Category Archives: Reviews
Stila Little White Lies Liquid Eye Shadows (Review & Swatches)
I am an absolute sucker for all of the liquid Stila eyeshadows. The Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadows are some of my most favourite products in my makeup collection! So when I saw that Stila was releasing their Little White Lies collection I was super excited because not only does it add more fun colours to the Stila liquid shadow range, but it also incorporates something new – an ivory duochrome shift!
The theme behind this range is that each shade appears to be a white/ivory type colour, but each shade shifts to a different luminescent shade depending on how the light hits your eye. Worth noting though is that these are shimmer liquid shadows, and not glitters. I know glitter isn’t in the name, but I’m so used to the Glitter & Glows that I just assume everything Stila puts out is chockful of glitter!
As with all of the other Stila liquid shadows, these come with a paddle foot applicator for easy application. While I found that application with the paddle foot is quite good (as with all of the others), I did find that with the light nature of these shadows that applying them with the paddle foot was great, but I often wanted to blend out the edge with a fluffier brush.
I’ve shown a slightly off focus shot for the swatch photo so that you can see how the shift looks. If I photograph them straight on they mostly just look ivory or a toned-down shade. I do find that Lilac Legend and Fuchsia Fiction are very, very similar in tone. They’re a bit different in a swatch, but on the eyes they come across very similarly.
Stila Little White Lies Liquid Eye Shadow – on eyes
For this look I put Lilac Legend on the inner corner of my eye. I love applying these in this manner because it adds a special pop of brightness and luminosity to an otherwise singular colour eyeshadow look.
Mint Myth is my favourite out of the three I tried for this post. In this eye look I applied it over my bare eyelid on the inner corner, and then I layered it on top of eyeshadow on the middle of my lid. You can see how it takes on a different shift of colour depending on what the liquid shadow is over.
Fuchsia Fiction was an interesting shade. I saw a lot of blue in the shadow (even though it’s quite pink), and when it’s layered over top of a bit of red it definitely goes stronger in pink with a lot of icy blue reflects.
Final Thoughts
As with all of the other Stila Liquid Eye Shadows… these are a knockout! I love these so, so much. The duochrome reflect with a white-ivory base is absolutely beautiful. I do wish these were straight up glitters, but that’s because I’m always dying for new liquid glitters. As it is, these are a lot of fun to play with and perform as good as all of my other Stila liquid shadows – they stay put all day and apply beautifully. Love!
Two of the liquid eyeshadows were sent to me for consideration, I purchased the third one. Post contains affiliate links.
Too Faced Better Than Sex Eyeliner (Review & Swatches)
Of all of the things I expected Too Faced to release, I have to admit this was not one I ever considered! Too Faced has extended their Better Than Sex range by adding in a liquid eyeliner pen – appropriately dubbed the “Better Than Sex Eyeliner“. And guess what? It’s NOT felt tip! Let us rejoice – this baby is a brush tip liquid liner!
I’ve mentioned before that felt tips aren’t really my jam when it comes to liquid liners. I find them difficult to work with and a bit rough against the skin. They never quite deposit colour the same way that a brush tip does. For me, a brush tip is more fluid and flexible, allowing for a more even application and precise lining of the eye. Almost all brush tip eyeliners are made in Japan (and sometimes called an artist brush), and the Too Faced Better Than Sex Eyeliner is no exception – this one is also made in Japan.
So far Too Faced has only released one colour – Deepest Black – and the packaging indicates to shake well before use. There’s something inside the packaging that helps to move around the product in order to keep it mixed and push it out to the nib end. I did find that application was a bit iffy to start. I wasn’t getting the greatest pigmentation right out of the gate even though I was shaking the pen vigorously. Over the course of a week, I did find that this eased up however, and had plenty of pigment right down to the base of the liner. So if you think yours isn’t putting out enough ink to begin with, don’t worry, it’ll happen.
The one thing I’m still desperately hunting for in a pen-style brush tip liquid liner is a matte formula. While the Too Faced Better Than Sex Eyeliner is very, very black… it’s still not a matte formula. So sadly, if you were hoping this was going to be truly matte, it’s not. It’s really heckin’ pigmented and black, but there is still a hint of a sheen to the product.
