Illamasqua Eyeliner Review

I recently ran out of my usual MAC Gel Eyeliner and I'm glad I did because it finally forced me to try the new Illamasqua one I had been refusing to open for a while. This one's in the shade Infinity and it's the blackest black gel eyeliner I've yet tried! It applies pretty well but I need to get myself a better brush since I lost the last one I had. A good eyeliner brush can make all the difference.

Texture: No surprises here. It's a gel. It's very soft but still has the right amount of firmness to be applied without running. It leans on the dry side which means it dries quickly on the lid and barely smudges compared to all the other gel eyeliners I've tried so far. Gel liners are never as smudge-proof as liquid ones but so much easier to apply so I tend to pick gel over liquid for more elaborate looks.
Removal: It my look dark and smudge-proof but it comes off pretty easily with makeup remover. I've used the neutrogena makeup removing wipes as well as my The Body Shop Camomile makeup remover and they both work well.
Below I've added 2 images. One is in B/W to highlight the eyeliner since I wore a very thin, barely-there line for a natural look. The other is in normal light so that you can see the effect it has.

Illamasqua Gel Liner (Infinity), Brushed through brows, no eyeshadow, no concealer.

I've also begun using the Illamasqua Shadow in Jules for defining my brows but I'll do a detailed review for that in another post.
Cost: £18.50/$28.06/INR1724.50 on the official website. It can possibly be found for less on another website and on sale in different countries. To be honest, I find that quite expensive but with a brand like Illamasqua I wouldn't expect any less. I've wanted to try a product from their collections for so many years now considering they're so well-known and well-love in the makeup-world but their price-tags are what kept me from trying their products for so long.

Final Verdict: If you use eyeliner everyday and it's the one product you would like to invest in, go for it! However, if you would rather spend on something else (like their highlighters which are next on my wish list) then skip it and opt for a drugstore brand instead.

I hope this review helped you pick your next eyeliner or introduced you to the wonderful line of Illamasqua! Let me know what you think in the comments below. Have you tried this product before?


Tanaya <3

*Product gifted by Illamasqua for review. The opinions expressed in this post are honest, unbiased and entirely my own.

BeautyAddicts ShowOff Mascara Review

I'm excited for this post. Why? Because I love mascaras! I love trying new ones and I think they're the perfect final touch to every makeup look. In fact just adding some mascara on a day when you don't feel like putting on any other makeup at all can make all the difference. Recently this pretty little silver tube came along to feed my mascara addiction and I was stunned by the packaging! It took me a few days before I started using this mascara because I wanted to wear it on some day when I wanted to feel very bright and awake in the morning.

The packaging of this mascara is truly amazing! It's the perfect little glamorous tube to keep in your makeup bag and so I've even packed it in my travel makeup bag now. 

The wand is curved with longer bristles on the sides than the top and bottom (I've been studying a lot of biology for a while now so I initially typed "dorsal and ventral". Hahaha ). I found that the curved wand was great for curling the lashes up and fanning them out into a good shape. I use the longer bristles on the sides to get to the base of the lashes for volume and then to separate any lashes that may clump together in a weird way.

I love the volume, length and curl that this mascara adds. It's made it to the top of my list of favorite mascaras along with the Revlon Lash Potion (which I keep mentioning on this blog so if I'm comparing a mascara to that, you know it's good). After that first day when I used it to feel bright and awake I used this mascara on a daily basis but now I only use it on days when I actually need a lot of volume. I think it's a bit too much for just an ordinary day.

Uncurled lashes without any mascara. See how my lashes have length but annoying point straight forward instead of upward? So annoying!

That's with one coat of the ShowOff Mascara. I usually don't like wearing more than one coat of mascara and I think with this one I don't even need to. 

I think it would be an understatement to say that I'm impressed. I hadn't heard of the BeautyAddicts range before this so I didn't really expect to love this product as much as I do. However, I've found out that it's actually a very popular brand that was even featured in a Glossybox. If you're looking for a new mascara or just want to try something different, I would recommend this! 

Where you can find it:

 http://www.beautyaddicts.com/eyes-mascara.php

http://www.amazon.com/beautyADDICTS-SHOWOFF-Mascara-0-39-oz/dp/B0085X4E1A

What do you think about this mascara? Would you be trying it? Let me know in the comments below or simply tweet me a picture of your own tube of ShowOff. 

