FashionistA Secret Gel Eyeliner in Under the Radar

I don't get all that excited about drugstore makeup, it's true.  I've been accused of being a makeup snob many times, and, to a certain extent, I'd agree.  Whilst it's not entirely true that you get what you pay for when it comes to cosmetics, after several years writing this blog, I do firmly believe that what you do pay for when it comes to expensive cosmetics is better research and product development, and - in the main- slightly better ingredients.  

However, this doesn't mean that I only have a makeup bag full of Tom Ford and la Prairie, what I mainly believe in is value for money, and that means I like to get my money's worth out of my products, whatever their price point.   Take, for example, this little pot of eyeliner that I bought because I fell in love with the colour.  It's a taupe, as some people might have noticed, and it's long been noticeable that I can't resist a taupe ... 

FashionistA Secret Gel Eyeliner in Under the Radar costs £6, it's a massive pot of product, and should last practically forever, it comes with a built in brush, and is rather creamy, and easy to apply.

However, as an eyeliner, I'm a little underwhelmed, it's a little underpowered in the pigment department, and takes several layers to build up into something visible, which can lead to it caking somewhat, which then leads to flaking.

 But, it is such a beautiful colour, a grey/silver/taupe shade, with a myriad of other shades visible in the mix too, so I was determined to make this work for me, so I've been using it as an eyeshadow base, and here's where is works magnificently.  It's creamy so it spreads well, and you can blend eyeshadows over it beautifully.  It's not as "grabby" as a traditional silicone-based eyeshadow base (or primer), and, of course, it imparts a beautiful colour to the lids too.  It doesn't dry the lids out (so may not work to well if you have oily eyelids, however), and it lasts incredibly well, getting about eight hours wear before there's a sign of creasing. I've been using it as a basis for a taupe smokey eye for the last week, and I've fallen in love with this product as a result.

So, as an eyeliner, I'd have to say that cheap though this product is, it's simply not worth the money, however, as an eyeshadow primer, that £6 could be the best £6 you've ever spent ...       

The Fine Print: A purchase.
 
This post: FashionistA Secret Gel Eyeliner in Under the Radar originated at: Get Lippie on 9th November 2012. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Fashionista Double Take Long Wear Lipstick

I'm always interested in lipsticks, and when Fashionista asked me to take a look at their new range of longlasting lipsticks, I was intrigued.  I don't - these days - venture too often into Superdrug for my lipstick needs, and I thought it would be good to see what's on the market these days.  Fashionista sent me five shades:

And, I have to say I was very impressed with the packaging, the boxes look nicely done:

I like the flashes of red on the packaging, it marks them out a little bit without being too obnoxious.

Let's just ignore the upside down one, shall we?

And I really like the metallic red cases the lipsticks are housed in, they're flashy, but very pretty.  They don't feel like the most robust packaging in the world, but at £7 each, these aren't half bad.

The colours appear pretty true to their labelling:

Cinnamon is a neutral brown, Babydoll Pink is a very pastel pink, with a lot of white in the base, Buff is a very pale caramel shade, Red Carpet is a nice scarlet shade, and Coral has more than a little hint of tangerine in there.

First off, if you know me and my choice in lipsticks at all, you'll know straight away that Babydoll Pink and Buff are colours I'd never wear in a million years, as they're just too white in the base, and that just makes me look dead.  Other people love these shades, but, Cinnamon, Red Carpet and Coral are far more wearable for me.


On swatching, the pigments are deep and intense, the feel is creamy, and there is no dragging. The swatch pics show just two passes over skin:

They're not totally matte, having a slight satin-y finish, which I'm sure wouldn't dry your lips out too much.


As for the wear claims - do they last longer than normal lipsticks?  Well, I can't answer that question, because I couldn't, in all honesty, bring myself to wear the lipsticks.  Why?  Well, because of the smell.  

I think there's a very artificial vanilla flavouring in the mix, which, alongside the very "waxy" scent of the lipsticks generally (the smell reminds me a great deal of MAC lipsticks, which I can't wear too well either) conspired to give me a massive headache whilst I was swatching them.  This won't bother a lot of people, indeed, scented lipsticks don't normally bother me that much, but it's just this particular scent I didn't get along with.


So, my most recent experiment into "drugstore" lipsticks has ended in failure.  Have you tried these?  How did you get along?

 The Fine Print: PR Samples.
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.