On the eyes I found that this performed absolutely identical to my Physicians Formula Eye Booster. Pigmentation was opaque, and it didn’t budge or smudge throughout my entire workday. It layered equally well on top of mattes as it did shimmery eyeshadows. I didn’t test out the full waterproof claim because I’m not ever going to go swimming with eyeliner on, but I did walk to work on a particularly misty, rainy day and had no adverse effects to my liner even though I was blinking away heavy mist in the air.
Final Thoughts
The Too Faced Better Than Sex Eyeliner is a fantastic product. I love that they’ve released a brush tip liquid liner that is reliable and easy to use. However, I’m still on the hunt for this kind of product but in a matte formula. I really, really hope that one day we get there because while I love the ease of use of these pen-style applicators, I am still longing for a matte liner again!
Update 2019/10/06 – I would recommend that you stay away from this eyeliner. After using this for over a month, the bristle hairs started to splay out and it’s becoming harder and harder to get product out to the tip. I’ve tried cleaning it to no avail. It’s either drying up, or there’s an issue with the delivery system. Either way, for the price tag, you’re much better off getting the Physicians Formula Eye Booster.
The Too Faced Better Than Sex Eyeliner can be purchased on sephora.ca for $28 CAD or on sephora.com for $21 USD.
Post contains affiliate links.
VIDEO: Blush Tribe Neon Dreams Revamped Palette – Review, Swatches & 5 Looks
Revlon Kiss Cushion Lip Tints (Review & Swatches)
Revlon makes some of the greatest lipsticks at the drugstore, and it’s been fun to watch their evolution over time. From their Super Lustrous Lipsticks (still a staple in my collection) to their much beloved (but sadly no longer among us) Lip Butters and Just Bitten Balm Stains, Revlon knows how to hit the right notes in the makeup world. Just recently I tried out their Kiss Cushion Lip Tints, which ended up being an interesting hybrid of a lipstick consistency with a staining component!
The Revlon Cushion Lip Tints come with a pull off top (no need to twist) and an absolutely MASSIVE pointed nozzle tip that dispenses the product. You twist up the product up from the bottom and it comes out the doefoot-like tip.
It does take a while to get some of the product to come out when you first use it, but once it starts flowing you need VERY little product for lip application.
Because, as you can see, once I twisted these up, I got a LOT of pigment on my arm when I swatched them the first time! The two shades I have, Extra Violet and Wine Trip, are pretty close in tone, but Extra Violet is more purple whereas Wine Trip has more red in it (fits, right? lol).
On the lips, Extra Violet has a little bit less pigment but it looks absolutely gorgeous. These work best if applied lightly, not globbed on. The shot above is after having worn the lipstick for about twenty minutes, just before I started filming. You can see it’s more matte with a hint of luminosity when compared to the swatch shot which shows a lot more gloss.
And here’s Wine Trip right after I’d applied it. The Kiss Cushion Lip Tints definitely go on quite strongly and glossy, but start drying down within the first ten minutes and start wearing down to more of a stain finish over the next few hours.
This is Wine Trip blotted down with a tissue not long after application. So you can choose to wear it full on out of the tube, or blot it down immediately. That being said, if you wear it full on, you’ll eventually end up with a more blotted down lip over time (which Revlon indicates is the intended look over time). It wears down fairly evenly, except around the five hour mark where I’d say that you end up with more of a ring around your lips where the product will cling to the more dry areas. Applying a little bit more of the product will help hide that!
Final Thoughts
The Revlon Kiss Cushion Lip Tints are an interesting hybrid lip product. They apply like a true liquid lipstick (although I did find that the applicator is a little cumbersome), but wear down like a true lip stain. I liked the comfort of these – they feel more like a balm than a thick lip product, and I was happy that it retained colour over several hours. I did find that reapplication was necessary to avoid that telltale ring, but the ring wasn’t so bad that I felt I always needed to reapply it. I often just let it fade away naturally and never thought it made look weird. I know I reviewed two dark shades in this post, but Revlon does have some brighter and lighter shades too.!
The Revlon Kiss Cushion Lip Tints can be purchased on shoppersdrugmart.ca for $12.49 USDshoppersdrugmart.ca for $12.49 USD each or on ulta.com for $9.99 USDulta.com for $9.99 USD.
The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration. Post contains affiliate links.