Concealer Revealed

I'm going to sound like I was born yesterday. Or even earlier this morning. I just discovered a beauty basic that most woman have experienced except for yours truly - concealer.

I only ocasionally use my Black Opal concealer to cover scars. Recently at the Clinique counter, I had a beauty epiphany, a revelation - good concealer makes a gargantuan difference, one that I most certainly need.

I have few Wow moments with makeup - some Whoa's, but not Wow. After the sales assistant blended Clinique Line-Smoothing in Deep Honey under my eyes and on my lids, I could not believe the drastic results - Wow. I looked younger! Awake! Refreshed! Even complexion all the way up to my beady little eyes! I recalled my face 60 seconds before and was truly ashamed. I haven't been doing myself justice.

Don't ask how I went 25 3/4 years without understanding the importance of concealer or getting matched for a good one. I don't have huge undereye circles but they are definitely noticeable - if I were to tell someone I was sick or had pulled an all-nighter, they would certain agree that I look it. Also, since my eyes are on the smaller side, those circles have always prevented liner and shadows from looking their very best.

According to my mom, my eyes looked smaller. I told her that they must have appeared larger before because they were being dragged outward by the abyss of undereye circles. A more even complexion made them pop out for what they are!

If there is one thing I apply everyday, it should be this. I've always been weary of face makeup, but I'm almost 110% sure I should be more consistent with concealer - maybe not every single day, but frequently, and definitely for special occasions.

Application was a cinch (just dot beneath eyes and on lids, and tap to blend in - no rubbing!). Checkout An Indian's Makeup Musings concealer tutorial for additional tips.

This Clinique concealer was a great match, doubles as a good base for other eye makeup, and the consistency is just creamy but thin enough for me. So happy to find something that I don't just like on the back of my hand, but that actually contributes to some real evolution. $14.00 @ Macy's

On Eyeliner...And all that follows

Oh dear, I'm this close to seeing a therapist because I have been fixated on finding the perfect eyeliner for more than a few days now. I am returning several new MAC ones as well as Clinique/Sephora ones.

Btw, I know this picure is corny as hell (and I also don't have pretty green eyes with perfectly applied green eyeliner and shadowing/contouring/funny colored patches on my lid), but it makes this page look nicer. I may return to my L'Oreal Le Khol pencils but they are not smudge-proof enough. I've heard about this Metallic Bourjois one and the Aqua's from Make Up Forever. They are my next experiment. Sigh. Could i sound any more bored and neurotic???

I tried the Clinique Cream Shaper but its too soft and creamy and very difficult to sharpen, although the colors are gorgeous. My eye area is incredibly oily and I also tear a lot, which is why this is a problem. I know I should use a primer, but the extra step might really kill me. Really. I find it difficult to wash and brush my hair sometimes. I know - me, and a blog, about beauty and product of all things - go figure.

I should add that I was looking for metallics/cream formulas because I sort of like an inkier look, even for day, as long as the color isn't pitch-black and too smudgy. A great color is L'Oreal's Le Khol Black Sable. It's the perfect brown/black and I wish I could find a longer-lasting, inkier version of it. I need a long-lasting pencil for mainly my lower rim. But that's also the oiliest area, which is why I'm looking for something more smudge-proof.

On a whim I went to Duane Reade and got 3 eyeliners for a total of $11.00. I think the girl undercharged me - yay! I got the blackest brown I could find from Almay, the blackest Jade from Black Opal (which is such a random drugstore brand but I like some of their stuff), and a lovely copper cream crayon from Maybelline (very similar to that chubby pencil Sania bought a few weeks ago). So far, I really like this black/brown color from Almay. At work, layered on the Jade. Before I left, layered on the copper - I looked interesting by the time I left. Ugh. Only in my world could this be such an issue. The powder thing hasn't really been working for me. It works for evening make-up, but not day-long wear. Also, in my quest to age gracefully, I want to use as few products as possible. The other problem I'm finding with creamy/waterproof formulas is that they are very hard to sharpen. I cannot bother to sharpen something EVERY morning and clean my friggin' sharpener too.

Recently I also went to Sephora and got 1 Bourjois and 1 Make-up Forever pencil. Tested them briefly at home and they definitely have some staying power. The Bourjois one definitely has some nice inkiness as well. I didn't see a bronze cream crayon - phooey. Will have to look again, although I sort of like the Maybelline pencil, even though it goes on more orangey than bronze/brown.

Results of a drugstore impulse during lunch:
Black Opal in Metallic Bronze
Maybelline Line Stylist in Bronze Gleam
Maybelline Line Stylist in Black Sparkle (no sparkles, just has a slight inky sheen)
Maybelline Unstoppable in Espresso
HIP Shadow Stick in Majestic (guess what color - bronze)

So in case you can't tell, I'm on a quest to find a soft inky black and a softy dark brown, as well as a bronze one that I can smudge into the lash line/lid for a little bit of gleam. I opened the Line Stylist ones and although I do actually love the colors, they are extremely thin and the self-sharpening kind and you kind of can't even tell if you are drawing anything on. The Black Opal is of course, good. The espresso on my hand seems better than the Almay I got yesterday.

Latest - returning them all. And I mean ALL. The only ones I am keeping are the Black Opal Black Jade and the Almay Black Brown. Oh, and I may keep the Bourjois and Make Up Forever ones - I think I'm just too lazy to return those! :)

On Black Opal Metallic Precision Eye Definer

I found this accidentally while trying to avoid another expensive-eyeliner disaster. I have tried Black Opal's concealer before and used it religiously for a few years, so I was open to trying other products. I was on the lookout for metallic eyeliners and decided it would be worth checkout the usual cheapy drugstore brands that have been reliable (if not perfect) in the past - Jordana, Wet 'n' Wild, Black Opal, NYC, etc. I picked up the Black Jade Metallic Precision eyeliner because I loved the deep, intense color that was not too green. I love dark green liners for my brown eyes and olive skin, but sometimes they are a bit too green and can fade to a not-so-flattering mossy color. This one retained its black quality with the right tint of jade green. I agree that the color could be a little bit more metallic but for the price ($3.15), it was still worth it. It does require some powder/concealer/primer/whatever around the eyes to avoid smudging but stayed put for the most part. It did not immediately run like some of my prior MAC eyeliners, and was easy to remove. I would repurchase, and I'm going to try the other colors as well.