Liquid Liner Lowdown

I filmed a blog review and comparison of these liquid liners and wanted to do something for my blog as well but really didn't know how to review each product without repeating myself constantly. They are all very similar but some are better than others so I've got a kind of score chart and I will give you a run down at the end. I realise the one thing missing from this post is swatches (doh!) but I forgot to take that picture so you'll have to use your imagination!

With Pigmentation I am looking for a super black in most cases (blue in one), Formula is how liquid the product is and how easy it is to apply.. of course that doe have a lot to do with the Applicator, I prefer a flexible nib or brush so if it's too firm it's going to be a thumbs down from me! Longwearing I think is self explanatory, some liquid liners crumble or wear away.. my favourites do not and finally.. Good Value, A product is good value for me if I would repurchase, it doesn't have to be super cheap it just has to do it's job for a reasonable price. 

Revlon Colorstay £6.39

Pigmentation:X

Formula:√

Applicator:√

Longwearing:OK

Good Value:NO

Rimmel Exhaggerate £5.29

Pigmentation:√

Formula:√

Applicator:√

Longwearing:√

Good Value:√

MUA £1

Pigmentation:√

Formula:√

Applicator:OK

Longwearing:X

Good Value:√

2True £1.99

Pigmentation:X

Formula:OK

Applicator:X

Longwearing:X

Good Value:X

Miners Define & Line £2.99

Pigmentation:X

Formula:X

Applicator:X

Longwearing:OK

Good Value:X

LA Splash Cosmetics Lid Splash $6.99

Pigmentation:√

Formula:√

Applicator:OK

Longwearing:OK

Good Value:√

Rimmel Glam Eyes £5.29

Pigmentation:√

Formula:√

Applicator:√

Longwearing:√

Good Value: √

Elf Cream Eyeliner £3.50

Pigmentation:√

Formula: √

Applicator:√

Longwearing:√

Good Value: √

And The Winners Are..

Rimmel Exhaggerate & Rimmel Glam Eyes

They are nearly identical in formula.. I would say the Exhaggerate is every so slightly more fluid so you do find as you come to the end of the product it's a little watery but the applicator is super easy for beginners. The Glam Eyes is a more recent discovery for me and although the applicator is totally different to the Exhaggerate (my all time favourite btw) it's easier to get a finer, more defined look with the uber thin brush if you have a steady hand. I also think this one would be better choice for lets say.. older eyes. The brush doesn't drag or create a jagged line like the exaggerate can on less than perfectly tight lids (I sometimes struggle and I'm 25!) Overall these are my favourites for sure!

I wanted to give honourable mention to the ELF Cream Liner. As you will have seen it ticked all the boxes too but the reason it didn't win is it's not technically a liquid liner. I only discovered it when filming a tutorial yesterday and had to put it in as I am totally in love. I've used it only once before with an angled brush but now I have a liner brush (Sigma E05) it works like a dream. I'm a convert and will definitely be trying more cream/gel formula's soon! I would say that cream eyeliner is the best option for someone that struggles with liquid as it's easier to control but you get the same effect. It's more like a kohl pencil on a brush.. fantastic.. can't believe I haven't been using this. 

I do give a little rambly run down of each liners pro's and cons in my video review so check that out if you want a more in depth review of one of the losing products.

 

Miss BB

Next Glitter Liners

I would never have bought cosmetics from Next for myself but having received this eyeliner set for Christmas I would consider doing so in the future. It contained 4 shimmer and 4 glitter liners. The pigment wasn't fantastic but they're a great little addition to my makeup collection for adding a little bling as and when. When it comes to glitter I prefer it in liner form as I HATE fallout but don't use it enough to warrant buying lots of full sized colours. These minis are perfect.

Have you tried Next cosmetics?

Miss BB

Saturday Sparkle

I popped to Boots today on the hunt for these new 17 Wild Metallics eye shadows and came home with a few more bits all of which seemed to lean on the sparkly side.. hence the title of this post. I can tell you I am more than happy with my purchases and I got everything in this post for less than £15! That's 3 Nail Polishes, 3 Eyeshadows, a Liquid Liner and a Lip Gloss.. now that's bargain hunting! First up I had to decide between the gorgeous new shades from 17. I must admit I was drawn immediately to the neutrals and I may just have to go back for them later but I decided to go for these... more party friendly for the upcoming season I thought.

Wild Silver and Wild Midnight Blue. The consistency is more mousse than cream/gel. I'd liken it to Maybellines Dream Matte stuff crossed with Rimmels Colour Mousse range.. consider it a sparkly lovechild of the two. The reason I decided to go for these shades in the end was my absolute hatred of glitter fallout. These seem to have just as much impact as your average glitter-packed shadows without any of the annoying side effects migrating to your cheeks. I can't wait to try them out in a look.. I'll try and make it a tutorial and really road test them for longevity for you guys. I'd imagine as with all cream-type eye colours these will crease but that shouldn't be a problem if you use a primer or even a powder shadow over the top.. again this is all speculation.. I will let you know once I've tried it for myself. I'm almost certainly going to be going back for more colours as they are just £3.99 (can be bought here).. very reasonable if you ask me!

Another awesome bonus from 17 is the free gift you get right now if you purchase 2 or more products. I already knew I had to have at least 2 of the new shadows so I was on to a winner before I even stepped in the store. The Femme Noir gift set is a really cool freebie, the contents of which exceeds my total purchase price for the other 2 products as it is so really terrific value for me.

