Shadow Swatches: Miscellaneous Eyeshadow Singles and Quads from Stila, L'Oréal, Tom Ford, Butter London, Revlon, and Urban Decay

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I didn't buy anything during the Sephora sale, did you? 20% off just isn't very exciting for me. I mean maybe if there was something I was definitely planning to buy anyway, it would be better to get 20% off than no discount at all, but there wasn't. Plus I have a bunch of Ulta points to use on frivolous shit.

Instead of shopping, lately, I've been playing with what I already have, including these eyeshadows which I realized I'd (mostly) never written about on my blog. Rather than doing a full review of them, I thought I'd just take some swatch photos and say a little about what I like or don't like about each. Not all of them are currently available, but I hope you enjoy the pretty pictures anyway.

The swatches below were made with a brush over primer (Black Radiance eyeshadow primer, reviewed here). If this were a proper review, I would have swatched them with and without primer for your information, but I just really wanted to show you the color and finish clearly. You can still tell which ones are shitty even over primer, anyway.

Oh, and I took way too many photos, which probably all look the same, so here's a cut.

Quick updates to previous reviews

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One of my bad teacher habits is, when students ask questions, to say, "Oh, that's a good question! I don't know. I'll look it up and get back to you!" And then I completely forget about it and never follow up. So I'm going to try to be a better blogger than I am a teacher and follow up on some points I said I would come back to after more testing. This is an especially important thing to do because the condition of my skin tends to vary quite a bit seasonally, so if I test something even for a few months in spring-summer, my experience might change in fall-winter, and vice versa. So here we go!

Marc Jacobs Beauty Glow Stick Glistening Illuminator in Spotlight (original review here): When I tested this cream highlighter last summer, I found that it tended to disappear from my skin after just a few hours. I wondered whether it would last longer in the winter, when my skin was slightly drier. Verdict: no. It's still completely gone save for a few sparkles by about the 3-4 hour mark. Too bad, because it's so lovely.

Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel SPF 50+ PA++++ (original review here): Same sort of deal here--though in this case I wondered if the sunscreen would be worse, i.e. feel more drying, in the winter. Verdict: no. I've had no problems at all using this, regardless of how dry or oily my skin happens to be on a given day.

A post shared by Lyn (brutally honest beauty) (@brutallyhonestbeauty) on Nov 27, 2016 at 10:28am PST

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Intense Black (original review here): I didn't specifically say in my review that I wanted to update this one, but I had to stop using it long before it had started to dry up, because the tip became hopelessly frayed. If you missed it, I recently reviewed the Physician's Formula liquid liner, and it's much, much better. From what people have said, the tip holds up, too.

Sephora Bright Future Gel Serum Concealer in Butter Cream (original review here): In my quick post about the second shade of this concealer that I bought, I wrote that it performed exactly the same as the first shade, Fondant. After using it for several more months, I have to say now that I don't think it's quite as good. The shade match for me is perfect, and the application is identical, but Butter Cream seems to crease a bit more and not to last quite as long as Fondant. So I think maybe these concealers, like many other products, vary in performance based on the shade you choose. If Fondant (reviewed here) seems like your match, though, I still heartily recommend it!

A post shared by Lyn (brutally honest beauty) (@brutallyhonestbeauty) on Feb 12, 2017 at 1:10pm PST

I posted about Hollar as a source of, among other things, discounted Essie, OPI, and China Glaze nail polish. I bought a bottle of Essie Leggy Legend from them for $3. Shipping was quick, products were as described, and the packing (above) was excellent. I recommend! (I also bought a cheese grater, two candles, and some hair elastics.)

I also added an additional photo to the end of my glitter primer post to show how it wears (and if it creases) after a full day, so if you missed that, check it out.

Oh, and in case you've been wondering if I've worn Kat Von D Poe (reviewed here) out of the house yet . . . . um, no. The shame. Oh, the shame.

That's all I've got for you right now, but always feel free to ask for updates on things I've reviewed in the past!

