Dunce Cap Moment: I was twelve the first time I ever wore eye shadow. I was at my friend S.’s house and we were trying out costumes for our school play. This involved crazy wigs, fun dresses and, of course, makeup. I clumsily applied this beautiful shade of deep, shimmery blue to my lids and thought I looked so pretty (although I probably looked more like a sparkly raccoon than anything else). When it was time to clean up, S. brought out a big jug of heavy duty soap containing talc. She lathered it across her face to remove every speck of makeup and then held it out to me. Since I was only wearing eye shadow, I took a small dab and rubbed it across my eyes. The soap was so strong that it stung and in my panic to wash the stuff off, I opened my eyes.
Lesson Learned: Don’t use soap with talc on your eyes. Those little particles really sting. If you’re desperate to get your eye makeup off, it’s probably best to invest in some eye makeup remover.
I’m a sucker for anything that promises to make my eyelashes thicker and longer, so when Rimmel released their Lash Accelerator Mascara, I had to have it. And if Zooey Deschanel says it works, you know I’m on board…
The Good:
- Good application (This stuff goes on smoothly and is less clumpy than a lot of mascaras I’ve tried. As long as you don’t go crazy and try to use the whole tube in one go, it has a more natural look to it.)
- Cute packaging (The ruler along the side of the tube is a nice touch)
- Did I mention Zooey?!!!
The Bad:
- Needs more colors (There is only Black and Ultimate Black. Where’s the Brown? Or at least Black-Brown? As GOB Bluth would say, “Come on!”)
- Lash growth… not so much (I’ve used this stuff for a while and haven’t noticed much of a difference. There have been times when I thought maybe my eyelashes were longer, but it’s probably just wishful thinking.)
The Ugly:
- $7-9 for a .23 oz tube
- Rimmel tests on animals (Grrr!)
The Grade: C
Even if it doesn’t make your lashes longer, it is still a pretty good mascara… just maybe not for that price.
My sister bought a tube of Physicians Formula Eye Booster™ 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum (I know, a mouthful, right?) and she seemed to like it. Later, Ulta was having a sale on Physicians Formula products, so I picked up a tube for myself.
The Good:
- Easy application (I’ve never been a fan of brush type eyeliners, but this one is almost pen-like. It goes on smooth and evenly.)
- No animal testing (Hooray!)
The Bad:
- Not longlasting (This is good stuff, but I usually manage to rub it off by the end of the day.)
- Lash growth…again not so much (And yet I keep hoping!)
The Ugly:
- $11 for .016 oz (Be sure to wait for this bad boy to go on sale.)
The Grade: B-
This is the best eyeliner I’ve ever tried application-wise. The definition is amazing. The price is not.
I originally found SweetPea and Fay on etsy, although sadly they are not there anymore. Now they have their own website, so I guess they’re moving up in the world. Since my post is all about the eyes today, I’m going to talk about their line of mineral eyeshadows, specifically the color “Copper Bird”.
The Good:
- Wonderful color (All of their colors are amazing and have some pretty clever names, such as “Caterpillar Smoke” and “Sure Burt”, although some are misspelled. On purpose, maybe? “Copper Bird” is just what it sounds like, a very vibrant copper with fine particles of red and gold shimmer.)
- Mineral makeup (It’s better for your skin!)
The Bad:
- Not longlasting (Be sure to wear primer under these, or else they will have trouble sticking and vanish after a few hours.)
- No more samples (When I originally bought “Copper Bird”, it was in a little sample pouch that didn’t cost too much. Sadly, now only full sizes are for sale.)
The Ugly:
The Grade: B+
I love this stuff! I can’t afford it, but I love it. Some of my other favorites include “The Shadow” (a shimmery charcoal gray), “Planet 426” (a crazy awesome brownish-purple), and “Moxy” (a sparkly red).
I was at the store with a Neutrogena concealer stick in my hand, when my sister guilt-tripped me into putting it back and getting a Physician’s Formula concealer instead (because PF doesn’t test on animals and Neutrogena does – it also helped that the PF was slightly cheaper than Neutrogena).
BeautyDunce 