Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer

I am a reformed Urban Decay fan. About two-thirds of the way through the professional size tube of UDPP, I had to realize that it wasn't working. My eyeshadow was creasing no matter how much or little I used, despite my "perfected" system of UDPP topped with a cream shadow and finished with powder. I would get creasing after 6 hours or so. I needed something that could last 12 hours, because I will often work 10 hours a day and still wanted to be able to go somewhere after work without looking like I had worked 10 hours. I had read good things about Behind the Scenes, and decided to try it out.

 Packaged in a sleek charcoal tube with silver lettering. You get half an ounce for $21.00, or you can often find mini-sizes packaged with Lorac palettes, like the recently released Pro Palette. The applicator is a slant tip, like what you find lipglosses. Behinds the Scenes is available everywhere that Lorac is sold, include Sephora, Ulta, Lorac's website, etc. Sephora's website states:

Behind The Scenes Eye Primer is a crease-resistant formula that holds pigment in place for long-lasting, stay-true color. It easily glides on the eye lid and the silky-smooth finish minimizes flaws and imperfections on the lid.

The product is a milky, pink tone gel-cream hybrid. It applies giving the barest of coverage. I find that it does even the skintone on my lids, but not in a substantial way. I sort of expected the primer to have one of those super-silicone velvet feeling effects, but it doesn't. 

While I haven't been super impress with Lorac in the past, I really, really love this product. I was so surprised at how well it worked. I can even skip using a cream eyeshadow under powder shadows and have the look last for several hours, which is unusual. If I use loose shadows, I don't need to add mixing medium to ensure the shadows will last all day on my lids. I have found that the primer collects on the applicator surface, as seen above. But that's not a big deal.

My only issue with this product is that it seems I use it extremely fast. I don't need to use a ton of it, but it still seems like my supply is dwindling very quickly. It could be that I am used to the huge amount of UDPP from the professional size tube so my frame of reference is poor. Nonetheless, I felt it was important to note.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this product. I will definitely repurchase once my tube is empty.

Blog Sale updated!

Hey guys! I updated my blog sale with items that were needing to find new homes. My update includes items from NARS, Dior, Guerlain, and Chanel. Already listed brands include MAC, Clinique, OPI, China Glaze etc. Click on the blog sale tab above for more information!

L'Oreal Voluminous False Lashes Mascara - Review

I've never, in my make-up loving life, used a L'Oreal mascara before. They seem to fall into that "love it or hate it" realm, and I've been too busy trying other things. I'm not sure what prompted me to pick up False Lashes several weeks ago, but I did, and here's what I thought.

Packaged in a shiny, oddly shaped gold tube, this mascara retails from $7.99 - $9.99 or so in my area. The tube is triangular at the ends, and has flat, facet-type sides (which means it doesn't roll around - nice touch). The L'Oreal website states:

"[This mascara] features a unique blend of long and short nylon and rayon fibers... to deliver lashes that look fuller, longer, curled and sculpted..."

The brush is a traditional fiber brush, which I prefer. This mascara was my first time using a fiber mascara, which means fibers are mixed into the formula, to make it more lengthening and volumizing. The brush tapers at the point and the fibers are not cut in a conical fashion. Rather, one side of the brush has the bristles cut in a slightly curved fashion.

The tube does not do a great job of removing excess product from the trip of the wand, as you can see above. A minor annoyance, but you end up pushing dried out product back into the tube, if you scrape this extra mascara back on the opening of the tube.

So, does it deliver? Well, yes and no. My lashes looked longer, and slightly fuller. I could even say they seemed a bit more curled than usual, but sculpted? I don't think so. Also, this mascara did not do well over my lash primer from Clinique at all. Way too much volume (and coming from a volume fan, that's saying something). I appreciate that this mascara seemed to start off being dry, and didn't seem to get drier as time went on until about the last week (week # 6 of use), when it started getting dry and causing a spider-lash affect.  I purchased this mascara in the black shade, and it's nicely pigmented, and matches most other "Blackest Black" type mascaras.

I didn't experience any smudging, flaking or migrating with this mascara. It dried on my lashes pretty quickly, which I like. If my eyes watered, the mascara didn't move from my lashes. It wasn't a pain to remove, but it didn't come off super easy, either. I found using a dual-phase eye makeup remover in addition to my oil cleanser was a good idea.

Overall, it was a nice mascara, and worth a look. Because I couldn't deal with the dryness after about 6 weeks. I don't know if this tube had been on the shelf for a while, or if it's a dry formula, but it wouldn't have lasted the full 3 months. I'm also a mascara ho, so I have wa-ay to many more to try. In a pinch, I'd buy this, but only to tide me over until I was able to get a different mascara.

Updated Blog Sale!

Click on the "Blog Sale" tab to see the newness I added to the sale! I need to clear these things out, so please take a minute to look things over and find stuff to take off my hands! Thanks :)

Neutrogena Nourishing Eyeliner - Review

The last thing included in my BzzKit for Neutrogena was an eyeliner. While I certainly didn't need another eyeliner, I was still game to give this one a try.

Neutrogena says:

Neutrogena® Nourishing Eyeliner defines and brightens eyes with luminous color. Subtle light diffusers make the whites of eyes appear whiter, while rich color nourishes skin with Olive Oil and Rainforest Shea Butter. The built-in sharpener gives precise definition and the contoured smudger softens and blends for a variety of looks.

- Infused with olive oil and rainforest shea butter to condition the delicate skin around your lashes

- Creamy automatic pencil glides on smoothly, then transforms into long-lasting finish that won't budge

-Built-in sharpener and smudger allow to create the perfect look--from precise definition to smoky effect

Packaged in a super-slim twist-up pencil, this liner is very similar in looks to most other eyeliners of this kind. The smudger is the same as any other smudger, and works like any other one you have probably used in the past. I like the inclusion of a sharpener, because often eyeliners like this get dull and then you can't get a super fine line. The upper part of the barrel is color coded to match the color of the liner, which is a nice touch. This liner has an MSRP of $7.49, however, my local stores seem to have it below $7.

Cosmic Black isn't a super harsh black, which is a good thing for people like me - a little to fair to pull of black eyeliner everyday. It has very fine shimmer in it, as well, to help reflect light. It smudges fairly easily immediately after application, and yet wears incredibly well on my lash line. For tightlining, it doesn't hold up as well (but, nothing really does for me, so take that for what it's worth.

The liner glides on with decent opacity at one stroke. The swatch above is 3 passes, as is Feline, for reference. It also removes nicely, which I appreciate.

I was intrigued by the skincare claims - specifically, how well can an eyeliner moisturize? And, how can you tell that it's moisturized such a small area effectively, if at all? I have to chalk this up to marketing. I'm sure the shea butter certainly provides a little something to this liner's feel, but honestly, who has dry enough skin to need a moisturizing eye liner?

Overall, this isn't a bad liner. On my oily lids, it lasted all day with ease, but came off when I was washing my face. I don't think I'll repurchase, only because I don't use black eyeliner all that often. When I do, I'm usually going for a more dramatic look, which would require a deeper, more pigmented black.

Please know, this product was sent to me for review by BzzAgent. The thoughts above are my own, and I was not paid to say anything complementary or otherwise.