My Wedding Makeup

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I got married back in the spring in about the smallest wedding you can have and still invite people. It was held in a park and took about half an hour. And then there were 20 minutes of photos, which we didn't originally plan to do, but the mothers outvoted us. I did my own makeup and hair, but since the photography was limited, there are no closeups of my makeup.

I went completely matchy-matchy and coordinated all of my makeup with my dress and cardigan (it was too early in the spring for no sleeves!). I got my dress from ModCloth (this one, which is unfortunately sold out at the moment), and it was perfect. In most of my photos my bouquet is blocking the front of the dress, so enjoy this goofy pose where you can see what it actually looked liked. (FYI, tulips droop very quickly once you remove them from water. Good thing it was a short ceremony!)

I wanted to record my makeup here mainly for myself, so I can remember what I did, because I was happy with the results. This is certainly not meant to be a tutorial. Since I don't have detailed photos of my actual wedding day makeup, I've illustrated this post with the photos I took of my trial makeup runs (complete with unfortunate reflections on my glasses).Almost everything in the trial photos is the same as what I actually ended up using, except for my lipstick. In the first trial run (i.e. the first two photos), I used Urban Decay Matte Revolution lipstick in Bad Blood (swatched here). For the second trial run, the third photo, I used NYX Matte Lipstick in Perfect Red. For my actual wedding day, I picked up something more kiss-proof: Stila liquid lipstick in Fiery. Swatches later in the post!

My first trial run happened before I dyed my hair, as you can no doubt tell, and the second was after. My hair color in the photo below is L'Oreal Superior Preference in Dark Soft Mahogany Brown. The color in the two photos above is the same dye after about 4-5 months of fading/growth.

Here's a list of all the makeup I used. It felt like a ton, and there are a lot of products involved, but in photos I don't think it looks like too much. The best part is that I bought only one new product (the Stila lipstick)--everything else was stuff I already had. In fact, several of the things I used are among the oldest makeup products I own. Something old, I guess!

Face (in order of application)

• Smashbox Photo Finish Primer (sample tube--I have no idea if this actually did anything)
• NYX Concealer stick in Green around nose and over other reddness
• No7 Lift & Luminate Foundation in Cool Vanilla (swatched here) mixed with Lord & Berry Cream Foundation in White Milk
• Sephora Gel Serum Concealer in Fondant (reviewed here) under eyes and over red spots/areas
• Paula's Choice Resist Pressed Powder in Porcelain/Fair (very brief review here)
• NYX Blush in Taupe for light cheekbone contouring
• Old Quo blushes (both mixed together) from the palette in this post
• Light bronzer from the same Quo palette
• e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow in Elegant (discontinued) as highlighter mainly on my cheekbones, above my brows, and on my nose (too much nose highlight in the first iteration!)
• Nars Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder (this shit is expensive, but if you're going to be photographed, it really does what it says it will do--not so much in real life)

Eyes

On my brows I used:

• Avon Ultra Luxury Brow Liner in Blonde (reviewed here)
• Paula's Choice Eyebrow and Hair Tint in Sable

On my eyes I used:

• Wet N Wild Fergie eyeshadow primer (reviewed here)
• L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Eternal Sunshine on the mobile lid (swatched here)
• The pale gold shade in the Revlon Colorstay Quad in Copper Spice (discontinued, swatched here) under the browbone and in the inner corner
• Ulta Demi Eyeshadow in Milk Chocolate in the crease and outer V
• L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner in Earthen Rock Brown (Note: I didn't wing out my eyeliner. Instead I used the shape I described in this post, which is thicker in the center of my eye, to make them appear a little wider and rounder.) (Note II: OH DEAR GOD IT SEEMS LIKE THIS MOST PERFECT EYELINER MIGHT BE DISCONTINUED! NOOOO!)
• The darkest shade from the Copper Spice quad to soften the edge of the eyeliner and smudged lightly below the lower lashline
• Rimmel Scandaleyes Liner in Nude on the lower waterline
• Covergirl LashBlast Volume Waterproof mascara in Very Black (reviewed here)

The only difference between the eye detail above and what I actually used on my wedding day is that I was testing out Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly during this trial run. As you can see, it creased, so I went with my usual Sephora Gel Serum concealer on the day itself.

