Urban Decay 24/7 Liners

I know it's been a long time since I've shared anything with you and I have no legit excuse so let's not dwell on that shall we? :)

I'll jump right into it. I'm in love. AGAIN. With Urban Decay. AS USUAL. Just when I thought they couldn't outdo themselves they did. I've always been a huge fan of 24/7 liners (with the exception of zero [black] which always seems to smudge like crazy on me) but the new shades are out of this world. Seriously, the must have come from another galaxy.

I wanted every shade but I settled for two: Freak, a bright mint green with a slight lime leaning, and Deep End, a pool at midnight bright metallic blue-leaning teal. I have a ton of green and blue eyeliners but none in these particular shades, I needed them, I've actually never seen anything close to Freak on the shelves.

Chaos, a matte cobalt blue, would have been another choice had it been metallic, I'm not much of a matte girl, on any part of my face. Junkie is a beautiful emerald green shimmer and another fave. LSD would have been another choice had I been made of money. It's shimmery dark blue color is gorgeous and makes my eyes look more green than blue. There are color choices for those with less shall we say, adventurous tastes. Browns and coppers, dark blues and grays, everything you can imagine, even bright metallic hot pink Woodstock, which I happen to own and love (try it you'll like it, I promise).

These are still the only liners that I own that go on smooth, without drag, in one swipe and last all day. Seriously, even swatches on my hand can last through several handwashings and it's not like you're doing that to your eyeballs, am I right? These liners are particularly great for hot summer days when eyeshadow just seems out of place. Wear them on your waterline, on the upper or lower lashlines or everywhere all at once. They're totally smudgeproof once they've set. Just make sure to give them a few seconds to dry before opening wide or you'll get that dreaded lashline transfer on the middle lid. Traced on in a thin line you can even get away with wearing them with a bright lippie. That's how I'd rock them with my new favorite bright pink or coral lipsticks.

What are your favorite eyeliners? What would you recommend to a girl like me who loves her bright, cool-toned liners?

Stila Smudgestick and Sparkle Liners

You have to forgive the crepey-ness around my eyes, I swear they don't normally look like that. I was tired, it was fairly early in the morning for me and I was on vacation! Ignore that and focus on the gorgeous liner shades I was dying to share with you.

The lower liner is Stila Smudgestick in Silver Dollar. My local-ish Ulta has plenty in stock but they seem to be sold out on Sephora's website and not available on Ulta's. It's a bummer. I'm definitely going to have to check back at Ulta and pick one up because I love them. That's the great thing about living in the middle of nowhere, nothing seems to sell out as fast but that also means we don't get the things when they are in demand. As for the liner this one has a good amount of shimmer but no actual sparkles. It truly looks metallic and I love it. If you're interested in the also Limited Edition gold shade be aware that it is a little too yellow on my fair and cool skin. There are plenty of other non-LE shades Triggerfish (gunmetal) and Purple Tang (purple) are my favorites. I think I could wear any of these comfortably. What I'm not comfortable with is the $20 price tag but I think I would splash out for Silver Dollar, I've never had a silver so pigmented.

On my upper lid I used Stila's Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Bora Bora. Isn't it pretty? As far as liquid eyeliners go this one has a pretty straight forward application. You can apply it right to the upper lashline. It takes a second to dry and in that time it's impossible to see, it feels kind of funny but it passes quickly. I'd compare it to feeling like you got an oily substance in your eyes and finally flush it out to get relief. Really, it's only a few seconds and if I can deal with it I think you can too, I'm pretty finicky like that.

I love every color in this line especially Royal (a bright royal purple, 'magine that), Curacao (a bright blueish purple), and Electric (bright green). Those brights are my favorite and they look amazing on my fair skin. They will look just as wonderful on dark skin and there are a variety of shades for everyone. At $22 they are a little pricey for my tastes but still awesome.

NARS Larger than Life Eyeliner

I'm predicting this fall to be the season of eyeliner. As a huge fan I couldn't be more excited. While I'm a big believer in the power of your typical black liner I also love me some brights. My collection is full of vibrant blues, greens and purples and the occasional gold or silver. I love the way they makes my eyes look and the way they instantly sex up any outfit. So far I've been super impressed with Urban Decay's 24/7 liners but I'm ready to branch out a little bit with the new NARS Larger than Life pencils. They're a little pricey at $23 but their long wear and incredible color payoff make it a worthy splurge.

With my green eyes I love to wear purples like Bourbon Street and coppers like the gorgeous Via Appia (a slightly copperish brown). Both colors really help my eyes stand out. According to color theory the opposite shades on the color wheel from your eye color should really make them pop. All eye colors look great in purple, I love the way blues like Abbey Road look on dark brown eyes and gold makes blue eyes sexy.

