Today I am going to review some mascara that I used. I want to start off by saying that I don’t think mascara is an item for which you need to spend a ton of money on. Any inexpensive mascara can give you good results if you know how to apply it. I feel that application technique is more important when it comes to mascara than the brand or mascara itself. A lot of mascara from different brands work pretty much the same for me. I have long and curly eyelashes so I don’t curl them. But if you have straight lashes, I recommend using an eyelash curler. I like to use mascara that volumize lashes without clumping. I start from the base of lashes and take my time to wiggle it so it builds volume. I make sure to brush the tip of lashes so it looks longer.

I have extremely sensitive eyes that get watery with a little bit wind or dust. So if I use regular mascara, black water runs from my eyes. So obviously I mostly own waterproof mascara. Even if you don’t have watery eyes, I still recommend waterproof mascara since they prevent any smudge or mess.

Waterproof Mascara:

Maybelline Volum’ Express Turbo Boost Waterproof in Very Black: Probably the best mascara for my eyes and lashes. Most volumizing mascara have HUGE brush that I can’t get in the inner corner of my small eyes. This mascara gives me the volume I need, yet doesn’t smudge while I put it on.

CoverGirl LashBlast Waterproof in Black: It’s a great volumizing and lengthening mascara. The brush is really big- so if you have small eyes like me it will be a problem getting in the inner corners. It has a strong chemical smell. You can only smell it when you open the tube, you can’t smell it once it’s on your lash.

Something I noticed about this mascara: I used it for 3 months till it dried out. While I was using it, it actually lengthened my lashes. Not only when I was wearing them, but it lengthened the lashes in general. When I stopped wearing this mascara and wore another one, my lashes went back to its original length.

Maybelline Intense XL Volume +Length Waterproof in Very Black: Really good lengthening mascara. It doesn’t volumize much. Thus brush is really big.

L’oreal Voluminous Waterproof Mascara in Blackest Black: Really good volumizing mascara. The brush size is good for everyone.

Maybelline Define-A-Lash Lengthening +Defining Waterproof in Very Black: Great every-day wear mascara. Give natural finish – nothing extreme.

Lancome Hypnose Waterproof in Black: Gives a lot of volume, the brush size is also great. But I won’t purchase it again simply for the cost of it ($33 CDN).

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Lash Extending Treatment Waterproof in Black: Great volumizing waterproof mascara and the brush size is great. But it dries out VERY quickly (before 3 months). The price is also too much ($28 CDN).

Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof in Very Black: It’s a good defining mascara, but the brush doesn’t work for me. I make a mess every time I try to use it.

Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof in Clear: I use it for my brows in the days I want a very natural look yet I want the brows to be defined.

MAC Zoom Lash in ZoomBlack: It volumizes really good. The brush is big- so I can;t get to the inner corners. It dries out in les sthan 3 months. I won’t purchase it again.

Regular Mascara:

Too Faced Lash Injection: I think this mascara is over rated. It is just like any other mascara and I wouldn’t pay the extra bucks next time I purchase another mascara.

Benefit Bad Gal Lash in Black: This mascara is also overrated in my opinion. It is nothing special and I won’t pay the extra bucks again.

Rimmel Extra Super Lash in Black: It makes the lashes look really long and defines. But that’s about it.

Don’t Buy these Mascara:

L’oreal Volume Shocking Waterproof Mascara in Black: It comes with a primer in one end and mascara in another end. It doesn’t give any volume, rather it clumps all the lashes together. The mascara doesn’t have a brush, it’s a comb. But the comb is so sharp – it pokes the eyes and hurts pretty badly. If you accidentally poke yourself hard, it can damage the eyes totally. I will avoid this mascara and will ask everyone to avoid it as well.

MAC Splashproof in BlackSplash: It is water resistant but not waterproof. It dries quickly. And most of all it stings my eyes. I will never buy it again.

ELF Regular and waterproof Mascara Duo in Black: Doesn’t work and stings my eyes. Will never purchase it again.