Lips

I really loved the look of Urban Decay Bad Blood, and my husband gamely agreed that he would wipe any lipstick smeared on his face off before we got our photos taken, but a few days before the wedding, I decided to get a more transfer-proof liquid lipstick instead. Stila Fiery turns out to be almost identical in color to Bad Blood, but it won't come off on your bride or groom's lips. I was a bit wary when I bought it, because as a rule I don't like liquid lipstick. This stuff is easy to apply--it's not runny and it only requires one coat for full opacity. It's also surprisingly comfortable. I'm pretty intolerant of lipstick formulas that are at all drying, and for me, this one isn't. It also doesn't flake off or wear away in an ugly way. It wore away a bit in the center of my mouth during our very rich wedding meal (shepherd's pie!), but it was easy to retouch. I really can't think of any criticism, which isn't something I ever thought I'd say about a liquid lipstick. I don't even regret that I paid full price for it (gasp!).

I used Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Ravish (another oldie) to clean up the edges--I recreated my technique recently for the photo above. Ravish is a dark brick red. I really like using a darker lipliner with a red lipstick. Not only does it add dimension (kind of like contouring your lips, I guess), it also makes red lips appear less stark. It sounds strange, but if you find even the most flattering shades of red a bit intimidating or jarring when you put them on, try lining it with a slightly darker shade and see if it looks more harmonious.

Here are some swatches: (left to right) Stila Fiery, Urban Decay Bad Blood, NYX Perfect Red, and Rimmel liner in Ravish.

 Here's a detail I cropped out of a group photo from the wedding, which gives you an idea of how it ended up:

There it is! My long belated wedding makeup post. Our wedding was just what we had in mind, and I'm pleased that I've learned to do my own makeup well enough that I was able to do it myself for this occasion. To be honest, whenever I've had my makeup done by someone else for other weddings, I've never really been satisfied with it. My technique isn't flawless, but at least I got exactly what I wanted (and no false lashes!!).

Lackluster Liquid Liner: Review of Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Intense Black

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Okay, maybe "lackluster" is a little harsh, but I have a hard time resisting alliteration. The fact is that this eyeliner is fine, but since I've so often heard that it's THE BEST and since it costs $22, I was hoping for better than fine.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner is felt-tip liquid liner that works like a marker, with the "ink" wicking up through the tip. This style of liquid liner is less messy than some other formats, but the downside, in my experience, is that the tip can get clogged or not flow immediately. If you apply your eyeliner after your eyeshadow, which you need to do to get the cleanest, crispest line, then it can pick up the product below and prevent the liquid from flowing properly. I also find that, even though I store the eyeliner vertically with the cap down, if I try to draw a line on my eye immediately after uncapping it, it's usually a little weak. I have to scribble on the back of my hand a little to really get the product flowing.

The other problem I tend to have with this style of eyeliner--and this applies to all the brands I've tried--is that the tip wears down quickly and becomes sort of floppy, which prevents drawing a perfectly sharp point. You can see that in the photo below, my wing is not "pointy enough to kill a man." It was the best I could get out of it after using this pen for a few months (though only a couple of times a week). The tip of this particular eyeliner also tends to end up with long fibers clinging to the end of it, which are part of the material of the tip. I have to pick them off with my fingers, making a mess of my fingertips. And it's hard to clean up (see below). On the plus side, I've been using it for months now, and it hasn't shown any signs of drying up.

