforts, it is NOT a product that I would consider worth purchasing, even if it is under $5. When you consider how many cream eyeshadows there are, and even how many fatter stick cream eyeshadows there are, I really don’t think there is a justification for getting this product.

Rating: C-

 

 

Review: Bourjois Volume Glamour Max Definition (Black)

Boots: £9.49   Bourjois describes this mascara as an extra-black volumizing mascara (surprise, surprise) that lasts up to 16 hours and is good for the eyes. It should be safe for contact-wearers and people with sensitive eyes, although I am neither so could not tell you.

As you can see, just a tad too much product…

All clean, with a normal amount of product

The wand is plastic, with tiny bristles and a spiky ball bit on the end, a la Benefit They’re Real. The brush does coat every lash, and even catches the little tiny lashes on the inner corners. I am pleased to say that not only is this mascara volumizing, it is lengthening as well. The problem is, that the mascara is very fickle. When applied properly, it makes my lashes look absolutely stunning. Applied badly… well, my lashes turn into Clump City. However, I have found that instead of using the traditional wiggling-the-wand-at-the-roots-and-pulling-up method, it is much more effective to slowly roll the wand away from my face while pulling up. It takes a little practice to master the technique, but I promise that you will be rewarded once you do. The only other thing that I don’t like about the wand and application is that the wand tends to come out of the tube with far more product than is necessary, and I normally have to spend like a minute wiping away the excess product.

Before

After

The two things that you cannot possibly fault the mascara for are blackness and wear time. The mascara is really black, and seriously lasts forever. The mascara definitely reaches 16 hours looking perfect, and after that the lashes start to droop, but do look better than naked lashes. I have seriously slept in this mascara, and the next morning the mascara was still there, looking just as tired as me. It hadn’t smudged or flaked at all, though. This wear time does make it a little difficult to get off, but it’s honestly not that bad. The consistency is quite odd. It is a drier mascara, and is not really creamy. It almost separates into clumps in the tube. I make it sound really bad, but it isn’t really. I just don’t know how to describe it. It doesn’t cause flaking, the only real impacts that it has are on clumping (which can be avoided using the application technique I mentioned), and when the mascara is taken off , it doesn’t melt off the lashes like other mascaras do, it comes off in little clumpy bits. Not a huge problem.   The packaging for this, though, is pretty awesome. The curved handle fits nicely into my hand, allowing for more control over the wand. This is especially good considering that the special rolling technique is required to achieve optimal results. There is also the fact that the tube is a shocking, unapologetic hot pink.   I’m not entirely sure if it’s actually good for your eyes at all, but it does have beeswax in it that supposedly “fortifies you lashes”. Who knows? It might be true.

The bottom line: This really is a good mascara, but because of the difficulties with the application and the fact that the wand comes out of the tube with too much product, I’m still undecided as to whether I would repurchase this product. It is conceivable. Although I must say that for a drugstore mascara, it is pretty pricey. Hm.

Rating: B