I have bought these, I will try them after my current ones dry out:

Maybelline Colossal Volum’ Express Waterproof in Glam Black

Lancome: Definicils in Black

NYX Doll Eye Waterproof in Extreme Black

Rimmel Glam Eyes in Black

Eye primers are GREAT investments when it comes to making up your eyes. Eye primers enhance the colour of your eyeshadow, prevent eyeshadow from creasing and make it last longer. I would never wear eyeshadow without an eye primer underneath. Because eye makeup usually takes the most time – it is not worth it without a primer underneath (in my humble opinion). There are many different types of eye primers such as invisible liquid primers, cream bases, MAC Paints, MAC Paintpots, MAC shadesticks, NYX Jumbo Pencils etcetera.

The first picture has all the eye primers and the second picture has MAC Electric Eel eyeshadow on left and MAC Shimmer Moss eyeshadow on right.

Eye primers from top to bottom:

1. Urban decay Primer Potion (can’t be seen since invisible)

2. Too faced shadow Insurance (can’t be seen since invisible)

3. MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque

4. MAC Paint in Sublime Nature

5. MAC Shadestick in Beige-ing

6. NYX Jumbo Pencil in violet

7. Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner (don’t know the name)

8. Vincent Longo Eye Shimmer Souffle in Babelon

Invisible eye primers:

Urban Decay Primer Potion: UDPP is beige coloured but goes on invisible once you blend it in. UDPP enhances the colour of the eyeshadow – makes it a lot more vibrant. Eyelids tend to get oily throughout the day and eyeshadow creases on the folds of the eyes. UDPP prevents any creasing of eyeshadow. Normally a powder eyeshadow disappears by midday. UDPP also makes eyeshadow last throughout the day. It makes the value of the eyshadow (no matter what brand or type) a lot more than what it really is. It is $17 USD/ $22 CDN for 0.34 oz product.

One disadvantage is the packaging that UDPP comes in. The tiny bottle is genie inspired and very cute looking. The straight sponge tip applicator can only go straight in the tube. Where as the tube is curvy. So a LOT of the products get stuck in the curves of the bottle. And you would think you have used all up. But if you cut the bottle open in the middle you will find one 10 g jar full of product inside. But cutting the process includes using a knife. So the hassle and danger involved to get all the product out – to make your money worth ticks me off.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance: TFSI is also beige coloured and goes on invisible on skin. It also enhances eyeshadow colour, prevents creasing and makes eye makeup last longer. TFSI is $17 USD/ $24 CDN for 0.35 oz product.

TFSI has two advantages over UDPP. The first one is that I think it is better for oily lids. But a lot of people think both products are the same. So I might be totally wrong. Second advantage is that it comes in a squeeze tube. So you don’t have to cut it open – you can all the product out just by squeezing the tube. I absolute can’t live without this.

Coloured eye primers:

MAC Paint: It is a transfer-resistant creamy base than gives a powdery finish. It comes in a squeeze tube. Be careful when you use it for the first 10 times. A lot of the product comes out with just a little bit of squeeze. It lasts for a LONG time. It is totally worth my money. Some has a satin finish (almost matte -with very slight slimmer) and some are more shimmery. These come in mostly skin tones colours and I love this product too. It is thick and pigmented- covers the eye area well evening out the skin tone. I use Sublime Nature Paint (a satin finished paint – my skin tone) almost every day over Too Faced Shadow Insurance before putting on eye makeup.

One con is that it tends to dull the eyeshadow colour a little bit. But I will always love it because it evens out my skin tone.

MAC Paint Pot: It comes in a small jar. It comes in a lot of colours including skin tones colour. It comes in matte/cream, satin and frosty finishes. They are really good to enhance the colour the eyeshadow. They are so pretty I would all of them if I could afford it. However, I don’t find myself grabbing them as much when I do my eye makeup.

MAC Shadestick: The packaging is like a mechanical eye pencil. But it is too big to be used as an eye pencil. It is a cream base that comes in a stick. But I personally don’t like it because it doesn’t blend well. It goes on flaky on my eyes.

NYX Jumbo Pencil: These are great alternative to MAC Shadesticks. These are not mechanical – so you have to sharpen them. But the Jumbo Pencils are very creamy and very pigmented and easy to use. I like using them a lot.

Benefit Creaseless cream Shadow/Liner: It’s a cream base and doesn’t crease. I like it a lot.

