Category Archives: Eyeliner

Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen Review & Swatches

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Purchase

Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pens

The always-lovely Kate from Drivel About Frivol recently(-ish) wrote about Pixi’s Endless Silky Eye Pens. As I love a good eyeliner, I went out and bought one – I loved it so much that now I have four.

As you can see, these are not actually pens – they are pencils (the kind you sharpen – not twist-ups).  The texture of the Pixi pencils is unique among pencil eyeliners I have tried.  They’re very soft – they actually seem to me to be very, very similar to gel eyeliner in a pot, but in pencil form.  They are so soft that I find it easiest to apply them with a brush rather than directly from the pencil.  They set more slowly than other liners; they take 30-45 seconds to set if I use a small amount of eyeliner, which is the perfect amount of time to smudge them out.  However, if I use too much product, they can take even longer to set, which usually results in a mess.   Once set, however, they last all day without moving or smudging.

Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pens

Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen Swatches

Black Blue // Black Tulip // Deep Plum // Sage Gold

Above, I’ve swatched the Pixi liners two ways. Each line is a single pass of the pencil; each square is a built up swatch.  There’s not much difference between them because the pencils are so opaque on a single swipe.   Note the different finishes – Kate classifies each of the pencils in the line in to one of three finishes in her post. I love the different colors and finishes – I’m very tempted to collect them all!

Overall, I really love the Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pens.  They join Prestige Total Intensity and Rimmel Scandal Eyes pencils as some of my favorite eyeliners.  Because they are softer take longer to set than other pencil liners I use, I tend to use them differently than the other liners I own.  When I’m in a hurry, I don’t reach for these. But, when I want to take my time, I can make a crisp line or smudged line with ease.

The pencils are $15 each, but Target currently has a $5 off $15 purchase coupon for Pixi Beauty here – my computer let me print it out multiple times.  You can also use the coupon online.

Are these pencils something you’ll be checking out?

NYC High Definition Liquid Eyeliner Review & Swatches

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nyc high definition liquid felt tip eyeliner

I have several NYC products to review – I was looking at the new NYC display at CVS, checking out the new products, and some of the new as well as some of the older products just jumped into my shopping basket! These will be brief reviews.

First up, the NYC High Definition Liquid Eyeliner, which is a felt-tip eyeliner pen.   It has a fairly fine point, though not quite as fine as the Dollywink liner (which I have not reviewed, but is swatched in this post). It applies quite smoothly, even over eyeshadow, and though it’s not waterproof, it lasted all day for me.  The major downside – and it’s quite a problem for me – is that it’s not black enough for me. Instead, it’s sheer black that looks quite gray.

nyc high definition liquid felt tip eyeliner swatch

one swipe // built up swatch

As you can see, even going over the line multiple times doesn’t make it a dark black.  Thus, unless you prefer a sheer black (and I’m not sure that anyone does), this eyeliner is miss. My favorite drugstore eyeliner pen was – by far! – Milani’s limited edition Color Play liner from last summer, but unfortunately mine is on its last legs.

What’s your favorite pen-style eyeliner?

 

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Shadow Stick Review & Swatches

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rimmel scandaleyes shadow sticks

A few days ago, I reviewed the Rimmel Scandal Eyes eyeliners. I love them so much that I decided to try another product from the Scandal Eyes line – the shadow sticks. Like most shadow sticks, you’re supposed to be able to use these multiple ways – as eyeliner, as eyeshadow base, or eyeshadown (worn alone).  There are nine shades available (or at least there are nine shades on the Ulta website - which may not have all of them) and I purchased two, Bulletproof Beige and Bad Girl Bronze.

rimmel scandaleyes bulletproof beige bad girl bronze swatches

Bulletproof Beige // Bad Girl Bronze

Above, I’ve swatched each shadow stick two ways. On the left, I have a heavy swatch, and on the right is a blended out swatch.  If you use the shadow stick as eyeliner you’ll get something more like the heavy swatch – if you use it as an eyeshadow base or an eyeshadow, you’ll get something more like the blended swatch. Unfortunately, even if you use multiple layers, it doesn’t seem possible to build up the color to the opaque swatch level when you’re using it as an eyeshadow.

Edit: I like these enough that I went back and bought a third, Paranoid Purple.  Here’s a quick swatch.

rimmel scandaleyes shadow stick paranoid purple swatch

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Paranoid Purple

In terms of texture, these are very soft and creamy.  I have some of the Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencils, and the Rimmel pencils are noticeably more creamy – the UD ones are much drier and more difficult to blend.  I actually rarely use the UD ones because I have difficulty blending them – I much prefer the Rimmel texture!

I’m sure these will be compared to the Milani Shadow Eyez as well, but I haven’t tried those.  From looking at reviews, it appears that the Milani shadow sticks may be more opaque. I’m not sure how the texture compares. I may need to buy one to compare myself! If you’ve tried the Milani ones, how would you describe the texture?

I’m sure everyone’s main question is how the Shadow Sticks last and whether they crease, and I’m happy to report that they last all day on me (10+ hours) with no creasing at all.  Do note that I have slightly dry skin, so I can’t test how these would fare on someone with oilier skin.