The Black shade is a very dark, opaque, inky black, which is great. It has a little sheen to it--it's not completely matte. It's easy to draw thin or thick lines by varying the pressure. If you go over a line you've already drawn, the product below doesn't get picked up, which is has been a source of frustration for me with eyeliners in the past.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner definitely lives up to its waterproof claim, though not the "stay all day" claim, at least for me. It's very difficult to remove, even with a dual-phase makeup remover. I sometimes use this pen to label swatches I make on my arm, so that when I come back to my photos later, I know what's what. Here's my arm after trying to remove the marks with oil, makeup remover, and soap, AND THEN SHOWERING. I even used a scrubby Salux cloth in the shower, and the eyeliner isn't 100% gone. Maybe I should switch to Sharpie?

So if your main problem with liquid eyeliners is that they smear when your eyes water, that's probably not going to be a problem if you use this one. Unfortunately, despite being difficult to deliberately remove with oil, my oily eyelids devour this stuff just like any other eye makeup. Even with primer. Here's the state of my eyeliner after about 6 hours. And the photo below was taken in the winter, when I wasn't even at my oiliest.

You can see that the oil in my skin has sort of eaten the eyeliner away and caused it to crumble and flake, even though my eyeshadow has survived. The liner has completely disappeared at the outer corner of my eye where my crease dips low (for a clearer image of what I'm talking about, see this post). It still looked okay with my eye open, though the edges of the line had become more jagged and the tip of the wing was no longer sharp.

Overall, it's a decent liquid eyeliner. If I'm going to spend $22, however, I want something spectacular. I can find things that perform just as well as this, if not better, at drugstore prices. My favorite felt tip eyeliner is L'Oreal Lineur Intense ($7-10) (short review here), which I will write a detailed post about once I've used up this Stila liner. I am also curious about the Physician's Formula Lash Boosting eyeliner ($8-12) that Renee at Bad Outfit, Great Lipstick recently reviewed. I've added that one to my wishlist.

What do you look for in a liquid eyeliner? Have you found one that meets all your requirements?

Concealer comparisons (and a rave review): Sephora Collection Bright Future Gel Serum Concealer in Fondant vs. theBalm Time Balm Concealer in Lighter than Light in vs. Stila Stay All Day Concealer in Fair

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The title gets really long when you include the full names of three different products!

One of the only types of makeup I've worn consistently since high school is undereye concealer. I inherited extremely dark under-eye circles from my dad. I don't really have bags or puffiness, but I have dark purple half-circles (the shocking photo appears later in the post!) that are only enhanced by the contrast with my pale skin. I think the cause has something to do with my sinuses, but whatever it is, if I don't cover them, I look pretty sickly and ghoulish. As a result, I've tried dozens of concealers over the decades years, and I keep trying new ones. I think I've said before that I am a bit of a concealer Goldilocks--I'm always convinced that there must be one that's just right out there somewhere. I think I have finally found it, so read on to see which one of these it is.

In addition to very dark, purplish circles that need to be covered, I have some other challenges when it comes to finding an effective concealer. I have some lines/wrinkles under my eyes that tend to cause concealer to crease. My eyelids are also oily, which exacerbates the creasing and also makes things fade more quickly. As a bonus, the skin around under my eyes has a weirdly rough texture, which an inferior concealer will highlight.

(Be warned: long, detailed review with lots of photos ahead.)

Quest for Coral

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Settle in, because this is going to be an epic quest. Sometime in April, when I'd had about enough of the gloom, I decided I would declare this the Summer of Coral. It's kind of like the Summer of George, but on my face. I was going to find a bright coral lip product that I loved and wear the fuck out of it. I already owned some options, but none of them was quite right, so I started shopping. Here I've laid out all the lip products I now own that are coral or coral adjacent. There are some that turned out to be orange or orange-red, but if nothing else they provide a basis for comparison.

Here is the full array (lip swatches and more info for each below):

Left to right: Stila Lip Glaze in Melon, Revlon Moisture Stain in Cannes Crush, BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Light It Up, Wet N Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in What's Up Doc?, Wet N Wild MegaLast Lipstick in Purty Persimmon, ULTA Automatic Lip Liner in Scarlet, Life's Entropy Lip Theory in Apoptosis, Life's Entropy Lip Theory in Recursion, L'Oreal Pop Balm in Caring Coral.

