Makeup

It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner

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It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner - Stock Image

In late January I received a coupon from Ulta (because I’m Platinum this year) to get a free mini It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner. I’m not too familiar with the It Cosmetics brand, really only seeing their line in Ulta. This sums up what I know about It Cosmetics:

  1. They have a brush line that I hear is pretty good. They have a silly brush-themed logo on their aisles in both Ultas near me.
  2. They have CC cream!
  3. Their Naturally Pretty Vol 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eye Shadow Palette has an exceptionally long name and reminds me of a mix of the two LORAC Pro palettes. Same price-point, too!

That’s pretty much it.

I redeemed the coupon and got the freebie It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner to test the waters of the brand.

itnotugbox

Here’s some info about It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner, from Ulta’s Website, condensed into tl;dr for your reading pleasure:

  • Gentle, smooth, pigmented gel formula that glides on.
  • Waterproof, proven to hold up 8+ hours.
  • Contains vitamin C and E as well as collagen, supposedly for, “younger looking eyelids.”
  • Sets after about 30 seconds (so you can blend and smudge).

My freebie mini came in Black Brown which I appreciated – I don’t need yet another black pencil liner, and am happy to have a brown pencil handy. I actually forgot about it (out of sight, out of mind) since it was tucked into my drawer, but I finally got around to it.

It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner - Swatch

It glides on effortlessly without much pressure, both swatched on the back of my hand and into my lashline.

The Wear Test: It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner

Most pencil liners, even ones claiming to be waterproof, do not last on my waterline. I don’t have exceptionally watery eyes, but I guess my waterline is exposed to enough moisture that it usually breaks down and fades within an hour or two

At 7am, I tightlined with the It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner to provide definition. I added just a little more along my lashline, but the real test is waterline usage, so I slapped it in there, too, in the outer 2/3 of my waterline.

I checked it at 8am, and it still looked alright. Not as intense in the waterline, but it was still visible. Upper lashline and tightline perfectly intact.

I checked at 9am – it faded more, but I could live with it because I don’t like a harsh dark waterline. I don’t bother with dark colors in my waterline most of the time because I feel like it closes off my eye…I don’t like my eyes to appear small. It was still intact and going good on my upper lashline and tightline, though.

By 10am, it was noticeably in trouble. At the outermost edge it was gone completely, meaning the It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner line didn’t appear to start until a few millimeters into my lower lashline. Awkward. Top is in good shape, still!

At the 11am check, the product in my waterline was barely visible but the tightline and waterline looked great. I decided to reapply and try again. Unfortunately, it wore away within 3-4 hours, just like the first run.

I found it removed relatively easily with a Ponds makeup wipe – it was no more difficult to remove than an Urban Decay 24/7 pencil, for instance. Also, I can’t really speak to the whole, “younger-looking eyelids,” thing – I noticed absolutely no difference from tightlining with it, but I’m also in my mid twenties, so. I’m taking it with a grain of salt anyway because that part sounds like nonsense marketing.

 The Bottom Line(r)

So this makes a good liner for the upper lashline and tightlining. You CANNOT sharpen it (at least this little version, anyway) as it is a twist up and therefore has a blunt tip; it is not suited to sharp precision work, but makes for a smooth tightline and not-intense upper lashline work. Its performance in my waterline shouldn’t be the only thing that tells you to buy or not – like I said, I have a hell of a time with most pencils in my waterline…so if you DON’T have trouble with them, this might actually work really well for you!

I personally won’t be repurchasing a full size when I run out of this. I don’t dislike it, but I don’t like it enough to spend $22 on. If you don’t have an exceptionally watery waterline, though, it may be a worthwhile investment for you.

Disclaimer: HEY. Although I got this for free, this was not a sponsored post. ULTA has no idea who I am. I only got a voucher for this product because I somehow managed to make it into the Ultamate Rewards Platinum tier, which anyone can achieve if they have a problembeauty hobby.. This voucher was distributed to platinum members, so I’m not special. Questions? Feel free to ask.

Too Faced Selfie Powders :: An Afterthought

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Too Faced Selfie PowderToo Faced Selfie Powders

When I was researching the Too Faced Selfie Powders for last week’s post, I came across a thread on a popular makeup community discussing the product. The discussion was split roughly 50/50 – with some expressing feelings similar to mine, and others saying it was cute/kitschy/fun/etc.

There were, however, a few people who were neither for the Too Faced Selfie Powders nor against them that questioned the criticism. One participant adds something along the lines of (this is paraphrased):

I don’t understand why the Too Faced Selfie Powders are getting so much hate – why is this worse than silly nerd collections by Indie makeup brands?

It’s a good question, and it makes you think about the product and issue a little more. But I have a good answer.

Here’s the difference:

Geek Chic’s adorable Sailor Moon collection and Hello Waffle’s hilarious Archer-themed collections are just eyeshadows. They don’t claim to do anything special, they’re just cute eyeshadows with fun names. Too Faced Selfie Powders, on the other hand, are literally marketed as being, “filters,” for your real-life face…they’re just colored powders. At best, they’re for color correction. They aren’t appealing to a fandom, they’re marketing a product claiming that it does something that, realistically, it doesn’t do.

