The Colossal Kajal 12H Extra Black Pencil

I've got a tonne of eye pencils all tucked away in a nifty little box. There's something so pretty about them, all the pretty colors and packaging. But black is the one colour you can not have enough of. It's most used and anybody can use it and look good. It is also enough to do an entire eye look. In a hurry just swipe it across your lids and smudge, BAM! Instant smoky eye. Then go over closer to you lash line, tight line on the upper and lower lids. Gorgeous smoky eyes in under 2 minutes. Generally speaking, you'll be looking for a formula that is matte, stays put, yet is pliable enough to smudge out when you apply it and is very very black. So does this product fit the bill?

Essence Haul and Mini Reviews

After a great many days I happened to venture into the local beauty mart. I was not really expecting anything new, but Essence had a few new products on display. Some things I had already read reviews on, and most reviews were all good. A couple of items were on sale at half price. Most Essence products are priced between 12 and 22 dhs, which is a very good price, especially for the price. I am glad with all the products in my haul and am generally pretty impressed with the brand.

So these are the things I bought:

From L to R: Waterproof eyeliner pen, XXXL Longlasting Lipgloss Matte Effect in 05 Velvet Rose, Rebel Soft Matte Lip Glosses in 02 Rebel Delight and 01 Mauve Like a Rockstar, All About Matt Oil Control Make-up Base, Essence Blush Up in 10 Heat Wave

A close up of the products open....

Urban Decay 24/7 Habitual Travel Eyeliner Set

If you're looking for the creamiest, softest (no tugging or pulling required) and the most pigmented of pencil eyeliners, you don't have to look any further. This set will satisfy all your eyeliner requirements for any and all occasions, be it simply a family dinner or a lavish party.

There are 4 eyeliners that are approximately 3/4 of the size of the originals. There is a deep egg plant purple, a turquoise with slight shimmer, a dark chocolaty brown and the blackest of blacks. 

NYX Slide-On Eye Pencils

I have a very conservative style when it comes to makeup. I stick to my neutrals and rarely steer towards bright and bold colors. But recently, I decided to step out of my comfort zone (hence the Maybelline Blush in Hot Tamale (reviewed here) and Mac's Russian Red Lipstick (reviewed here)) and on seeing a 50% off on NYX Slide-on Pencils, I grabbed 6 of the shades because what better way than colored liners to bring a pop of color to your otherwise neutral look.

Top to Bottom: Sunrise Blue, Jewel, Purple Blaze, Golden Olive,
 Azure and Golden Bronze

Dupes of the 24/7 Urban Decay Eyeliner Pencil in Perversion

When they said that the best eyeliner pencil out there was this one, (whoever 'they' may be), they weren't kidding. All other pencils are compared to this pencil, it is the set standard to which any new eyeliner pencil out there is matched against.

Until recently, I did not posses this eyeliner, so I was clueless. I did have some very good eyeliner pencils though, one of which I imagined would be close to the 24/7 pencils, from what I heard of it. Turns out I was not that wrong, in fact I stumbled upon another very close product.

There is no denying that the 24/7 pencil in the shade perversion is the blackest of blacks, has the smoothest of applications, and is very long lasting.

Favorite Liquid Eyeliner - The Body Shop Liquid Eyeliner

I love my gel eye liners, I do. But some days its such a task to get my brush from my brush case and dig out the pot, struggle with the right amount and all that. On such days, my favorite thing to use is The Body Shop Eyeliner. I have experimented with many eyeliners, and though most fare well enough, nothing has quite yet beat this particular one. I find myself inevitably reaching for it again and again. And I'll tell you why.

The Body Shop Liquid Eyeliner

Elf Haul and Mini Reviews

So I know that many of the Elf products are hit or miss, but I find that for the money, they're mostly pretty good. I was super excited to get a few items. They are so enormously marked up here but, they were on sale at 19 dhs a pop. Let's have a look at what I got and my initial thoughts:

From L to R Clockwise: Elf Cream Duo in Eggplant, Elf Blush and Bronzer Duo in Antigua, Elf HD Lifting Concealer in Brightening, Elf Eyelid Primer in Sheer, Elf Mineral Eyelid Primer in Blush, Elf Cream Eyeliner in Black (comes with a little eyeliner brush)

The Makeup Color Series: Bright Whites

White is such an unassuming color. I suppose its the mathematical equivalent of zero...literally having no value, yet without it, the whole world would crumble away...