And here are swatches of all of them:

Swatches (left to right): Stila Lip Glaze in Melon, Revlon Moisture Stain in Cannes Crush, BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Light It Up, Wet N Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in What's Up Doc?, Wet N Wild MegaLast Lipstick in Purty Persimmon, ULTA Automatic Lip Liner in Scarlet, Life's Entropy Lip Theory in Apoptosis, Life's Entropy Lip Theory in Recursion, L'Oreal Pop Balm in Caring Coral.

More below the cut, because I have a thousand photos and a million words to go.

No-Makeup Makeup: Comparison of eye brightening cream shadows (Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded vs. Stila Smudge Crayon Waterproof Eye Color in Kitten)

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I'm going to get all the SEOs with that headline, right? Is that how this works? Really, though, I think the "no-makeup makeup" trend, as the epitome of manufactured "natural" beauty, is super iffy. "Here, just layer on these fifteen exquisitely-formulated prestige cosmetics and you too can look like a fresh-faced teenager in excellent lighting." Auxiliary Beauty wrote a great post on the subject of natural beauty not too long ago, which you should check out. As I commented there, I think a lot of what's driving the trend is conservative, elitist, and reactionary.

That doesn't mean that I think there is anything wrong with not wearing much/any makeup, or wearing minimal makeup, or wearing makeup that is intended to subtly enhance your features, if that's what you want to do. But like most other forms of minimalism that are being promoted in recent years, "no-makeup makeup" is especially attainable for people who didn't need a lot of makeup to begin with or who have the means (or time) to choose to look like they are wearing no makeup while slathering on a lot of makeup. (I posted about Amy Schumer's take on no makeup earlier this week.) It's worth thinking about critically, at least, whether you want to rage against the machine (yeah, I'm old) or you just find cultural patterns interesting.

My "minimalist" makeup days are mostly born out of laziness and/or a lack of time - I suspect the latter (or a lack of interest) is the case for most small-m minimalists. On those days I still tend to slather on a bit of makeup, but that's what I like to do. Lately, my simplest routine consists of some combination of the following: eyebrow pencil, concealer, cream eyeshadow, mascara, powder blush, face powder, and lip balm. I might leave one or more of those out (but never the mascara and almost never the eyebrow pencil, because blonde face hair). As I've mentioned before, these products are chosen because they are the simplest to apply. Powder blush is less finicky than cream blush, but cream eyeshadow is easier for me than powder eyeshadow. I need primer to make most powder shadows stick and last more than an hour, whereas cream stays put a bit better. Even cream will always crease on me eventually without primer, but if I use a pale enough shade or only apply it fairly close to the lash line, I can get away with it.

If I'm going to do eyeshadow on one of these days, I usually use Maybelline Color Tattoos. One of my favorite things to do is just smear a pale champagne shade all over my lid, from lashes to brow bone, and in the inner corner. I use Barely Branded, but I think Barely Beige is almost the same. Because this is close to my skin tone, just slightly paler and shimmery, it works well to brighten my eyes a bit and make me look more awake. I always think it also makes me look a bit younger then darker eye makeup does, and for that reason, I usually avoid this look at work when I want to exude maturity and authority (cough).

Because I wondered if that was just my imagination, here's a photo with Barely Branded on one eye and darker eyeliner and eyeshadow on the other. In the mirror, the darker made-up eye looked SO DARK and dramatic and shit, but in this photo, the difference seems not-so noticeable. Interesting.

I'm not sure what this photo proves, but there it is.

Since I use this Color Tattoo so frequently, it's starting to run low (though honestly I probably have almost a year's worth left). In a fit of shopping boredom a while ago, I decided to use a HauteLook credit to buy a Stila crayon shadow in Kitten as a backup. I know this is one of Stila's most popular shades, and it seemed like a good alternative to Barely Branded.

