Category Archives: Eyes

Priceline splurge + Essence Cosmetics

Posted on by
1

I went into Priceline the other day because I was about 10 minutes early for work and in desperate need of some hand cream. I've decided that Priceline is a little bit like Ikea.

You can go in there with the best of intentions, to purchase one necessary or predetermined item, and walk into a haze, coming to only as you pay for a multitude of items you somehow picked up on the way to the check outs. Then you walk out of the store and the fog lifts and you can't quite work  out what happened.

So, along with my Cetaphil Intense Moisturiser for hands, I also walked out with a bunch of Essence products. Partly because they are cute and have some great colours going on, but mostly because they are SO CHEAP!

I don't know this brand AT ALL except that I got the Essence mascara from Lauren in our Christmas in July beauty swap and I love it. 

Here's what I picked up:

I got three nail polishes. Nude Glam in Toffee To Go and Colour & Go in Let's Get Lost for $2.55. Then I picked up Rebels Rock Coat for $3.50 – I didn't even know what it was but it looked fun (more on that later).

I've been wanting a gel eyeliner for ages but wasn't sure if I'd use it. At $5.95 for the eye liner and $2.95 for the brush, it was a no-brainer.

I've been thinking I need some more bright eye colours for summer and this Sun Club palette just screamed out to be bought – $5.95, it's a joke!

Here' s a little swatch of the palette. I love the range of colours!

I'll report back when I've tried these beauties out, but so far I'm pretty happy with my purchases! It gives me a chance to try some new things before I buy a more expensive version!

Digg This

Semi Permanent Salon Eyelashes vs Ardell Lashes

Posted on by
Reply

As posted on here the other day, I was wishing for some false eyelashes.  I have the deepest envy for girls (or boys for that matter) who are blessed with long, thick eyelashes to frame their beautiful eyes.  I find them mysterious and alluring, and I've wanted them all my life.

About a year ago I indulged my fantasies by having Erin at The Nail Den affix lash extensions onto my own lashes.  I wish I'd taken a photo then, because it's not something I'd do again.  It was probably my own fault that it wasn't the great experience I had wanted.  When first discussing it with Erin when she was doing her training she'd said to me that some women like just a few to enhance their natural look, and I, in my enthusiasm, said "Well if I had them, I'd want them to stick out like dog's balls!!"  Not my finest moment I know, but I thought it was funny at the time.

So the lashes I had semi-permanently affixed (little clusters of 3 hairs glued together onto individual eyelashs) were graduated from a modest length at the inner eye, growing and fanning out to canine protrubrences at the outer eye.  I thought they were magnificent!

I went home and loving husband told me I looked like Endora, the OTT mother from the 1960's sitcom Bewitched.  Not feeling so magnificent now!! 

Then I found them annoying everytime I went to wash my face, which is at least twice a day.  Also, I couldn't scrunch up in bed to sleep.  I'd wake up in the morning and find a little cluster lying on the pillow, or I'd forget I had them and rub my eyes!!

So, one day after about 4 weeks, I got frustrated and tried to remove them with oil.  Unsuccessfully.  The more I tried the more I realised it wasn't working, and the more frustrated I became, and so I ended up pulling them all off, with most of my own eyelashes into the bargain.  If I can ever give anyone advice on this subject – don't do it yourself, get a professional to remove them.  I was naked for weeks!!

I noticed that Priceline were selling a veritable candy store of false eyelashes, and Erin advised that Ardell Lashes were the easiest to apply, as the glue is slippery until it sets, therefore you get a bit of wiggle room until you are a pro at application.

They were less than $20 and I am thrilled with the result.  They come with their own glue, and an applicator, which is like a little pair of plastic tongs.  I applied all of my make up first, including eyeliner (as I though that would help to hide any faults in application).  I then held the eyelashes in the tongs, spread the glue, and popped into place.  I used tweezers to wiggle them into a perfect (or as best as I could) place, and the glue dried invisibly.

Totally framed by my newly shaped eyebrows, which were done with the much more natural sugaring rather than waxing (also at The Nail Den), I was ready to glam up in an evening dress for a Black Tie party, feeling totally at home on the red carpet!!!

Digg This

ModelCo Fibrelash

Posted on by
Reply

ModelCo is a brand that I haven't really used, I think because I have always associated it with fake tans and this alabaster skin just cannot fathom the idea of a fake tan. This is not a judgemental thing, just a 'eek I would look terrible' thing.