Vincent Longo Eye Shimmer Souffle: It is a very creamy and shimmery base. I tend to use to under colourful eyeshadows.
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Urban decay 24/7 Glide-On eye pencils are great creamy eye pencils. They are very easily applied. They are waterproof and stay on upper and lower lash line for a long time. They come in 19 shades. Overall, it’s a great buy. Women usually love these eye pencils. But it’s not my personal favourite. Because I don’t normally wear coloured eye pencils, I almost always wear black. Urban Decay’s black eye pencil in Zero doesn’t do it for me. It is not dark enough for my medium dark skin (my skin colour is MAC NC42 foundation). I only use it for natural looks, not dramatic looks. If you have fair skin you won’t have any problem though. My favourite is the purple colour is Lust and teal colour in Covet. Something to keep in mind is that they don’t stay on waterline for even a minute.

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If you can have only one type of eyeliner, I say buy pencil eyeliners because they are versatile. It can be applied on the upper lash line (the skin right above upper lashes), lower lash line (the skin right below lower lash line) and your water line (the inside of the eyes- the wet part). Pencil eyeliners are also easiest to apply. Just hold it like a pencil and rim your water line. Stay close to the lash line when lining the upper lash line. If you line your lower lash line, it can look harsh. Smudge it with a pencil brush (a brush with an elongated and firm tip) for a smoky effect. Use a sponge tip applicator or Q-tip if you don’t have any brush. I mostly use Black eye pencils. So my reviews from today are going to be about black eye pencils.

I have medium dark skin (MAC NC42 Foundation). These are the eyeliners I am reviewing today. From right to left:

• MAC Technakohl Eyeliner in GraphBlack,
• MAC Eye Pencil in Black Funk,
• Rimmel Extreme Definition Two-tone Eye Definer in 003 (Trend Settler),
• Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in 061 (Jet Black),
• Urban decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero,
• Makeup For Ever Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil,
• Almay Amazing Lasting 16 Hour Eye Pencil in Precise Black,
• NYX Eye/eyebrow pencil in 901 Black
• Elizabeth Arden Eye Pencil in Smoky Black
• Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner in Onyx
• Maybelline Expert Eyes in Velvel Black

Best pencil eyeliner for Top or bottom lash line (on skin):

MAC Technakohl Eyeliner in GraphBlack is the best for top or bottom lash line. It’s true black. It is creamy – easily glides on skin. It is long lasting. It’s mechanical and the packaging is sleek – easy to travel with. GraphBlack is my absolute favourite.

Almay Amazing Lasting 16 Hour Eye Pencil in Precise Black. Very long lasting for top and bottom lash lines. It’s less creamy than MAC Technakohl, but still easily applied. It comes with a sharpener at the back.

Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner in Onyx. Easily applied and long lasting. It’s mechanical, but not as good as MAC Technakohl and Almay pencils

Makeup For Ever Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil. It is long lasting – not too long. It’s also not very creamy.

Best Pencil Eyeliner for waterline:

First of all, have I found an eye pencil yet that stays on waterline for more than 2 hours? NO, I always have to touch up my waterline eyeliner. One trick is to powder waterline with a black eyeshadow – but my eyes are too sensitive for that.

MAC Eye Pencil in Black Funk. It is SUPER creamy. It glides on waterline. It’s true black. It’s discontinued –an alternative would be MAC Ebony eye pencil. However, since it’s so creamy and almost wet – it’s not long lasting.

Elizabeth Arden Eye Pencil in Smoky Black. It’s creamy enough for waterline. Again – not long lasting.

Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in 061 (Jet Black). It’s creamy – so easily applied on waterline. But it’s not half as creamy as MAC Black Funk.

Rimmel Extreme Definition Two-tone Eye Definer in 003 (Trend Settler). It has a black eye pencil in one end and a white one in another end. It gives the same result as Rimmel Soft Kohl.

TIP: To make your eyes look bigger, line your waterline with a white eye pencil. If you are dark, then use a peach colour.

Okay eye Pencil for Both Water line and Top and bottom Lashlines:

Urban decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero. Lots of people love this – but it didn’t work for me. It stays put on skin okay (top and bottom lash line). It glides on waterline – but you have to touch up. What bothers me is that I medium dark skin tone and this eyeliner is not Black enough for me. If you have fair skin, this eyeliner may work great for you. But I only use for natural looks – not black enough for dramatic looks (for dark skin tones). For the price- I say it’s not worth it.

NYX Eye/eyebrow pencil in 901 Black. It’s not long lasting on skin and not very creamy either for waterline.