Stila Smudge Crayon Waterproof Eye Color in Kitten and Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded

Usually you can get Color Tattoos for about $5-8 (Barely Branded is $5.60 on Amazon), though of course there are always drugstore sales, so you likely don't need to pay full price. The Stila crayon usually goes for $22, though it was $8 on HauteLook when I bought it. I think Stila may be discontinuing this product, since it's $8 and final sale on their site right now. The Color Tattoo, even with its tricky packaging, holds 0.14 oz., while the Stila crayon is 0.04 oz. - quite a fucking difference there in terms of price per ounce, even at the lowest price for the crayon.

The colors are not identical. Definitely not dupes. The Color Tattoo is more of a pale golden champagne, while Kitten is peachier. Kitten is a little too dark to blend into my skin well, so it would be ideal for someone who is not the palest of the pale like I am.

Swatches of Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded and Stila Smudge Crayon Waterproof Eye Color in Kitten 

Swatched on my hand, the Stila crayon looks more even, but I find that on my eyelids, the Color Tattoo blends more smoothly and just looks better. The Stila shadow highlights the texture of my eyelid in a way that I don't love, while the Color Tattoo smoothes it over. I also find it easier and quicker to apply the Color Tattoo, because I can just smear it on and blend it with my finger. The Stila crayon is a little stiffer (though not bad), and it takes slightly longer to scribble all over my lid and then blend it with my finger tip. It's a minor difference, but if I am in a rush, it matters. The crayon can be applied more precisely, when needed, at least.

Stila Smudge Crayon Waterproof Eye Color in Kitten (left) and Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded (right)

Without primer, the Stila crayon wears slightly better than the Color Tattoo, but they both crease and fade to a certain extent after a few hours on my oily eyelids. I haven't tested the waterproof claim of the Stila crayon, because that's not usually something I look for in an eyeshadow. I wouldn't say that it works as a primer as well as an eyeshadow, like it claims to. But I'm not one of those lucky people for whom Color Tattoos work as a primer, either.

Because of the difference in shade and texture, Barely Branded works better as an all-over brightening eyeshadow for me (and can even double as a highlighter). Kitten isn't as subtle and natural looking - it's more in the makeup makeup category than no-makeup makeup. It's not a bad product, but I think I am going to have to find a different use for it. Maybe I'll just use it on my lower lid with something darker blended in the crease on days that I'm doing a more elaborate eyeshadow look.

Stila on HauteLook + Blog Sale update

I figured that I would combine these two topics, in case anyone is sick of hearing about the blog sale (skip to the next paragraph in that case). Rest assured, this will be my last post about it. I'm moving in a week, so anything not sold by then will be packed up and dealt with some time in the distant(ish) future. I'll take the blog sale down at that point. But I just wanted to mention that I reduced the prices of a lot of stuff today, and I also added a few new things (check at the end of the makeup section under "Not Pictured"). As usual, no bargaining please, but do feel free to stock up on the free stuff.

I also thought I'd point out that Stila is on HauteLook again (invite link). It pops up fairly regularly but not always with the same items. This time there are some nice looking lip and cheek palettes for $8, and a 4-piece Kitten collection for $12. Not bad! The Laura Geller sale (invite link) is still there too, in case you want to maximize your ~$6 shipping charge.

I'm going to write up a quick e.l.f. lip stain review later this afternoon, so stay tuned.

Dupe Test: e.l.f. Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal ($1) vs. Benefit High Beam ($26)

Disclosure: This post contains some Amazon affiliate links.
e.l.f. Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal is frequently mentioned as a cheap dupe for the much beloved but very expensive High Beam highlighter from Benefit. I'll be the first to admit that I am pretty liberal with applying the term "dupe". I'm no stickler. If it's basically the same and performs the same function, I'm fine with it. Nevertheless, after comparing these products (and two other pinkish highlighters I own), I have some mild reservations about calling them dupes. They can be used for the same purposes, successfully, but there are some significant differences. Rather than a dupe, I'd say that the e.l.f. highlighter is a good product, and a reasonable alternative to the Benefit version. A near dupe, maybe. Since I'm convinced that there are cheap options that are comparable to almost all higher-end beauty products, and since I'm on a weird quest to determine which e.l.f. products are decent and which ones are shit, this kind of comparison is my idea of fun. Wheeeeee.

