MAC In Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Smoky Mauve

The MAC In Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Smoky Mauve ($24CAD/$20USD) deserves boatloads of praise. After the 2013 release of the MAC In Extra Dimension Collection (limited edition), it's easy to understand why MAC has re-released the In Extra Dimension Eye Shadows as a permanent range. With 18 shades of eyeshadow, the Prep and Prime 24HR Extend Eye Base, the 233 Split Fibre Eye Shadow Brush and the 234 Split Fibre Eye Blending Brush, this collection is sure to please any eye makeup lover. 

MAC says that the In Extra Dimension Eye Shadows come in sheer crystallized finishes to stunning metallic. It's clear that Smoky Mauve is most certainly classified as a stunning metallic, as it looks almost liquid-like. Below, I've swatched Smoky Mauve without foiling it. When wet, the shadow tends to sheer out. 

Left - heavily swatched; Right - blended 

Smoky Mauve is a cool, medium purple with tons of silver glitter that gives the shadow a ton of dimension. It's actually a great shade for wearing all over the lid because when blended, the colour mysteriously appears slightly brown. 

I could use all the beauty blogger buzz words to describe the texture of this eyeshadow. It's smooth, buttery, soft to the touch, silky and blends like a dream. For such a shimmery shadow, it's a bit startling that Smoky Mauve has little no fallout. Further, I have slightly oily eyelids and the shadow lasts all day without primer. Perhaps it's what MAC describes as a "modern hybrid formula" which pairs the smoothness of a cream, blendability of a liquid and the long-wear and dimension of a powder. 

All in all, well done on this re-release, MAC. A+. Beyond Smoky Mauve, there's quite a number of shades that are piquing my interest... (Silver Dawn, Legendary Lure, Stolen Moment...and more). 

What do you think of the MAC In Extra Dimension Eye Shadows? Will you be picking any up? 

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Mary Kay At Play Baked Eye Trios in Out of the Blue, Neapolitan & Purple Eclipse

The Mary Kay At Play Baked Eye Trios ($14 each) are nothing new but May 16th, 2015, Mary Kay is putting out three new colour variations. I remember testing one of these out but I guess I never ended up reviewing them. All I have to say is they're AMAZING.

Out of the Blue // satin finish blue, shimmery warm brown, shimmery gold

Neapolitan // satin finish pearl, satin finish medium brown, shimmery finish light pink

Purple Eclipse // matte pastel pink, matte black, matte purple

The Mary Kay At Play Baked Eye Trios are three eyeshadows with varying finishes in each set. The shadows are ridiculously pigmented (all of them) with both neutral and slightly more "fun" colours like blues and purples. Out of the three, my favourite is a toss up between Out of the Blue and Neapolitan. I find Purple Eclipse to be unique but quite hard to wear.

There's some fallout but this is curbed with careful patting of a flat brush instead of using a bendy fluffy one. The shadows are soft, smooth, and blendable (aka *beauty blogger eyeshadow buzz words*). The shadows look fresh from first application to 7 hours later when worn with primer. I couldn't really ask for much more in terms of formulation. 

What do you think of the swatches? Which is your favourite? 

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essence 2 in 1 Eyeliner Pen

One eyeliner, and two ways to wear it. essence's new 2 in 1 Eyeliner Pen ($3.99, exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart) is a felt tip liquid eyeliner that features a thin tip and a thick tip. 

While I don't particularly care for the thick side, the thin one is precise enough for the way I like to line my eyes (with a short, thin line). If you're looking for pin-point precision, this one's not nearly as sharp as all of the brush tip liners I've ever tried. The formula is very black and opaque but bleeds slightly into fine lines. As for wear time, I'm thoroughly impressed. The photo below was taken after a 10 hour work day. Impressive, huh? 

While the essence 2 in 1 Eyeliner isn't perfect, it's decent for the price. If you're looking for a budget eyeliner, check this one out. 

What's your favourite drugstore eyeliner? 

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Mary Kay At Play Shadow & Liner in Iced Lilac, Mint to Be, Rebel Rose & Caramellow

Ain’t nothing like a dual-ended eye product. 2-in-1 things always get me because the more portable and multi-tasking my makeup is… the better. New from Mary Kay At Play are the Shadow & Liners ($15 each). The Mary Kay At Play Shadow & Liners come in 4 shades – Mint to Be, Iced Lilac, Rebel Rose and Caramellow. They’re dual ended shadow and liner sticks that are meant to make eye makeup easier. 