BAD eye pencil:

Maybelline Expert Eyes in Velvel Black. It’s not black – it’s grey. It is SO hard; I struggled to put it on my top lash line. I can’t imagine someone trying to put this on their waterline – it’s going to poke the eyes out. Stay away from it.

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Eyeliners are great to give the eyes some definition. Many women with busy lifestyle have a makeup routine that consists of just eyeliner and lipstick. Because these 2 products are take the least amount of time to apply. There are various kinds of eyeliners: Pencil, liquid, cream and gel eyeliners are main types.

Pencil eyeliners are very versatile. It can be applied on the upper lash line (the skin right above upper lashes), lower lash line (the skin right below lower lash line) and your water line (the inside of the eyes). Pencil eyeliners are also easiest to apply. Just hold it like a pencil and rim your water line. Stay close to the lash line when lining the upper lash line. If you line your lower lash line, it can look harsh. Smudge it with a pencil brush (a brush with a elongated and firm tip) for a smoky effect. Use a sponge tip applicator or Q-tip if you don’t have any brush.

Gel eyeliners also can be applied anywhere. They are very creamy –ideal for waterline. You have to apply it with an eyeliner brush (a brush with small, thin and sharp tip). Apply it normally on your upper lash line and smudge it on your bottom lash line.

Liquid eyeliners are used for a “done” look. It only can be applied on upper lash line. It looks way too harsh on lower lash line. It cannot be applied on water line at all.

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Eyeshadows can look great if applied correctly. Eye shape is very important when doing an eye look. If you have droopy eyes, then winged eyeshadow in the outer corner is a great trick to give it a lift. If you have no crease, then doing an overall colour makes it more apparent that you don’t have a crease. If you have hooded eyes, doing light shimmery lids is the way to go. There are tons of different brands and tons of different textures of eyeshadows to choose from. I am going to start doing eyeshdaow reviews by brands soon.

Basic eyeshadow application can be very difficult to explain on a blog. So I will try to take pictures in the future. For today I will choose brown colours from MAC.  I recommend brushes, but sponge tip applicators are fine if you are just beginning.

Step 1. Apply an eye primer with your fingers. Eye primer prevents any creasing of the eyeshadow, enhances the eyeshadow colour and makes it last longer. Urban Decay Primer Potion or Too faced Shadow Insurance (Both found at Sephora) are both GREAT eye primers.

Step 2. Apply a shimmery colour on the eyelid. When you close your eyes, everything that’s under the fold of the eye is you lid. Use a flat eyeshadow brush (ie. MAC# 239) to pack on the colour. Pat it on, don’t move the brush back and forth. This will give a solid pigmentation and prevent fallout. The colour I choose today is Woodwinked eyeshadow by MAC.

Step 3. Apply a darker and less shimmery colour on the crease (or fold) of the eyes. With a fluffy brush (ie. MAC #217), start from the outer corner and go towards the inner corner. If you have close set eyes, then stop at halfway. I choose Satin Taupe eyeshadow by MAC

Step 4. Apply the darkest colour only on the outer corner of the eyes with a pointy but fluffy brush (ie. MAC 226 brush). I recommend Sketch eyeshadow by MAC. Take 217 brush again and start blending the harsh edges of all colours. If colour is not blended it looks awful, but over blending can make it look muddy. So practice is key here.

Step 5. Take a skin toned shimmery colour to highlight brow bones and inner corner of the eyes – makes you look awake.

If you choose to put eyeshadow under your bottom lashes as well, then line the bottom lash line with a brown eye pencil (Rimmel makes creamy eye pencils). Apply Sketch eyeshadow over that with a pencil brush (Ie. 219 brush by MAC) and smudge it for a smoky effect.

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Beautiful eye makeup can totally change the look of a person from dull to gorgeous. There’s a misconception that some people can only wear certain coloured eyeshadows because of their eye colour. Though purples look good on green eyes, browns on blue eyes and so on, that doesn’t mean those are the only colours to wear. What’s more important is the right application of eyeshadow according to the shape of one’s eyes. Also, pay attention to the skin type of your lid. If you have dry lids, cream eyeshadows would work for you. If you have oily leads, stick to powder eyeshadows. I like waterproof eyeliner and mascara because they don’t smudge. I will post more details on different products later on.