Makeup Review and FOTD: Bourjois Felt Tip Eye Liner in Black

Since I'm going to Asia soon I've been making a makeup wishlist of stuff I would like to buy (squeee hauls to come!). In the top 10 are Japanese felt tip eyeliners, Dolly Wink or K-Palette preferably. But last time I went to a drugstore I figured I should check out the eyeliners available here. The first eyeliner I ever bought was a Lancôme liquid eyeliner, unfortunately I can't remember the name and it's been discontinued. Anyway I did not like it, lasting power was just average and it flaked terribly, causing me to get dirt in my eye each time I removed it. Then I switched to MAC's Fluidline and did not venture into liquid eyeliners again. This year I've been getting into Japanese makeup, and seeing how felt tip pen eyeliners were so popular among the many brands, I put it on top of my wishlist.

On to the product:

Whoever is in charge of marketing and packaging at Bourjois should be raised, because I always get attracted to their products, more than Maybelline's or L'Oréal's, just by seeing the ads in beauty magazines and pretty packages. Yes, I'm a sheep, I own up to it!! But what really got me to buy this eyeliner was:

Being the makeup geek that I am, I totally squealed when I saw that and hurriedly went to the counter to pay. I thought, since this is made in Japan, they probably use the same manufacturer than Kosé or Kanebo, right? Riiiight?!! I couldn't wait to try it!!

What it looks like:

Swatch on my hand:

As you can see, the tip of the liner is quite fine, and not too stiff, so you can get a thinner line with a light pressure and a bigger line with more pressure. I like the tip a lot, I think it is a great balance of hard and soft, allowing you to create great winged lines without poking your eye. It dries almost instantly so it's easy to apply without smudging it all over your lid. It is also quite long-lasting, I wore it on Monday for about 12+hours outside on a hot sunny day (I sweat a lot, unfortunately =() and I only experienced minor smudging under my eye corner. On the picture above, I let the eyeliner dry for about 10 seconds and smudged it with my finger, it left no trace :)

On my eye:

Sorry it's a bit blurry, hopefully you can see the clean line I got with the liner :) Liquid eyeliner is harder to apply than pencil or gel eyeliner but since it's so long-lasting I think it's a much better payoff, also in terms of intensity. I'd rather spend a few more minutes in my bathroom in the morning and not worry about my eyeliner smudging or touching up the whole day :)

All in all I'm really satisfied with this product and I will definitely repurchase it, and now I'm expecting even more of the Japanese ones =)

FOTD:

- Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in #52

- Skin79 Diamond Collection Pearl BB Cream (highlighter)

- Lancôme Blush Subtil in #6 Pêche Intense

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- Bourjois Felt Tip Eyeliner in Black

- Sisley Eyebrow Liner in Châtain

- Dior Addict Gloss in #557 Denim Pink

Seen around Paris: Circle Lenses and Hello Kitty Makeup

I was walking the other day and went into a drugstore to check out the make up stalls. Quite unexpectedly I came upon this in the accessories section:

Circle lenses! This is the first time I have seen cosmetic lenses sold in a drugstore instead of an optician, and circle lenses to boot. Unfortunately the pictures were taken in a hurry on my camera phone because I didn't want the salespeople to notice me, so you can't really see the design properly, but there was a clear resemblance between the grey lenses and Geo Nudy Greys. The blue ones kind of look like EOS M201. Anyway, I'm calling them circle lenses because they all had a bold outer ring to give the eyes a dolly look.

I have never heard of the manufacturer, apparently these are made in Italy. All were plano, BC 8.6 and DIA 14.0mm. The water ratio is quite high (60%) because these were monthly lenses. The price was 11€ for daily lenses but I forgot to ask the price for the monthly ones. I will definitely go and check them out again, maybe try to get better pictures because I'm intrigued. I must admit I am skeptic about drugstore-sold contact lenses...

Hello Kitty makeup! I resisted the urge to pick up anything because I'm going to Malaysia and Singapore next week and I'm trying to save up for shopping :) But the nailpolishes had nice colors as well as the eye palettes so I'm really tempted!

Various NOTD

Konad plate m62 and N.Y.C Love Letters

Konad plates m19 and m36 and N.Y.C Love Letters

Konad plate m62 and OPI Lincoln Park After Dark

Skincare review: La Roche Posay Respectissime waterproof eye make up remover

I am surprised to see very few reviews of this product, because this is probably the first HG skincare product I ever discovered, before I even knew what HGs are actually!

Make up removing is an essential step in the skincare routine; make up residues will clog up pores, resulting in a bad skin condition, so you should always make sure your face is perfectly clean before going to bed. Being a daily user of waterproof eye liner and mascara, a good eye make up remover is important for me. I have tried lots of them, and always came back to this one, which was actually the first I ever tried.

Like most waterproof eye make up remover, this is a bi-phase formula, so you need to shake the bottle to mix the two liquids before applying on your eyes with a cotton pad. Pat gently the eye before swiping with the pad. Eyes are a sensitive area, so you want to avoid rubbing too hard. This product is great because it removes all kinds of make up effortlessly, including waterproof mascara. When you remove mascara, close your eye and put the cotton pad on the lashes where they reach your undereye area, and wait 1-2 seconds before swiping the pad downwards lightly, to avoid pulling on your lashes. Do the same thing this time with your eye open, put the cotton pad on the lashes over the browbone area and swipe upward. I have had some product accidentally touch my eye, but as it is a very gentle formula I did not feel anything. The product feels slightly oily but I have not experienced any breakouts with it, and usually I follow up with a face cleanser so it does not leave any residue. The formula is fragrance-free and paraben-free.

I've tried other eye make up removers, like the much hyped Lancôme Bi-facil, but although both brands are owned by L'Oréal I prefer the La Roche Posay by far, because I had trouble removing my eye-liner with Lancôme. And it is a much better value for the price, La Roche Posay retails at about €10 ($13) whereas the Lancôme one is about €18 ($23) for the same amount (125mL). You need very little product depending on how heavy your eye makeup is, but a bottle should last at least a couple of months. I wear eye-liner on a daily basis and I buy about 3 bottles a year.