Mary Kay says that these are ultra-creamy and smooth with rich colour payoff, smudge-proof, fade-proof, and buildable. For the most part, I would agree. All four eyeshadow shades are rich in colour with a pearlized finish. The shadows don’t crease or smudge on me throughout the entirety of a 8 hour work day. As for the eyeliners, they’re smooth, creamy and pigmented but for some reason transfer like crazy onto the wrong parts of my eyelid in less than an hour of wearing them. Furthermore, the eyeliners have no sharpening mechanism and get thicker at the base (I had a similar problem with The Body Shop Matte Kajals). 

Iced Lilac

Lilac Shadow/Purple Liner

Mint To Be 

Froggy Green Shadow/Forest Green Liner

Rebel Rose

Rose Shadow/Black Liner

Caramellow

Caramel Shadow/Brown Liner

The colours are super pretty! My favourite combo is Iced Lilac. Caramellow is the most wearable but I find the caramel-gold eyeshadow to be a bit too warm for my preferences. Unfortunately, the liner doesn’t work well with my lids but the cream eyeshadows are gorgeous!

What do you think of these shadows and liners? Which one is your favourite? 

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Rimmel Scandaleyes XX-Treme Mascara

ANOTHER new mascara! This time around it's the Rimmel Scandaleyes XX-Treme Mascara ($7.99).   The mascara is advertised to give both volume and length at a (presumably) XX-TREME level with its unique brush. 

The wand is plastic, which I'm typically fond of. I find plastic wands are typically better for combing out clumps. One side of the brush is flat, while the other is arched. The flat side is to be used for creating length, while the arched side is meant to be for creating volume. 

Does it lengthen? Yes. Does it volumize? Yes. Does it clump? No. Does it smudge? No. Does it droop? No. 

The Rimmel Scandaleyes XX-Treme Mascara pretty much meets all the criteria to be a Stephanie-approved lash product, perhaps on par with my favourite CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara. It provides non-clumpy volume and length without smudging or drooping, so no complaints here. 

Do you like Rimmel mascaras? 

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CoverGirl Super Size Mascara and Intensify Me! Liquid Eyeliner

CoverGirl has two new things for your eyes – the CoverGirl Super Sizer Mascara and Intensify Me! Liquid Eyeliner by LashBlast. One I like and one I'm on the fence about. Guess which one's which and read my thoughts below: 

My lashes typically do well with CoverGirl mascaras, and this one is no exception. The CoverGirl Super Sizer Mascara (~$7) features a plastic tip with small bristles. Oddly enough, the wand goes from small at the base to slightly wider at the tip. This makes no difference in application. The slightly curved wand paired with small bristles, makes it easy to grab and slightly curl all my baby eyelashes without getting black blobs all over my eyelids. In addition, it doesn’t smudge or droop on me which is a definite plus. CG claims that lashes are 400 x more volumized from inner to outer corner. Yes, it’s very volumizing but maybe not by 400x. Regardless, the Super Sizer is a mascara that I’d definitely go back to. 

Indeed, you can carve out a decent looking cat eye with the CoverGirl Intensify Me! Liquid Eyeliner (~$8). However, the hard felt tip isn’t particularly precise (compared to the brush tips of the Physicians Formula, Kat Von D or Paul & Joe liquid liners). The liner is very dark and intense but bleeds ever so slightly; again making precision tougher than you might be used to. The formulation requires a little drying time before rapid blinking (or risk ultra-black lines in all the wrong places) but after drying, stays all day long with no signs of fading. 

All in all, the Intensify Me! Liquid Eyeliner is so-so but if you're a fan of CoverGirl mascaras, the Super Sizer Mascara won't disappoint.  

Have you tried these new goodies from CoverGirl? 

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Build-A-Brow // stila Spring 2015 Shape & Shade Collection

I'm not an eyebrow person. I don't bother filling them in because every time I make an attempt they look hairy caterpillars on my face. Last month, I attended a preview of stila's spring and summer collections at Shoppers Drug Mart in the Runnymede Theatre. There, Kaci Harabedian (stila, Executive Director International Sales) did my brows... and they looked surprisingly nice (and un-caterpillar-like). Kaci colour-matched me to all three of the brow products in the Shape & Shade Collection - the stila Stay All Day Waterproof Brow Colour ($27), the stila Stay All Day Precision Glide Brow Pencil ($27) and the stila Stay All Day Brow Gel ($44). 

