L'Oreal H.I.P. Color Truth Cream Liner Review

Let me state up front, that I have never cared for cream eye liners. The first one I ever tried was a Smashbox sample that didn't work well for me. It faded out about hours into the day and rubbed off. I also tried one from the Sephora brand which was nice but didn't have much staying power through the day as my eyes tend to water occasionally and my inner corner lid area would always get rid of any liner whether it was liquid, pencil, even MAC fluid line didn't last a full 8 hours from start to finish on those pesky inner corners, and I LOVE fluid line!

So then one day I was roaming Youtube and a guru was reviewing these liners which had just come out. Having had underwhelming experiences with the H.I.P. line already, I laughed when she compared it to fluid line and promptly dismissed her opinion!

I shouldn't have.

I picked this liner up with a gift card, thinking that I'd give it a try and if I hated it, I'd return it for something else. I got it home, opened the package and promptly tossed the angle brush that it come with into the "Drawer of Things I Never Use," and swirled my Sonia Kashuk angled liner brush into the pot. I was pleased with the smooth consistency that didn't cling to the brush like the Smashbox had even after I tapped off the excess on the jar rim. And I was shocked at how smooth and evenly it applied on my lid, every bit as well as my fluid line does, not even giving me any difficulty with the small "wing" I do for my office look.
So in the morning, I did my usual makeup routine and applied the liner on both lids, to see how it would hold up to a busy Monday at work. I was surprised to see that the inner corners were still holding strong at lunch time and that they had only begun to blur by the time I took my final break, 6 1/2 hours after I originally applied it. At the end of my shift when I was in my car and checked my eyes in the rear-view, I could not believe that it was still there. 9 hours later and, while certainly not the most fresh, it was certainly better than anything I've tried before.

I did the same routine today and the photo of my eyes is one I just took, TEN HOURS AFTER INITIAL APPLICATION.

While not as deeply pigmented as MAC fluid line, and it certainly doesn't come in as many colors as MAC does, if you're on a budget and looking for a good eyeliner that goes on like a liquid and wears like a tailored suit, L'Oreal H.I.P Color Truth Cream Liner could very well be the choice for you!
*all photos are mine*

NYX Blushes and Swatches

I picked up three new blushes from Cherry Culture and today I did the swatch testing.
*All photos are my own*

Photo 1 is the blushes in their pans, from left to right: Pecan, Pinched, and Stone.

Photo 2: they are freshly applied, and I used a primer to make them stick to my wrist better.

Photo 3: Swatches after a vigorous rubbing test from both my fingers and a stippling brush. I was surprised at how well they held up to that.

Review of the individual colors...

Pecan is warm chocolate brown with golden shimmer tones. I bought it specifically for contouring a friend with mocha skin when they want to do a glamorous look.

Pinched is a coral pink, also with golden shimmer tones. I wore it for my blush today and it applies and blended very well and I was shocked that what appeared to be a brighter pink in the pan melted into my skin and buffed out so well. It lasted all day, with no fading that I could see.

Stone is a flat matte sienna reddish brown. This was another blush that I bought for every day contouring. This blush is the softest of the three. You may not be able to tell from the photo since the matte of the blush makes it less defined that the light catching shimmer blushes, but even after swatching twice, running my finger tip over it twice, and dipping a contouring brush to test it out on a models face, the diamond design is already disappearing fast. It worked well as a contouring powder but if it was something you would use daily, you would need to replace it more often.

Sigma Brushes Ordered

Ordered the standard 12 brush set from Sigma today.  While I'm happy that they're on their way, I was a little disappointed at the fact that the $99 set that includes the brush roll was available, every single individual brush was available, but the standard set of 12 for $79 without the brush roll that I wanted was somehow "out of stock."  I had to pay $20 more for something that, while it's a very nice brush roll, it's still a brush roll that I don't need.