This year, I eagerly awaited the release of the Charlotte Tilbury range in the US. After swatching some of the range at The Makeup Show in June, I carefully contemplated what I would buy first! So, this review is quite a bit late, since I bought these items in late August/early September when the line was first available...! :)
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Armani Waterproof Smooth Silk Eyeliners Revisited
Last year, I totally fell in love with the Armani Waterproof Smooth Silk Eyeliners, also sometimes know as the Eyes to Kill Eyeliners. I seriously just loved them, but found that they occasionally irritated my eyes and made them itchy and watery. These days, my eyes seem to have recovered from that sensitivity, and I just have to tell you again how amazing these liners are.
Read MoreIs It Love? Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayon
When the Marc Jacobs line launched at Sephora in August, I was a bit excited and also a bit apprehensive. I had heard about the line in magazines and such leading up to it, but as a previously avid participant in Sephora's BeautyTalk forums, I remembered how I had filled out a survey about what I would think about a designer beauty line. Hmm!
Anyway, I wasn't so sure about the packaging from the initial photos, and I waited until I could check out the line in stores. I thought the foundation, concealer, lipstick, and nail polish looked interesting, while the rest of the line seemed hit or miss. What really caught my eye were these Highliner Gel Crayons - part of me has an obsession with deeply black, creamy pencil liners, so I immediately wanted one.
After swatching the colors available, I knew I wanted the bronzey Ro(Cocoa), and lucky for me that Blacquer was available at that time (very briefly) as a 100 point perk. I grabbed them, and I was quite excited, especially since the swatches seemed impossible to remove. Always a good sign.
Unfortunately, Blacquer irritated my eyes, as many black waterproof liners have been doing this year. Ro(Cocoa) on the other hand, is just as gorgeous of a shade as I expected. The formula, however, is not as bulletproof as I was expecting based on the swatching experience. On my monolid eyes, they creased somewhat at the end of the day. I'd say that's probably 8+ hours, and the creasing wasn't bad (definitely wearable haha) but I was hoping for the wear I get from Armani Waterproof Smooth Silk Pencils, which really do seem to last forever.
Swatches L=R: Marc Jacobs Highliner in Blacquer, Ro(Cocoa)
All in all, I'm really loving Ro(Cocoa) despite my high hopes for wear. I probably wouldn't purchase another one unless there was a really unique shade, but I'm definitely loving this one while I have it! What do you think? Have you tried this or anything else from the Marc Jacobs line? How did you like it? I'd love to know! :)
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Chanel Beryl vs Benefit Eye Bright
Last month, I debated for quite a while if I should pick up Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in Beryl, a brightening lilac shade that is a limited edition release for the Spring 2013 collection. I quite liked it when I swatched it in store, but then realized it may be quite similar to Benefit Eye Bright.
So at that point, I was quite unsure of what to do! Finally, I bit the bullet and bought Chanel Beryl, and thought I ought to offer my thoughts on the liner as well as a comparison.
On my skintone, Chanel Beryl is a lilac that is nearly nude. The pencil itself is quite creamy, and wears on my waterline decently well. In general with Chanel Stylo Yeux pencils, I can get at least 6-8 hours of wear before minor fading - this one is about the same, perhaps just a bit less in the waterline.
Benefit Eye Bright, on the other hand, is a bit more stark in its lilac tone. The pencil itself is also larger, so for some it may be more difficult to use for the waterline. In this process, I decided that Benefit Eye Bright isn't as creamy or natural looking (at least for my skintone) when applied to the waterline, even though I imagined the bright color would offer more brightening properties. For me, I like to blend it with my fingers just a little to make it more natural and smooth out the texture a bit. As you can see, Benefit Eye Bright is not an exact dupe of Chanel Beryl - it is actually quite a bit brighter, and obviously the pencil itself is wider!
So, the big question is, did I need both of them?? I'd say yes! :) (Phew, what a relief!)
I love Benefit Eye Bright blended into the outer and inner corners of my eyes. It really lifts that droop in my outer corners, and that was the original reason I bought it! While it does work for brightening in the waterline, I find that I need to pay a bit more attention than I would with Chanel Beryl, so I quite like Beryl when I don't have time or energy to sharpen Eye Bright or pay attention to my lining! (LOL)
As mentioned previously, Chanel Beryl is a limited edition liner from the Spring 2013 collection. If this looks good to you, I'd recommend grabbing it as soon as possible! Have you tried Chanel Beryl? Do you have any favorites for brightening? Do share! :)