Left to right: e.l.f. Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal, Benefit High Beam, Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer in Pink Shimmer, Pixi Brightening Primer in Pearl Essence

I threw two other similar highlighters into the mix, just for the sake of completion, and in case anyone else has them and would like to see how they fare. None of these are dupes. You can see just from the photo above that the e.l.f. highlighter is quite a bit pinker than the Benefit or Stila, and it is pinker than the Pixi option too, though the bottle for that one is opaque. On to the swatches!

Top left to bottom right: Swatches of e.l.f. Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal, Benefit High Beam, Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer in Pink Shimmer, Pixi Brightening Primer in Pearl Essence

Let me break them down one by one - I'll end with e.l.f.

25% off everything plus free shipping from Stila

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Excludes sale items. No code needed. Decent discount if you have a Stila staple that never goes on sale.

Swatches and mini-reviews of all my retractable/automatic eyeliners

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This is another one of those posts that is the result of my swatching all of the products I own in a certain category in order to determine if I want to keep them all. I'll write a more detailed post in the near future about how I decide what's working and what's not, since I'll be moving in a couple of months, and so I'm try to sort through my hoard and do away with things I don't need. For now, here are swatches of all the retractable eyeliner pencils I own. There weren't as many as I thought before I pulled them all out! But still too many, in general.

Oops, not the best camera setting. They are all quite straight in reality.

I swatched most of my regular pencil liners (i.e. the type you have to sharpen) a while back. As a rule, twist-up liners are stiffer and/or don't set as well as pencil types (for the reasons outlined here - scroll down to #4). Some of these retractable liners are just as good as some of my pencil liners, though.

On to the swatches!

Swatches (left to right) of:

• ULTA Automatic Eye Liner in Golden Eyes (wearing it in this post) ($8)
• Avon Glow Eye-liner in Copper Paradise ($6 I think? discontinued - but still available on Amazon)
• Jordana Easyliner in Eggplant ($2)
• ULTA Smokey Eyes Automatic Eye Liner in Cobalt (wearing it in this post) ($8, discontinued, but the cobalt one here might be similar)
• Stila Smudge Stick in Blue Ribbon ($20)
• ULTA Automatic Eye Liner in Teal Blue ($8)
• Essence Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in Tu-Tu-Turquoise ($2.50)
• Milani Liquif'Eye in Green ($7)
• NYX Retractable Eye Liner in Gray ($5)

Glossy/sheer red lip comparisons

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

I wanted to swatch all of my red lip products that are on the sheer side to see if I had any dupes that I could eliminate. I figured I might as well take a photo and post it, in case that sort of thing is useful to anyone else.

From left to right above:

Revlon ColorStay Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Candy Apple
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Cherry Tart
H&M Lip Pencil in Million Dollar Lips (Red)
Sephora Gloss Lipstick (unknown shade name)*
Stila Lip Glaze in Persimmon
Be a Bombshell Lip Gloss in Hot Mess
e.l.f. Super Glossy Lip Shine in New York City*

* These ones seem to be discontinued.

In the end, the only ones that are really very close are the Stila and Be a Bombshell glosses. I prefer the BAB formula. It's thinner, and so it will bleed slightly more, but it's easier to apply, feels better, and lasts really well. So bye bye Stila.

Here's a lip swatch of Hot Mess:

You can see lip swatches of a couple of the Revlon ones here. The color of the Revlon Balm Stain in Romantic and the Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple look pretty similar, but the formula is totally different, so they can both stay. I fail at eliminating things! Sheer reds with some sheen are just so fucking pretty, though.