In the set you get a Glitter Eyshadow in Night Sky (which I cannot wait to try over the metallic silver!!!), a liquid liner in black and an Ultimate Volume lip gloss in Very Berry. The glitter shadow is a wash of gun metal sparkle, the liquid liner is pretty basic but will be used and the lip gloss is GORGEOUS! The absolute perfect shade for the holiday season.. I just can't believe it was free!

Lastly here are the other bits I picked up. I was on the look out for Models Own Juicy Jules which unfortunately was out of stock so for the same money I bought 2 polishes from Barry M. Hologram is a repurchase.. Mine dried out forever ago and I've been meaning to replace it for the longest time and Peach Melba is a relatively new addition to the range which having seen all over the blogsphere was also on my list so it didn't take long to pick once I was at the stand. After I'd paid for my purchases I received one of those lovely £5 off No7 vouchers which was nice so I went and got ANOTHER polish (money) which ended up costing me £2!! It was a great day for bargain hunting!

I also bought my wedding dress from Primark for £17 for anyone interested... I posted about it on my other blog here. Like I said... great day for budget shopping.

I feel like I haven't shopped in forever, I've just had no spare cash and now I'm saving for a new laptop I really don't want to part with any that I don't have to but I guess I'll have to get used to spending less with the baby on the way.. still... don't expect my blog to run dry. I will always have something to say as long as you're here to listen.

Avon Glimmerstick Liqui-Glide - Love or Loathe?

 I'll admit when I bought this I thought it was the raved about Avon liner I'm always hearing about on YouTube.. turns out that's Supershock Gel Liner which has since been discontinued.. d'oh! So perhaps I was expecting too much of this when I thought it was the hyped up version. I will say this.. it's very long wearing! It's almost a liquid liner in pencil form. It's very soft, you could even apply it with a brush if you were so inclined. The problem is that you can't get a precise or fine line from a blunt applicator such as this. Unlike a pencil you can't keep this sharp for any time at all because of the formula, it's just not firm enough to keep any shape. So any line you do draw will be thicker than perhaps you would want and it's near impossible to create a winged liner as you might with a traditional liquid equivalent. You can smudge it a little if you work quickly before it dries but it will not work for me on my waterline whatsoever, it just doesn't take and slides all over the place. It is the blackest liner I own, I liken it to Urban Decay's "Perversion" which was available in the limited edition 15th anniversary set earlier this year so I was really excited to use it but unfortunately it's been nothing but disappointing for me. I just can't find a place for it, it's more liquid than pencil but it's not BETTER than liquid and it's not as useable as a pencil... so what's the point? I really dont know what purpose this serves. It could well be my uneducated application but this is just no good for me at all.

If you've tried and loved this I would LOVE to know how you use it to make it work for you so leave me a comment and let me know..

Define & Line

Last week the lovely people at miners sent me their new product launch to try out and review.

"Define & Line" Liquid Eyeliner in Black, Blue and Brown.

The packaging is what you would expect from a drugstore level brand, no better or worse that Rimmel (as an example) I mention Rimmel because they make my all time no.1 favourite liquid Liner in the WORLD.

That liner is Rimmel Exaggerate and it is perfect from the formula to the applicator. I have tried to replace it with other brands for two reason, 1. It may be discontinued one day and 2. it's nearly £5 dependant on where you buy it and for a basic black liner from the drugstore I'd like to pay less. I've tried 2true.. the applicator was too hard, I've tried collection2000's felt tip liner and it was practically indelible ink.. took forever to come off and bleeds a little.... I tried Revlon which was good but no cheaper so when this arrived on my doorstep I was excited!

I'll give you a rundown ..

The applicator is firm but it has a brush tip so for me it's very useable

The handling is not so great.. one thing this is really missing is an easy to hold tapered lid.. its not impossible but they haven't made it easy for those that do struggle.

The formula is nice, dry too fast or flake off when you apply more over-top and it's wet enough that you won't have to apply too much pressure to your delicate eyes.

One point about the formula is that for me it wasn't dark enough.. the black just wasn't really black and I needed at least 2 coats to get the look I wanted. Once it's dry it almost looks blue after just one line. The blue is a fabulous peacocky colour, very flattering and wearable and the brown is very dark so for those that are avoiding that full on harsh black on their eyes it's the perfect mid shade. 

Staying power is great, When I'm testing eye products I tend to leave them overnight to see what they can really do.. my pillows are worse for wear but this wasn't. It held up really well and my winged liner was still perfect the morning after.  



top to bottom
Black, Blue, Brown



All in all this is not a bad product for the money. It's £2.99 from miners.co.uk and it works for me. I think liquid liner really boils down to personal preference. You have to try everything out there before you know for sure what suits you best. Although this hasn't knocked my Rimmel off it's number 1 spot for the price and the applicator I think this would come a close second.

Peacock Eyes

I didn't do a tutorial vid but I thought I'd share my MOTD with you guys..

I was going for a kind of "peacock" eyes look, what do you think?

I used Urban Decays Book of Shadows III

Kush, Haight and Rockstar

To line I used Extreme Liners from Collection 2000, 

Black on the bottom lashes and Teal on the top..

They kind of stain your skin so you have to be careful but they're so easy to use and great for those that struggle with liquid liner!

xoxo

miss bb

Vintage Vixen

I did a video tutorial of this look recently and thought I'd post some pictures, love it!

What do you think?

xoxo

miss bb