Favorite Eye Products!

In no particular order:

1. 1. NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base ($24 for 0.26oz)
• The best of any eye primer I've ever tried.  My shadow looks brighter and doesn't budge with this under it.
2. Urban Decay Primer Potion ($20 for 0.37oz/$30 for 0.85oz)
• My daily primer, not as quite as good as the NARS base but better bang for the buck and still a great primer.
3. Tarina Tarantino Eye Dream Hyperliner in Spark of Envy ($15)
• A beautiful teal-y green pencil that is wonderfully pigmented even in the waterline.  Gorgeous!
4. Buxom Stay-There Eye Shadow in Pug ($18 for 0.12oz)
• Makes for a super-easy and perfect pewter grey.  It's a go-to for when I don't have much time.  I especially love how well the color sticks, how it blends into a perfect gradient and that it looks almost glossy on.  Can't say enough!  The colors "Schnauzer" and "Mutt" are also great.
5. NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Cleo ($34 for 0.14oz)
• Though it broke on me during travel, it's still a gorgeous color combo and very pigmented.
6. Inglot Eyeshadow Freedom Palettes (palettes vary on size; $5 per shadow)
• Ummmm…  Already gushed about these.  Amazing variety, pigmentation, quality, quantity, blah, blah… THE BEST!
7. Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner in Midnight Black ($22 for 0.1oz)
• The best black gel liner I've found yet.  Doesn't move.  I wish it was a little bit less dry so it would apply a bit smoother but better dry than creasing!
8. Make Up For Ever Eye Seal ($21 for 0.4oz)
• Incredible for turning pigments (Glamour Doll Eyes, MAC Pigments, Sugarpill) into eye liners or make them very vibrant.  They WILL NOT move!
9. Benefit's They're Real Mascara ($22)
• Still the best overall mascara I've ever used.  It's volumizing, curling and lengthening without being clumpy.  Just wonderful.
10. Fairydrops Scandal Queen Mascara ($24)
• My biggest lash concern is that my lashes are super straight which makes them look shorter than they are.  This mascara is very good at curling and has fibers for lengthening as well.
11. MAC Paint Pot in Painterly ($17.50 for 0.17oz)
• I use this for priming my lids occasionally or for a no-makup look.  Great product.
12. MAC Eyeshadow in Nylon ($11.50 for 0.05oz)
• One of the most beautiful highlight/tearduct colors I own.  (And one of the few MAC shadows I still use..)
13. Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow in Poison Plum ($12 for 0.14oz)
• My favorite purple shadow.  No comparison!
14. Sugarpill Loose Eyeshadow in Royal Sugar ($12 for 4 grams)
• The most beautiful deep blue pigment.  Le GUSH!
15. Inglot AMC Pure Pigment Eyeshadow in # 64/65 ($14 for 0.07oz)
• My favorite two pigments for making smoky eyes.
16. Dior 5-Colour Palettes ($59)
• Already gushed about these too.  Need I more?
17. NYX Jumbo Pencils in Milk and Black Bean ($4.50)
• The best inexpensive white and black bases!  Great for darkening or brightening any eyeshadow as well as helping them stick to my lids.
18. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Sin ($18 for 0.05oz)
• My favorite shimmery nude to add dimension to my eyes.
19. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Perversion and Gunmetal ($19)
• My favorite all-around pencil liners.  Perversion is especially useful in the waterline.
20. Smashbox Limitless Liquid Liner Pen in Jet Black ($22)
• Best way to make a flawless winged liner I've found.  No bleeding and it stays put!

No Bull, Just Brand Vol. 2

Dior was probably my first great makeup love.  I'd certainly enjoyed cosmetics since I was too young to do more than watch my mother and girl cousins apply hers and used many brands before Dior such as Clinique, Almay, Revlon, Covergirl, etc.  But there was something about getting my first Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow Palette in it's sleek sapphire-hued compact with it's buttery shadows felt both incredibly decadent and sophisticated.  Like wearing your first real cashmere sweater.

That being said, I don't think of myself as a person who is too influenced by how a brand is perceived.  For example, I don't understand people's obsession with Louis Vuitton at all.  Why would I pay $$$$ for a boring brown handbag?  Why would I pay someone to advertise for them?!  I understand that they are nice in the sense that they are handmade and premium leather but so are many, if not all, other designer purses.  But I digress…

My point is that "designer" doesn't impress me.  Quality and creativity do and that's always been my experience with Dior.  Also, great service is a very big issue with me and I've never had a bad experience with this brand.  But mostly it's been how happy I still am with Dior products after I take them home, days after the afterglow and counter makeover is gone.  No buyer's remorse, despite the considerable price.  That is not to say that the products are perfect.  I think that Dior should put  something like a miniature brush into their palettes rather than those basically useless sponge applicators for example.

Just to further clarify, I'll probably never purchase a Dior nail polish as I have a hard and fast rule about paying over $20 for a polish.  Same goes for their lipsticks or glosses but I've been (or in the case of the shadow palettes, still am) the happy owner of their Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen in Candle Light, three of the 5-Colour Eyeshadow Palettes in 441 Garden Pastels, 470 Spring Bouquet and 259 Electric Lights, and DiorShow Black Out Mascara, among others.  And while most of my makeup is composed of other brands I tend to cherish my Dior.  In fact, in lieu of getting Urban Decay's Naked 2 palette, I am holding out for a new Dior one instead.  (And some of their skincare products.)  Well, enough gushing.  Have a wonderful day and treat yourself by going to a Dior counter!

Can't beat that packaging!

Obviously my palettes are well-loved ;-p

The first and still my favorite!

I just remembered that I kinda "borrowed" this one from my mother...