Tanaya <3

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*This product was sent for consideration for a review. The views expressed in this review are completely honest and unbiased. 

Eye Look : Museum day!

I've wanted to publish this post for so long now because I went to the museum about 2 weeks ago and that's when I clicked the pictures. I used one of my favorite BB creams as a base since I didn't want anything too strong and dramatic. However, I felt like experimenting with my eyeshadow palettes and trying a new look. I was so happy with this look that I knew I had to click pictures of it to share it with you guys. After that day, this look has pretty much become my everyday look and I love how versatile it is. The shades blend so well together that I think this look could work for just a casual day or a daytime event too when a smokey eye is too loud.

I started with my Elizabeth Mott Creamy Shadow Stick(Received in ipsy bag) in the inner corner of the eye and over the inner half of the eyelid. It isn't pigmented enough to be a shade on it's own but it works well as a base since it's shimmery and the sparkles show through the shade you apply over the top. I then used a shimmery burnt orange shade over the top and went further out to cover the whole eyelid. This creates a natural gradient since the part of the eyelid with the shadow stick base appears lighter. You can blend it to achieve a better gradient. I then blended the dark plum eyelid shade from my wet n wild eyeshadow trio, that I reviewed here, into the crease (Yup I used an eyelid color for the crease. pretty badass right? Hahaha).  Finally, I used a really light golden color from an old Chanel palette that I hadn't used for ages and used it to highlight the inner corner of the eye and the middle portion of the eyelid (be careful not to cover up the actual shade you used on the eyelid. Just pat enough highlight to add some glitter and dimension.)  A winged eyeliner with my standard MAC Gel Eyeliner and a coat of Revlon Lash Potion (review) completed the look. Update: I don't think I used any mascara at all actually. I think I just didn't want the look to be too over the top for that day but I use that mascara for other days when I don't mind the little extra flutter. 

I hope you liked this look. Tell me if you would like to see a complete tutorial for it so that I can add it to my list of videos to do when I finally have the courage to start a youtube channel. If you do try it out, tweet or instagram the picture and link it to me so I can see it. It's just fun to see how the same look adapts to everyone's personal style. 

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Tanaya <3

Stars On Your Eyes : Starlooks Eye Pencil Review and Favorites!

Eyeliner….The one product that we all try so hard at perfecting but unfortunately, most of us are terrible at it. Eyeliners in any color can make a look perfect but they’re so annoyingly difficult to apply that beauty brands need to come up with new formulations and applicators all the time. When it comes to black eyeliner I love gel eyeliner because I find it much easier to use. However, colored and sparkly eyeliners are a whole different story. I tend to find that pencils are the easiest and unlike black eyeliner you don’t always need a precise and bold line. This post is like a cross between a review and a favorites post because I wanted to review the Starlooks eyeliner pencil but tell you guys about some of my other favorite colors.

I received the Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil in my November ipsy bag. I got the shade Amethyst that is the one I really hoped to get because I love it! It’s wonderfully glittery with a hint of purple. The texture isn’t too hard not too creamy so it’s easy enough to handle and doesn’t smudge all over the place. This is my go-to liner for days when I’m late for anything and my face reveals that I’m sleepy because it just brightens up the eyes.

I believe that sparkly pencil eyeliners are perfect for any look and also for when you’re not doing any look! For those makeup-free days just put some lip balm and a bit of glitter eyeliner and you’re good to go. I have certain staples that I always make sure I have and buy backups for when I’m about to run out of. These are my all-time favorite glitter eye pencil shades:

 Copper, Gold, Greenish-Blue, silver and white.

Now I know white isn’t glittery but it’s the only matte eyeliner pencil in my essentials so I just included it in here. I tend to use the Gold liner more during summer and although the copper seems perfect for fall/autumn, it's just such a lovely shimmery neutral that it looks good all year round. 

I suggest you try out the Starlooks Amethyst eye pencil especially if you have brown eyes because it will make your eyes looks lovely. I have always been a fan of this shade and had a Colorbar eye pencil in the same color but it had the worst texture I've ever seen! Try out some eyepencils in copper and gold too because I bet you will love them. I hope you liked this post. Do you have any staple shades that you always need in your collection? Let me know in the comments below. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Bloglovin' or gfc. 

Tanaya <3