Anyway, recently I have tried not one, but two ModelCo products and as they are an eyeliner and a mascara, it only seemed right to present them to you together.

 

If you love the idea of long lashes but haven't tried ModelCo Fibrelash then you probably should give it a go! It'is an interesting concept of applying tiny fibres to your lashes between two coats of mascara in order to plump, thicken, and elongate your pre-existing lashes without having to apply falsies. Aside from my word (and probably that of many beauty bloggers before me), Fibrelash has won numerous beauty awards since over the past couple of years. See, even the professionals agree!

The result is actually quite impressive, particularly for a lash-deprived lady such as myself (apologies for not having photos!!)

I love how much longer and thicker my lashes appear and how long the look lasts for, despite how easily it washes off. The price is a little hefty for a mascara at $38 for the travel size (all in one, like mine) or $48 for the full size kit, but remember this is a product you might replace false lashes with and compared with salon extentions, it's actually pretty reasonable and less permanent.

My only gripe is that, as the day goes on, my eyes do get a little sick of the fibres and, on occasion, they've gotten irritated by my new, thicker lashes. As someone who doesn't wear heavy eye make up, I've found that my eyes freak out a little bit by the unexpected heaviness surrounding them. I will admit that at the end of the day, I'm excited to wash the little fibres off.

The second ModelCo product that I've tried recently is the ModelCo eyeliner with the built in sharpen. This is a nifty little idea if you, like me, have a habit of misplacing sharpeners and getting stuck with blunt pencils. This no longer needs to happen with the clever ModelCo eyeliner. I got this in a Priceline GWP and find it a great addition to have in my make up bag for any of my sharpening needs! ModelCo also sell the eyeliner and travel Fibrelash in a travel set for $39 and I think this is definitely worth having. That's an eyeliner and sharpener for only $1!

Have you tried Fibrelash? What do you think about it?

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I got these products for free with other products that I purchased and, as always, my opinions are my own. The product images come from the ModelCo site and the others are my own.

Digg This

Eye Lines

Posted on by
Reply

If you know my blog, Through My Looking Glass (or if you saw this post), you will have some awareness of my Pinterest obsession. I LOVE Pinterest and while my addiction has faded slightly, I still get a Pinterest fix every now and again!

During the Pinterest obession of 2011, I found the following image about how the way you use eye liner can competely change the shape of your eyes and over the past month or so, have been experimenting with different lines:

 

Mum and I have talked recently about how much we love eyeliner, but I can't believe I used to just line my eyes the whole way around day in and day out, how dull!

These days I mix it up depending on the look I'm going for. I particularly love a top line with a slight cat eye in a liquid liner, lining just around the outer corner, is a really easy way to elongate the eyes, and sometimes I skip eyeliner all together and just wear mascara for a bright-eyed look, it really opens my eyes up!

It has taken me so long to even consider experimenting with my eye liner and I can never go back now! What about you? How do you line? Have you ever gotten into a lifetime rut and one day realised that you don't have to do things that way?

 

Digg This

Mother/Daughter Monday – Eyeliner

Posted on by
Reply
We've been very busy in life lately, but hopefully this week we'll be back on beauty blogging track! To kick things off, we've got another Mother/Daughter Monday fresh and ready for the week. This week, we want to share with you our love of all things eye liner and our favourites over years of testing and trying different shades, brands, and types of liquids, pencils, and creams.
 
The Product – Eyeliner
 
The Purpose – To add definition and shape to your eyes
 
The Price - There are oh so many different brands producing all different kinds of eyeliner that you can pick one up for $2 or $40!
Sue says:
 
Because I love the smokey black eye look, I have worked to perfect my eye lining over the years, and have scoured high and low looking for the best products to do this with.  After a lot of research, I have whittled it down now to 3 different products that I use all the time, interchangeably.
 
This is my latest find and definately my favourite.  I have used nothing else for months now, applying on both top and bottom lashes, but it takes a little time and care to apply.  I have the True Black, but I know from reading the reviews that Honey Black is a big favourite with others.  It comes with its own little brush, but it's fiddley, so I'm going to buy a long handled Clinque Eye Definer Brush since I've found one is available.
 
