*Milk; Eyeliner Comparison & Review

Finding the perfect long lasting, smudge proof eyeliner seems like a quest for most women, especially for someone who has mismatching eyelids like me. I technically fit into the category of having 'double lids', but the fat eyelid of my right eye is slightly droopy which always makes my eyeliner transfer onto my upper lid.

I’ve already accepted the fact that there is no eyeliner on the market that won’t smudge on my wonky right eye, but I have come across one particular eyeliner which has been working pretty good for me so far.

From my experience, gel eyeliners give me the best results. Therefore, in this entry I will compare the 3 gel eyeliners that I own and give my opinion on each of them.


From L-R: MAC, Bobbi Brown, Etude House (brush not shown in picture)

MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack

Website description: Ultra-smooth, Fluidline’s gel formula provides the precision of a liquid liner with a silkier, softer finish. Goes on “foolproof” with a brush in an easy dip-and-stroke action. Long-wearing. Smudge-proof. Lines up in a rich array of colours and finishes. Brush sold separately.

3 g/0.1 oz US $15.00 (6 shades available)

The MAC Fluidline is the first gel eyeliner that I purchased. It is probably the most popular amongst all 3 eyeliners. Its consistency is the closest to a true 'gel', meaning that it's very soft in texture. At first, I liked it a lot because it lasted a lot better than any other pencil or liquid liner I've tried, but it still smudges a lot on my right eye.


Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Caviar Ink

Website description: This award-winning liner offers the precision of a liquid liner and the ease of a gel-based formula. Awarded: "Elle" Magazines's ‘Top 5’ (Nov. 2009), "In Style" 'Best Beauty Buy' (2008), and "Allure" ‘Reader's Choice Award’ (2008).

3 g/0.1 oz US $21.00 (16 shades available)

It took me a while before I decided to invest in the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner because of the hefty price tag. Even though they call it a 'gel' eyeliner, the consistency is different from the MAC Fluidline. It's a lot more dry and waxy. I feel that the drier consistency prevents it from melting off, but after a long period of time and a lot of blinking, the eyeliner does rub off eventually.


Etude House Code B Strong Eyes Cream Liner in #1 Strong Black

Website description: Cream textured eyeliner supplies smooth, adhesion for long lasting smoky eyes. (Comes with Makeup Brush)

3 g/0.1 oz KR ₩9,000 (3 shades available)

The Etude House Code B eyeliner is a great dupe for the Bobbi Brown. This cream liner is the cheapest out of all 3, retailing for 9,000 won (~ US $8) in Korea or US $11,99 (available on the US website here)

The consistency is very similar to the Bobbi Brown, but just a tad more waxy. I can't comment on the pigmentation since the Etude House one is in 'Strong Black' whereas the Bobbi Brown is in 'Caviar Ink'. It applies very smoothly and the included brush is not bad at all! The thick, waxy texture of the liner makes it very long lasting. The eyeliner can transfer onto my upper lid after a few hours, but overall it lasts very well. Probably the best out of all 3!


Here is what the included eyeliner brush looks like. Even though the quality is not amazing, it is not bad considering that its free. Even a noob like me can manage to draw a straight line with it.


The comparison


From L-R: MAC, Bobbi Brown, Etude House
Please note that the Bobbi Brown is in Caviar Ink while the other 2 are in black.

	MAC	Bobbi Brown	Etude House
Price
Lasting power
Pigmentation
Shade selection
Availability

The verdict

Despite the poor color selection compared to Bobbi Brown, the Etude House cream eyeliner is of great quality considering the price. For those who want a long lasting black eyeliner, Etude House would be a fantastic choice. For those who do not live in a country where Etude House is readily available, you can easily find it on eBay. And for those who live in the US, you can order it from the US website (here).

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*cookiie; belated london haul post

Yeah, I know it's a little late for this post, but it's never too late for a haul post right?


So before I show you the beauty products I'm such a tease, I want to tell you more about our trip. We basically shopped for 4 days straight, and that's almost the only thing that went really well, haha. Sometimes we had trouble finding stores, but most of the time it was really easy to find the places we wanted to go. The underground transport system is really easy and we basically travelled to everywhere with the tube. We had some great and some less good meals, but overall it was pretty good and not pricey at all. I met a friend that I've known from the internet for a long time, drank a bit and even attempted clubbing. We did that on the last day, but the club was horrible and I even got sick afterwards, so that was not so nice.. haha~

I didn't snap pictures there at all, because this was my second time going and I really didn't think about it much. I'm sorry guys, I wish I could show you a bit more of London. So yeah, that's basically a short summary of what we've done there. Onto the haul!


Some hair products: L'Oréal Paris Elnett Satin hairspray, Batiste dry shampoo and some Aussie hair masks. So far I've only tried the 3 Minute Miracle mask, but I was actually expecting a little bit more of it. It's okay but it's not as good as my regular hair mask, so I was a little bit disappointed. Hopefully the big bottle one will be better.


Drugstore eye make-up! I've gotten two Sleek palettes: The Original 594 and Sunset 568. I also got the Revlon ColorStay 12 Hour Eye Shadow in 05 Blushed Wines and two random eye colour pencils. The pink one actually from Primark; I saw it and I liked the hot pink colour and thought, why not? The other one is called the Technic eye shadow shimmer stick in E13; it smells like cheap lipstick and it's very sticky and creamy, so it has some potential to be a nice cheap eyelid primer, haha.