While it may not follow color theory I also happen to think eyes look great in a shade similar to their own color. For my green eyes I love wearing bright jade or fun forest like Rue De Rivoli. Blues will look lovely in Rue Saint-Honoree (a dark sapphire) or (blueish gray) Madison Avenue and brown eyes will sparkle with Via Appia. When wearing green liner I can't help but admire the way they make my eyes look even greener, ditto for wearing a bluer shade since I'm lucky enough to have green-blue eyes that change colors depending on my mood or makeup choices.

While we could all use a little more beauty sleep NARS seems to have us covered on that one as well. When you line your eyes with matte white Santa Monica BLVD (for all skintones) or Rue Bonaparte (a nude for light complexions) you instantly look more awake and alert. Lately the rims of my eyes have been redder for no particular reason and I look like I have allergies when, for the most part, I do not. I'm lusting after the pretty shimmer in Rue Bonaparte to make me look wide eyed and bushy tailed (although my peppy ponytail does that for me).

If you're the look before you buy you have to check out the swatches from Karla Sugar seen here. This girl could make me want to buy anything with her beautiful swatching.

While you're here don't forget to sign up for my giveway, a year's subscription to Cosmo. PS-How do you like the new look?

Elizabeth Arden Smoky Eyes Powder Pencil in Blue Sky

It's not a big secret that I love cool tones on the eyes, even Matt seems to agree with me, as referenced in last weeks Dudesday Tuesday post. I'm forever in love with greens and purples on the eyes but find blue a little harder to work with on my particular skintone. I can't seem to pull of denim blue eyeshadow although I love blues with a green or purple leaning. I'm learning to experiment a little more and what better way than with a blue liner? I can go as subtle or as intense as I want, line just the top or just the bottom of my eyes or even color in my whole lid if I'm so inclined. I have a few great blue toned liners from Urban Decay but I was looking for something that was more of the pastel blue variety.

Elizabeth Arden's Smoky Eyes Powder Pencil in Sky Blue is so gorgeous that I couldn't not love it. It's a kohl pencil that finishes to a powdery perfection, mimicking the look of powder shadow used as liner. The clear periwinkle blue is so pretty and I can just imagine how great this will look with all eye colors, particularly the dark brown eyes I've always envied. It also comes with a smudge tip for the perfect rockstar smoked out liner that I love. At $16 it is a little pricey as far as my budget goes but it's comparable to other liners on the market.

Now if we could just have skies this blue for the rest of the summer I'd be a happy camper!

Estee Lauder Spring 2011

Woohoo. I wish I could say that it was spring already but it's not, it's barely even winter in my neck of the woods. I fear we have a long, long way to go. Fear not, something to tide you over.

I never know what to think of collections until I check out swatches and easily the best place to find those is Karlasugar.net. Since we have similar skintones I can really tell how the products will look on me. I'm really sorry I missed out on Blue Dahlia and Surreal Violet but it's not too late to check out Wild Violet.

Wild Violet is a little deceiving for the name. Personally, I pictured more purple shades instead of just the one but it is gorgeous. The rest of the colors in the palette are neutrals so the next question is how many ways can you wear this? Put a little purple in the crease or along the lashline, a neutral eye look that can easily transition from day to night, a sexy cats eye liner.

In this collection there's also a single called Untamed Violet as well as a DoubleWear eye pencil with the same name. The DoubleWear pencil formula is great with an almost gel like finish and the blue based purple Untamed Violet would look amazing with eyes of all colors, I especially love purple with brown or green eyes.

While, at $42, it's a little out of my price range I really do feel like you're getting your moneys worth with this one especially if you wear a lot of neutrals. If you buy it, or see it in person, let me know what you think.

Buxom Do You Believe in Love at First Sight?

Wow. I see a trend on this here blog: Bare Escentuals Buxoms are hard to pass up this holiday season. Here's why...

Six, count 'em, six mini Buxom eyeliners! (From Sephora)
No. 1: "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" (bright turquoise)
No. 2: "Do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?" (violet purple)
No. 3: "Are you a parking ticket? You've got fine written all over you." (pearl white)
No. 4: "If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put "U" and "I" together." (black)
No. 5: "Are those sexy legs tired? You've been running through my mind." (espresso)
No. 6: "You must be a thief because you stole my heart." (gold with silver micro glitter

If you haven't figured it out by now I love purple and I love turquoise (wedding colors, hello!). Who doesn't need a black liner and white is perfect for looking more refreshed and awake. But, this set had me at microglitter, gold with silver microglitter at that, the best of both worlds. The only one I can't imagine wearing is the espresso shade but that's only because I haven't met a brown liner I like, I have a feeling if anyone could do it it would be Buxom.

If you picked this set up, tell me all about it, I'm jealous!

*Update* Picked these up for myself for Christmas and I will review them soon!