LimeCrime – No Thanks, I’m Fine

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Years ago, and I do mean years ago – like six or seven of them – I spotted an oddly colored cyan lipstick on an obscure website (kind of like Urban Outfitters, but smaller). I have no desire to slap cyan on my face, but I was curious enough to see what other weird things this LimeCrime brand had. They had some unique ones, for the time – a minty green, a fun, pale tangerine, but at like $18/tube (I think!). I wasn’t into cosmetics at the time so I did pass them by, but I did remember the LimeCrime brand just because I’d never seen anything like them…but remember, I also wasn’t into makeup at the time.

Since I’ve gotten into makeup, though, I’ve learned about how LimeCrime’s proprietress, Doe Deere (and is that your real name? No – but I don’t really care about that) lacks a professional touch…to put it succinctly.

I still liked seeing the silly purple tubes when they’d pop up on YouTube and actually really liked the look of a few of the Velvetine shades, but I could never bring myself to pull the trigger and make a purchase. The cost, the ultimate wearability, and the fact that, well, I’d be supporting someone with a well-documented history of a) not being cool and b) being awful to customers when problems are reported. We make mistakes, we’re just people. Running a business comes with its own challenges, too. Most of us learn and grow, apologize for our missteps and commit ourselves to doing better next time – but the overwhelming volume of evidence suggests that Ms. Deere thinks she is exempt from these things.

Most recently, they have become embroiled in a pretty substantial credit card fraud scandal. At minimum, hundreds of customers’ credit cards were compromised (PayPal transactions seem OK) after making purchases from LimeCrime’s site. Instead of handling it properly, LimeCrime stayed VERY hush-hush, like, “If we don’t talk about it, maybe it will go away!” until the collective outcry became so great that they had no chance but to acknowledge it…which they did with a load of BS (was linked, but they deleted the post; go figure). They have not been helping concerned customers, and everything about it has been immensely unprofessional. Unapologetic. So many things.

I’m not going to flood you with a wall of text on this. There are many walls of text already written, such as this one, that chronicle the history of LimeCrime and their questionable business practices, and social media is rife with disappointed customers sharing their stories.

I will not be making any purchases from LimeCrime either directly or through resellers. I won’t tell you what to do with your life/money, but if business ethics/general decency of the companies who get your money concerns you, I suggest looking into it so you can decide for yourself.

Too Faced Selfie Powders

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I’m kind of an Instagram fledgling. I mostly use it to follow makeup artists and brands I admire; I’m not into selfies, and I’m mostly posting blog content. Given that it isn’t my most-active platform, I’m usually surprised when I learn about new products via Instagram before I hear of them elsewhere.

Too Faced Selfie PowderToo Faced Selfie Powders

 

 

The Too Faced Selfie Powders are one such example. Too Faced has been flooding the tubes with #tfnofilter for a little bit, but until they dropped the Selfie Powders I just figured it was the standard cutesy, “nofilter,” hashtag with some branding slapped on. Basically, Too Faced has come out with luminous powders that claim to act like Instagram filters IRL.

“Light-filtering, photo-enhancing powders.”

Yeeep.

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Double-Sided Z-Palette

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I got my first Z-Palette last year as a gift from a friend made from a community we both belong to. The hype is real, and worth it. As someone who has little space to store my makeup, the fewer bulky, individually packaged items the better. I haven’t filled my large, hot-pink Z-palette yet (and probably won’t for a while), but I love it.

If you aren’t familiar with the brand/product, let me bring you up to speed. A makeup artist wanted a solution to simplify her work and what she needed to bring with her. She created an empty, magnetized palette that you can fill with whatever depotted makeup (or pan refills) your heart desires; mix and match to your heart’s content. It sounds so simple and straightforward, but most, “build your own,” palettes limited you to a specific pan size/shape (sometimes limiting you to their brand).

Four main things I love:

  • It has a clear window so I can see what I put inside.
    My genius (cough) is unfortunately punctuated with bouts of airheadedness, so this is a big help.
  • It isn’t limited to one pan size or shape – it is completely free-form.
    This is a nice contrast to other companies’, “Build Your Own,” palette options. I have two MAC shadows, a MAC blush, a Sephora shadow, a wee Stila shadow amongst other things in mine – all different pan sizes.
  • They come with magnets to secure depotted items that may come in non-magnetic pans.
  • They aren’t bulky. They are travel friendly…in all sizes.

So last Monday when I got an email from them announcing their Double-Sided Z-Palette I was pretty delighted. Although this isn’t something I’m ready to buy because my collection doesn’t call for it, it is a really awesome new offering.

double-sided z-paletteThe new Double-Sided Z-Palette

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February 2015 Favorites

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February 2015 Favorites 
February 2015 Favorites
1. Sephora Teint Infusion Foundation, $24 / 2. Conair 1875 Watt Tourmaline Ceramic Dryer, $30 /
3. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked, $22 / 4. NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Pigments, $3

It’s already time for my February 2015 Favorites – and here I was last month mentioning January being cold. That was cute and misguided of me.

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