Close-ups of the Sleek palletes: the inside and the back of the palettes. First one is The Original 594 and the second one is Sunset 568.




The first time I went to London, I actually missed my flight back home, so we were really stressed about it and made sure we made it on time. However, our flight was delayed for at least an hour because of the snow. This gave us a little bit more time to shop on the airport, and guess what I got? A Dior eyeshadow palette! I had about 30 pounds left and I didn't really know what to do with it, so Milk suggested me to just treat myself a Dior palette (since I was sick and stuff), haha. This one is the 5-Colour Iridescent Eyeshadow Palette in 609 Earth Reflection.





MAC~ There was a MAC store in the shopping centre Westfield, so that's where we did the hauling. I also bought a 187 brush for myself, but I forgot to make a picture of it. And if any Londoner is reading this, is it normal to stand in queue to get in? Not that it was bad, I actually liked the fact that I had more space to walk around.


You've probably seen the Korres Body Butter and Lip Butter from Milk already, so I won't tell you again how nice the deal was Ha! I did it anyways, but I'm really regretting that I didn't buy more. It's so good! And for anyone who lives in the UK and has mild acne like me, try the Superdrug Store's Tea Tree Spot Stick for spot treatments. It's not magical or anything, but it works really well in my opinion. I've tried many spot treatment products, and I've got to say that this one is one of the most effective products I've had. I bought two for 5 pounds, but I wish I had bought more now, haha.


Some stuff from Muji! I haven't tried the hair scissor yet, but I can finally maintain my hair myself now~ Oh and the tweezer with the light is from Primark. I don't really use it, I just wanted to have one and see how it works, haha.


This is also a product from Primark; it's supposed to remove mistakes made when applying mascara, but I haven't tried it out yet so I'll post about it later if it's any good.


And last but not least, nail polishes! I was really in need of some nice nail polishes, and these were buy 3 get 1 free. So far I've tried the Gosh one in 'Holographic (the glittery one) and I love how it looks on my nails. The only bad thing about it is that it chips off incredibly fast, so if anyone has tips for better "staying on power" I guess, please let me know!

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*Milk; back from London! (Haul)

First post of the year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. ♥ I wish each and every one of you the best in 2010 and may it be filled with joy, laughter and many many happy memories!

Please forgive us for neglecting our blog these past few days, but some of you may already know that Tiffany and I went to London with 2 other friends and we only got back two days ago. The trip was great! We stayed there for 4 days and 3 nights and did tons and tons of shopping. I spent the last couple of days resting and sorting out my luggage. haha ~

Anyway, I will keep this post short because I still don't feel coherent enough to write a proper entry. And of course I bought some loads of beauty products while being in London so I took some photos of the things that I bought. If you want a review on any of the products, feel free to leave a comment.


MAAAAAAC! I also bought another 187 brush because it is my favorite brush to apply my foundation with and it was only £29 (~$47 USD) compared to the whopping €45 (~$65 USD) they charge in the Netherlands.


Paint Pot in 'Bare Study', Eyeshadows in 'Hypnotizing' (left) and 'Ploof!' (right).


'Bare Study' (top), 'Ploof!' (middle), 'Hypnotizing' (bottom).


A close up on the lashes. They are in #33. ♥ I also got the Duo Lash Adhesive to go with it.


And of course I had to get some skincare items as well since I'm such a skincare freak. Both Tiffany and I got the Korres 'Guava Butter Duo To Go' set because Fuzkittie talked about it in her videos and on her blog and we wanted to try out the lip butter as well. Such a great deal! ♥♥♥ The funny thing was that we both didn't bring a proper handcream and our hands got reaaally dry from the wind. We went into a department store to put on handcream from the tester tubes! HAHAHA.

Tiffany and I got so excited when we found the Simple 'Replenishing Rich Moisturiser' at Boots because Yumeko raved about it on her blog. Apparantly, it works perfectly as an eye cream! I was also able to pick up 2 Origins products at the airport. The two things I got were the 'Eye Doctor' and 'Spot Remover'. We don't have Origins here so I was really happy.

I ran out of my Lancome 'Tonique Confort' so decided to try out the Clarins Camomille toner and so far so good! I also got the Clinique 'Liquid Facial Soap' (Which I forgot in the bathroom D:) in extra mild which I plan to use after my cleansing oil to make sure everything, including the cleansing oil, is washed off.


I simply had to stock up on mascaras. hehe Also got the Clarins 'Double Fix Mascara'!


A ton of nail polishes~


We could only find the mini version of the Batiste Dry Shampoo. Good thing they also sell it on asos.com so we can always order the full sized version if we like it. The other items are the Aussie 'Miracle Hair Insurance Leave-in-conditioner', the Cargo 'OneBase' concealer and the Paul & Joe 'Lip Lacquer' in shade 02.


Some travel containers from Primark and Muji. Love the tubes because I can use it for my Nars 'Sheer Glow' foundation which doesn't come with a pump.


Palettes! I really wanted the Sleek 'Storm' palette but it was sold out. Tiffany and I were able to get our hands on the last few palettes.


The Sleek 'Original' palette.


And the 'Sunset' palette.


Can you believe I got this Dior travel palette for only £20? Such a great deal! I was so lucky because they only had one left.

Unfortunataly I didn't get to buy a lot of clothing because the stores were sooo crowded. Anyway, I had a great time in London but now it is time to save up some money because a lot of damage has been done to my bank account. I do have a few more things coming in the mail which I ordered before my trip to London so stay tuned for that!

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