Overall, I really like these – they’re creamy, blendable, and last all day.  They’re good for a sheer wash of color and shimmer or as a base.  The major downside is that you can’t build them up be opaque.

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Rimmel Scandal Eyes Eyeliner Review, Swatches, Photos

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rimmel scandaleyes waterproof kohl eyeliners

Taupe, Nude, Deep Blue

Rimmel released its Scandal Eyes liners in the UK a little while ago, but they are new to the US. They showed up first in temporary displays, which had a only a few shades, but now that Rimmel wall displays are being updated, more shades are available. I’ve seen them in-store at all the major drugstores in my area, and they’re already online at Ulta.com - and only $4.49. Per the Rimmel website, seven shades are available in the UK and ten shades are available in the US. Two of the shades I purchased, Nude and Taupe, are available in both countries, and Deep Blue is US-exclusive.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the US shades:

rimmel scandaleyes shades - US

Let me cut to the chase: I LOVE THESE. This review is going to be a complete rave, I love them SO much. They might even replace Prestige Total Intensity pencils as my all-time favorite eyeliners. I will definitely be buying the black and a couple more shades (and will also be trying out the Scandal Eyes Shadow Sticks to see if they’re just as good!

So, what makes them so great? They are creamy but not too soft (the Prestige pencils do have a tendency towards being too soft).  They are smudgeable at first, but after they set they don’t migrate, smudge, or move.  I tried to smear the swatches on my arm, but was completely unable to – I eventually got them to flake a little, but only after my arm was quite red from rubbing at it! Nude lasts about 5-6 hours on my waterline – I wear contacts, and I’ve never had anything last six hours on my waterline before! And, I get all day wear on my upper or lower lashline.

In the below swatches, the line on the left is a single pass, and the square on the right is a built up swatch. There isn’t much difference, because these liners are very pigmented in one swipe – you don’t need to go back and forth to build them up!

rimmel scandaleyes swatches - nude, taupe, deep blue

Nude // Taupe // Deep Blue

Nude is a peach beige – it’s great to see more shades like this at the drugstore.  Taupe is a light brown – it’s fantastic shade for my lower lashline, as it defines, but isn’t harsh like a darker brown would be. I normally only use eyeshadow on my lower lashline because I find most pencil lines too harsh, but this is very wearable.  I think it would also make a great upper lashline color for light blondes who want a natural but defined look. Deep Blue is a very dark navy blue – gorgeous, and a great alternative to black.

Edit: I love these so much that I went back and bought more! Here are quick swatches of the five shades I currently own:

rimmel scandaleyes swatches - black taupe nude deep blue purple

I also have a comparison of my nude (or again, light peachy beige) pencils – the Scandal Eyes one is a bit darker and more orange in comparison to the others, which are the MAC Pro Chromagraphic Pencil in NC15/NW20 (now available online) and the concealer pencil from the Hard Candy Glamoflauge concealer.

beige nude eyeliner comparison

Hard Candy // MAC // Rimmel

There’s not much else to say – go buy these now! And tell me what you think!

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MUA Makeup Academy 3 in 1 Contour Pen Swatches & Review

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MUA 3-in-one Contour Pen -- Black, Smoked Plum, Sea Blue

MUA 3-in-one Contour Pen — Black, Smoked Plum, Sea Blue

My final MUA post of the day is a review of the £1.50 3 in 1 Contour Pen – which actually seems to be a pencil liner, though the texture is a bit unusual, and it took me a minute to figure it out! The texture is more like a pen, but given the nib twists out (& back in again) and is a couple inches long, it is actually some type of pencil.  I would guess that it’s named the 3-in-1 Pen because the angle of the nib allows you to make make thin lines, thick lines, and well – I’m not really sure what the third way to use it is!

3-in-1 Contour Pen: Black, Smoked Purple, Sea Blue

3-in-1 Contour Pen: Black, Smoked Purple, Sea Blue

The Sea Blue and Black shade have good pigmentation, but the Smoked Purple shade has very poor pigmentation. Below, I’ve used the different sides of the nib to make a thin line & a thick line – each line is one swipe of the pencil.  Then, the rectangular swatch is built up with several passes of the pencil, to see how pigmented it can become – it makes a big difference for the purple shade!

MUA 3-in-1 Contour Pen; Sea Blue, Smoked Purple, Black swatches

MUA 3-in-1 Contour Pen; Sea Blue, Smoked Purple, Black

These are very smudgeable, which can be either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preference. Some liners smudge until they set, but these liners never set – they remain smudgeable forever. After I photographed my swatches, several minutes after application, I ran my finger across the swatches firmly, with this result:

Smudged MUA Contour liners

Smudged MUA Contour liners

Not surprisingly (give the smudging), these do not last well. I have normal to dry skin, so most eyeliners last well on me – some last until removal, but almost all liners last at least 8 hours, more or less. These Contour liners were very faded by the 4-5 hours mark.

Given the poor pigmentation of the purple shade, given the fading, and given the way these smear, I do not recommend these liners.  There are plenty of other budget liners that are far superior for only a couple dollars (or pounds) more!