For many years this has been my dramatic go-to evening product.  Beautiful to apply, it doesn't move until you're ready to remove it.  For formal evenings out this is the perfect big statement product.
 
This is a pencil that needs sharpening, but I use it (in Black Diamond) when I need a quick rim around the eyes and don't have time to take the care that the Cream Liner requires.  I also have it in Brown Sugar, which give a much softer look.  I've road tested many kohls and pencils over the years, looking for something with staying power, and I have to say this is the best of this type of product on the market.

Katherine says:

I have had a pretty solid make up routine for my whole adult life and it's only really been since I got into the world of beauty blogging that I've been game to try out so many new things! Recently I learned how dramamtic an affect the different ways you apply eye liner can make to your eyes and so I change my routine up on a daily basis, not to mention experimenting with different colours and styles of eye liners.

I have two particular products in my make up bag all year round that have really gone the distance and never let me down:

Napoleon Eye LIner in Onyx Factor ($28) 
This is my standard every day eye liner. I've tried lots of different brands but I definitely prefer the Napoleon pencil because it's not too hard and not too soft (yes, I'm the eye liner equivalent of Goldilocks)

Mac Liquidlast Eyeliner ($35)
I switch to a liquid eye liner when I want a more dramatic look, particularly for nights out or big events. I have been using the Mac Liquidlast for so long and really love it

As I said, I've started experimenting with lots of different colours and brands lately, but I'll save them for another time until I'm confident they can be added to this holy grail list!

 

Digg This

Lips or Eyes?

Posted on by
1

Lips or eyes?  Eyes or lips?  Which one to accentuate whilst you down-play the other?  Everything I've read about make-up tells me that you have to choose one and stick to it.  But which one?

Going with bold red lips?  Then eyes need to be soft and natural.

Source: bit.ly via Katherine on Pinterest

Wearing out the kohl by going for smoldering, smokey eyes?  Then nude lips are the go.

I've favoured my eyes now for many years.  I wear black pencil along both my top lid and underneath my bottom lashes nearly every day; I do the 2 or 3 shade eyeshadow as well; and tidy up my brows with a soft beige pencil.  Last but not least, I finish with two coats of black mascara on all lashes.  It's my standard 'go to work' look.  Then, at night, I will often add liquid eyeliner, which I've steadily perfected over the years (only to be fighting an uphill battle as age makes the lines go a little crepey!).

Source: tumblr.com via Katherine on Pinterest

I will also admit here to trying semi-permanent lash extensions earlier this year, but that is a story for another day…

Because of my trust in all media on cosmetics, I have tended to stick to lighter coloured lipsticks to balance my more made-up eyes.  I have also found that once you hit about 40, darker colours have a tendency to bleed into the lines around your lips, which is not a good look.  

Until earlier this month, that is. I had lunch with 3 girlfriends (well, they are more women than girls, but great friends none-the-less) and one (who is much younger than the rest of us) was sporting bold, red lipstick and I was hooked.  I was going to try the red lips again if it was the last thing I did.

Back at home, searching in amongst my 100-odd lipsticks, I found six reds of varying hues, and equally varying brands but not one of them was what I wanted.  They all looked old and sad and I knew in my heart of hearts that if you're going to do red lipstick, there's only one brand that is going to cut it and it was missing from my life.

I went to see the ladies at Chanel, because no one knew red lipstick like Coco and, into my life, I introduced the perfect red lipstick for me – matched to my complexion, with just the right amount of glossiness and no bleeding into the lines.  Thank you, Chanel.

Armed with my new purchase, I was ready to take on a new look but with bold, red lips instinct told me, I needed to tone down my eyes. Which I did.  However, every time I saw myself in a mirror, I looked all wrong.  My eyes had disappeared into my head; they needed a little encouragement to stand out as a part of my face. 

Maybe it's my age.  Maybe these rules are made for girls in their 20s.  Maybe I should read less magazines. Maybe more mature aged ladies need the balance of lips and eyes to look good. Does the advice mean that women with naturally dark eyes, think luxurious lashes and strong eyebrows have to steer away from bold, red lips? No!

So I have put down the magazine and picked up the eyeshadow brush, even when sporting my Rouge Coco 22.  After all these years I know what looks good on me and, after all, aren't rules meant to be broken?

 

 

 

Chanel's Rouge Coco 22 retails for $50 and is available in Australia from Myer and David Jones department stores.

Digg This