Is e.l.f. Essential Hypershine Gloss ($1) a dupe for Stila Lip Glaze ($8)?

Disclosure: This post does not contain affiliate links.

You may have noticed that e.l.f. regularly makes products that look like more expensive products from other brands. They imitate the packaging, sometimes the name, and the basic type of product in an apparently attempt to attract people who want the higher-end item but aren't willing or able to spend the extra money for it. A good example is the crazy cream blush I reviewed a while ago. Their strategy seems to work fairly well, because you'll often see e.l.f. products suggested as cheaper alternatives to similar-looking higher end cosmetics.

It's important to be aware, however, that often what e.l.f. is replicating is just the appearance of the product - that is, the packaging. They don't necessarily try to recreate the formula of the more expensive inspiration: the texture, pigmentation, scent, wear, finish, etc. That means that they are not necessarily a reliable source of real dupes. It's marketing, not SWFing.

e.l.f. Hypershine Gloss has been around forever and has been a favorite of mine for years. Though there are other brands that sell glosses in this click-brush type of packaging, Stila seems to me like the most likely reference point for e.l.f.'s version. But until just recently, I had never tried Stila's very popular Lip Glaze. I ordered several tubes of it in an attempt to find something to compare with the two e.l.f. glosses that I already had (and also because they were pretty, and so I bought a few that definitely weren't going to be comparable shades). In retrospect, I went overboard, because it turns out that I am not a huge fan of the Stila glosses. Let that be a lesson to you (me) here: whether you're looking for an e.l.f. dupe or a dupe for an e.l.f. product, proceed with caution.

So to answer the question in the title before I go on to a more detailed comparison of these two products: No. They are not dupes.

On HauteLook now: theBalm, Stila, Mario Badescu, and Ken Goh Do (most things more than half off)

Tomorrow Urban Decay will be there too. I picked up theBalm Balm Jovi palette for half price, because 4 billion fucking eyeshadow palettes is clearly not enough for me.

You need an account to browse HauteLook, so you're certainly welcome to use my invite link if you like. Shipping for makeup is $6 and can be kind of slow, so be prepared.

Stila is on HauteLook today

Disclosure: This post contains a referral link.
Anything look good?

Stila's on Hautlook again! Up to 68% off

There's a variety of stuff from palettes to lip gloss to concealer. You need an account to browse HauteLook, so go ahead and use my invite link, if you like.

Anything look good to you?

Stila Friends and Family Sale (20% off code + free shipping)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
I just saw on Nouveau Cheap that Stila has a 20% code good until June 21. It's FRIENDS13 and you get free shipping with no minimum. It doesn't seem to work on sale items, though, unless I'm doing something wrong.

50% off sitewide from Stila

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link.
Use code LAKERS50. Includes sale/clearance. Lip Glaze glosses starting at $3.50, Smudge Stick eyeliners at $4, etc. Shipping is free over $50, otherwise it's $6.

Not sure when this code expires, and the site will probably be slow.

Stila is on HauteLook again (20-60% off)

The only thing I own from Stila is a Smudge Stick, which is a good eyeliner. I've heard good things about the Smudge Pots too (gel liner). Anything else I should really try?

You need an account to browse HauteLook, so here's an invite.

Stila on HauteLook today AND 20% off Urban Decay and Too Faced

I don't own anything by Stila except one eyeliner (a Smudge Stick, which is fantastic), so I can't recommend much to you from personal experience. Here is my HauteLook invite link, if you don't already have an account.

The code for the Urban Decay Friends and Family Sale is FFSPRING13. It's good today through Feb. 16 and is valid on sale items too! Everything I've ever tried from UD has been good, but I particularly recommend the eyeshadow primer.

The code for the Too Faced sale is xoxo20 and it's good until Feb. 14. I own absolutely nothing from Too Faced, so you're on your own here. I know that people also like their eyeshadow primer, though. When I tried to use the site earlier today, it was moving very, very slowly, so you might need to exercise some patience.