The collection features nude lipsticks, contouring and brow products in natural earth-tones for an enhanced beauty look - "minimal, natural with a focus on flawless skin." The products go hand-in-hand with my preferred eyebrow look - anything but two brown/black blocks on my face. 

Brow Gel, Waterproof Brow Color, Glide Brow Pencil 

The nice thing about the three brow products in the Shape & Shade Collection is that they all do something a little different in terms of brow volume and boldness.  What they have in common, is the fact that they "Stay All Day" (budge-proof, smudge-proof, transfer-proof). From least to most bold: 

THE NAKED EYEBROW (for comparison purposes). You'll notice that I have quite a bit of hair and decent shaping but there are some blank spaces that could be filled in for a more groomed look. 

stila Stay All Day Waterproof Brow Colour in Medium

Shades available (3): Dark, Medium, Light

The brush-tip pen makes drawing individual hairs easy. The formula is quite sheer and cool-toned, which works well behind my black hair. By a long shot, this is the most natural looking. I found it hard to build up the product due to the sheerness, but this wasn't a problem for me as I prefer a natural brow to a bold, heavy brow. 

Best for: my brows but a tiny bit better

stila Stay All Day Precision Glide Brow Pencil in Dark Brown

Shades available (5): Blonde, Caramel, Medium Brown, Dark Brown, Black 

The Stay All Day Precision Glide Brow Pencil is a new product from stila. It contains oils and vitamins for smooth and soft application. Indeed the pencil is soft and the spooley at the end blends out the product with ease. The twist-up function is nice but the outer packaging is made of a thin plastic that has already broken on me. The colour Medium Brown is slightly too warm for my jet black hair but not really noticeable. The pencil is more buildable than the brow pen. 

Best for: naturally shaped brows

stila Stay All Day Brow Gel in Dark Brown

Shades available (5): Blonde, Auburn, Medium Brown, Dark Brown, Black 

The product comes with a dual-ended angled brush and spooley. The tube also has a cupped tip, which works as a mini-palette to make application mess-free. The Brow Gel provides the most immediate definition of the three stila eyebrow products. Unlike the others it also provides volume -combing the brow hairs back and forth horizontally with the spooley creates extra oomph. Again, the Medium Brown colour is a tad warm for my skin colouring. Also, be warned - too much product can yield caterpillar brow, so be sure to blend out the excess product with the spooley! 

Best for: bold, voluminous, model-esque brows

Overall, these brow products are stellar, some of the best I've tried. All three last all day long and can be mixed and matched or used individually for varying levels of definition and volume. I'm preferential to the Stay All Day Waterproof Brow Colour in Medium (the pen) because it gives me a look most similar to my natural brow. 

I'm not an eyebrow person but with the right products, I probably could be. 

Which of the three brow products would you use? 

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The Body Shop Matte Kajal Eyeliners in Black & White

If I could only own two shades of eyeliner, I would have a black and a white. The Body Shop has recently released the Matte Kajal Eyeliners in both Black and White ($15 each). At a glance, my first thought when seeing these eyeliners was "HOW IN THE WORLD DO I SHARPEN THESE?", but upon testing them out, I began to realize that it didn't really matter... 

The Body Shop says that their Matte Kajal Eyeliners enriched with Community Fair Trade Beeswax from Cameroon are perfect for creating a smokey eye, easy to use, and smooth to apply. 

While the product is quite pigmented, they're by no means super duper ultra-black or white. The shapely handle of the liner does, indeed, make the product easy to use but the product itself isn't great for lining the lids because of the tip isn't precise. 

Now back to my thing about sharpening... I was a bit mind-boggled. Anyways, the eyeliner is a bit too fat to create a precise line and it's clear that without some sort of sharpening mechanism the more you use it, the less and less precise the liner will become. BUT if I don't set the black, it transfers immediately onto my hooded crease and setting my eyeliner is a step that I'm too lazy to take. That being said, the Kajal Eyeliners smudge wonderfully and when set last about 8 hours. So, the Body Shop Matte Kajal eyeliners are much better as cream eyeshadow bases. Think NYX Eyeshadow Pencils in Milk and Black Bean but a little less sticky and longer lasting. 