Though in "The Makeup Color Series" I'll be going through some products I think are awesome in that color range, I'm starting out by the most overlooked and underrated color...white.

These are from my stash, but loads of brands do all the items and they are easily available. So moving on...

Guest Post: Stila in the Garden Palette Review

Today I have invited a friend of mine FZ, who is just beginning to step into the world of makeup, to give her two cents on a certain makeup product that she was gifted. It was sad to see her not knowing what a jewel she had acquired, but as we all know, good stuff doesn’t need any selling, it sells itself. Surely she fell in love with the all famous “Stila in the Garden Palette”. I find it quite interesting to see what someone who is relatively new at trying out different products and brands has to say are unbiased and more pragmatic in their approach and this is what she has to say about it:

Hi all! I am a 24 year old housewife, just beginning to appreciate the world of makeup. It makes sense then that when recently I was gifted a Stila eyeshadow palette, as appreciative as I was of the gift sender’s gesture, the product itself didn’t cause me to swoon. I hadn’t heard of the brand name before this… but then how many brands do I do know?! :P. I tossed it aside as just another addition in my collection of unused shadows which will make it all the more difficult for me to choose a shade in the fifteen minutes that I  am willing to spend on makeup before going out. A certain makeup geek friend of mine had a totally different reaction however. One look at it and she exclaimed what a catch it was, envying my luck for having such makeup gifting friends.  (Boy ain't that the truth!)

The geeks are more right than wrong they say. This Stila “In the Garden Palette” is the first thing I reach for now when giving myself a quick presentable look. 

It contains ten shadows and a smudge stick eyeliner. The palette itself came in a cardboard box which doesn’t really look very appealing at first sight.

Eyeliner 101

As with all makeup products out there, the range and variety of a single type is overwhelming. Over the years, the quality has improved and innovation has played a huge part in terms of the choices we have when we go out shopping.

So today I want to go through the basic types of eyeliners out there, what effect each one is meant to give and a mention to some favorite drugstore brands with an honorary mention of one high end product as well if I have one that is.

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal (waterproof) Eye Pencil in 001

This is one of the best pencils out there...of the drugstore variety. We think of Dior, Chanel and Clinique, even MAC...but this particular pencil can rival them all and knock them right out of the race. I once had one by Dior and it was...hmmm....whats the word I'm looking for....'aweful, hard, and ridiculously expensive'. So this review is going to be sweet and short.

Price: 26 Dhs at the local Rimmel stands at almost every mall.

A Classic Timeless Makeup Look

This look is a no brainer...

The type of look you could really pull of anywhere anytime.

Read on:

The Look:

Products Used:

From Top: Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner, Glossy Stain by YSL in 4, Tarte Blush in Magic, Lancome Tient Miracle in 3, Chanel Bronzer Base, Essence Brow Pencil in Black, Prestige Lip Liner in Spice, Wet n Wild Walking on Eggshells Eyeshadow Palette, MaxFactor Falsh Lash Effect Mascara, Rubenesuq Paint Pot, NYX Stay Matte but not Flat Powder Foundation, Givenchy Mister Light Concealer, Prestige Intensity Liner In Deepest Black, Essence Eyelash and Brow Gel, Bourjois Ombre Stretch Eyeshadow in Black.

Brushes:

From Top: Sigma Angled Kabuki, RT Blush Brush, Essence Eyeshadow Brush, RT dome shaped Brush, Maybelline Gel Eyeliner brush, Sigma Blending Brush,  Essence Crease Brush.

Rimmel Gel Eye Liner in 001 Black

As different brands boarded on the gel liner train, all of us got equally obsessed. The hunt for the better, more lasting, more intense product was on. What was not to like about these tiny little pots of magic that could literally transform your entire look. It was during this period of hit and trials that I got my hands on this little thing.

Price: This is available easily at all major malls nationwide for about 35 UAE dhs or thereabouts. Though at first glance this seems rather cheap you have to bear in mind it has lesser product too. So it averages about the same price, infact a bit more expensive than other drugstore gel liners.