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!

Pet Peeve...

I really hate finding an eyeshadow I love and having it fall apart on me…  Especially if it was expensive or I had to order it online and wait (what always seems like) forever for it.  This was the case for NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Cleo and two of my Sugarpill pressed eyeshadows.  Granted, this was during traveling and I should have packed my shadows more carefully but it still happened.  I guess I could have salvaged the Sugarpill shadows (Bulletproof, a matte black, and Tako, a matte white) by using them as loose pigments but, because I was traveling, there were none of my little containers handy.  The NARS duo was beyond hope as they had blended all together.

The Sugarpill shadows are wonderfully inexpensive and very well pigmented, not to mention fun, but I chose to replace them with something that I knew wouldn't turn to dust on me: INGLOT freedom palettes.  But that's a subject for another blog.

NARS Cleo is such a beautiful combo but what impressed me most about it and other NARS duos I've used is how subtle the shimmer is.  So many brands use the terms "shimmer" and "frost" interchangeably.  I think of shimmer as a slightly more delicate sheen, for lack of a better description.  I only wish that NARS was a bit less expensive so it wasn't so hard to justify buying a replacement.

It's interesting to note that while Cleo, Tako and Bulletproof crumbled on me, NARS eyeshadow duo Nouveau Monde as well as Sugarpill's Poison Plum and Afterparty made the same trip without incident.

And the moral of the story, girls and boys?  Either be kinder to your shadows when traveling or only take things you know are secure.

No Bull, Just Brand! Vol. 1

Alright, now that I have some of the awkwardness of my first entry I'd like to get into something less... clumsy?  Here goes my first mini-series, so to speak.  The subject of these is my favorite brands including the good, the bad and the underwhelming of each.  Hope you (though I'm likely just typing to myself) enjoy!

Inglot (INGLOT?):  Not sure whether or not it's all in caps but, if it isn't, it should be.  This first brand was just kind of obvious to me.  They have:

1) an overwhelmingly amazing assortment of pressed eyeshadows pans

  a) in variety of finishes (and an impressive selection of mattes especially)

  b) which are relatively cheap ($5 for 2.5-3.2 grams of product as opposed to MAC's $11.50 pans that only contain apx. 1.5 grams)

  c) have wonderful pigmentation

  d) come in the travel-safe space-efficient "Freedom System"

2) beautiful creamy lipsticks in unusual shades (that are also cheaper than MAC's)

3) two of my favorite eyeshadow pigments of all time (in #64, #65)

4) and super helpful in-store staffs (Las Vegas Forum Shop, I'm talking to you!)

This isn't to say that Inglot doesn't have it's drawbacks like very few store fronts in the US (though I've heard they are trying to remedy this) and disappointingly small nail polish bottles for the price.  Also, while I really love the Freedom Systems magnetized palettes they do take some getting used to.  But mostly I've been very pleased with my experiences with this lovely Polish company.  They are very popular on Youtube and amongst bloggers but not otherwise well-known here in the States.  (So sad...)

And it's at this point in my blog that swatches to emphasize my point would be both welcome and expected.  But Alas!  In any case, till we meet again!