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Hard Candy Eye Def Glitter Eyeshadow in Sequin & Walk the Line Eyeliner in Black Light

Pretty swatches, not so great products. Lately, I've been pretty on board with Hard Candy products but these are two purple products that I was very disappointed with - the Hard Candy Eye Def Glitter Eyeshadow in 327 Sequin and the Walk the Line Eyeliner in 790 Black Light ($5.98 each, exclusively at Walmart). 

Hard Candy Eye Def Glitter Cream Eyeshadow in 327 Sequin 

The glittery deep purple hue of Sequin looks like it will make the perfect addition to a purple smokey eye. It's not. For one, the texture is hard to blend. While the doe foot applicator is handy, every time I attempted to layer the product (be it with the doe foot or my fingertips), it would wipe away the layer before leaving a "bald" patch on my eyelid. This made it impossible to build colour. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Furthermore, Hard Candy says this is a long-wearing product. Well, it most certainly is...to the point that it stained my lids. 

Hard Candy Walk the Line Eyeliner in 790 Black Light

This bright purple liner looks so wonderful in the tube. The colour isn't the issue - it's slightly sheer when applied but a second layer makes it fully opaque. The brush tip is flared and it's almost impossible to create a sharp line. It's almost fixable. I could dip a finer brush into the tube, but the tube is too small... 

Not surprisingly, every brand has great, so-so, and not so great products. That being said, if you're at your local Walmart and think these look cool, I suggest you skip them. There are much better products available from Hard Candy. Keep in mind that I've only tested out a single colour for each of these products, so other colours may differ. 

 Is there anything you've tried lately that you weren't happy with? 

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Hard Candy Top Ten Trendsetter Eyeshadow Palette in 890 Birthday Suit

A few months ago, I reviewed the Hard Candy Top Ten Classics Eyeshadow Palettes in Smoke Out and Feelin' Blue. Hard Candy also has a Top Ten Trendsetters Eyeshadow Palettes Line which features "fashion forward colours with matte, shimmer, glitter and metallic finishes. What might seem to be the most boring to some is the most interesting for me - the Top Ten Trendsetters Eyeshadow Palette in 890 Birthday Suit ($5.98, exclusively at Walmart). It's all matte, mostly neutrals with a few pops of colour... not something you see often at the drugstore. 

Swatched over Hard Candy Eye's the Limit Smokey Eyeshadow Primer

On a daily basis, I don't work with mattes because I haven't found a formula that I love. While I don't love the Hard Candy matte eyeshadow formula, they're not bad. The lighter shades are a little chalky but nothing but the medium-toned and darker shades are quite nice. With the help of a little primer, all the shades look pretty great. In terms of workability, the mattes in 890 Birthday Suit are fairly easy to blend and build and stay on my lids for 6-7 hours before fading away. 

Overall, not the best or the worst eyeshadows but this palette is great if you're looking for some affordable mattes. 

Do you have a favourite drugstore matte palette? 

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Paul & Joe Beaute Liquid Eyeliner in Black

A staple in every woman's vanity is a black liquid eyeliner. Long-wearing and ultra-black with fine line precision is a minimum. The Paul & Joe Beaute Liquid Eyeliner in Black ($26) is all this and more. Paul & Joe says that the product contains smooth-fit polymers, rich powders and silky emollients to ensure that colour stays put without fading or running. 

First and foremost, the flexible brush applicator is very thin and precise (on par with that of the Make Up For Ever Graphic Liner) but not so thin that it's impossible to build a thick winged liner.  Just the right size. Secondly, the formula is pigmented with only one swipe necessary for full opacity. The formula is ultra-black with a satin finish.

Thirdly, the product sets almost immediately without running into fine lines. Thus, for my monolid and hooded-eyed friends, there are no post-application smudge lines on your eyelid. Finally, the wear-time is stellar. Unless you're vigorously rubbing your eyes, there won't be any smudges. I tear up quite a bit in the early morning and after long work days sitting in front of a computer screen and so far the liner seems to be waterproof even though this is not included in the claims. Despite being so long-wearing the liquid liner is actually quite easy to remove. 

In addition to solid performance on the lids, the retro-modern Paul & Joe packaging of a light pink with a chrysanthemum motif makes me feel pretty when I use it. 

Overall, a stellar product that I will most definitely turn to when I'm in need of a classic black eyeliner for everyday. 

Do you have a staple liquid liner? 

In Canada, Paul & Joe is available in Canada at select Shoppers Drug Marts. Press sample featured. 

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