Annabelle Smudgeliner in Plummed

Annabelle Smudgeliners...a lot has been said about them, all positive. Having finally had the chance to review Plummed, I have nothing to contradict others either.

Once you take the product out of the box you will notice it has a different packaging from other drugstore gel liners.






The uniqueness of the Smudgeliner is that the brush comes off the pot cap and assembles to form an almost-full-size brush (see Marcelle pencil liner for size reference:





Brush close-up. The brush is gentle on the eyelid, and has the right about of give and flexibility. However the one I had did have a few misaligned fibres, which made it a bit more challenging to draw a fine line with.




Here are the ingredients for Plummed:




A swatch of Plummed. It shows up as a blackened warm purple, tending more black in low lighting and more purple when angled a certain way.




As a liner it looks more like an off black than purple, but I feel the purple tones serve to accentuate brown eyes still, just very subtly. It is a lot less harsh than straight black.




Just for fun, a size comparison vs other liners. From L-R, Annabelle Smudgeliner, Kanebo Kate, Maybelline Studio, MAC Fluidline, L'Oreal HIP.



Out of the above, the Smudgeliner is truly the tinest of them all!


Annabelle Plummed vs Kate Gel Liner in PU-1



I had a similar colour from my Japanese makeup collection from Kate, so I swatched both to see if ther was a difference. The Kate gel liner contains more black in it and is also drier than the Smudgeliner, which has a wet, creamy texture which serves well as a cream shadow base.

In terms of wear, the liner stayed on for me all day as long as I had my eyelids primed with Urban Decay Primer Potion. There was no smudging or migration of colour. I haven't tried this yet but the product would make a great eyeshadow base for dark, smoky looks since the texture is creamy yet dries fairly quick.

Overall, I felt that the Smudgeliners are worth trying if you like having an all-in-one type of product that can act as a liner, eyeshadow base, and comes with its own brush. Some may be put off by its small size, but if you are me, who isn't faithful to only one gel liner, the pot is more than enough to last a long time.

Revlon Lip Butter in Lollipop

Thanks to some lovely Xmas thoughts I got to finally try out a Revlon Lip Butter! Behold the Lip Butter in Lollipop:




You can also see the actual colour through the top of the lipstick case, which is clear although the sides being tinted pink still do affect the colour you see.




The packaging is quite elegant for a drugstore brand, very remnicent of Dior's Hi Shine lipsticks:





Lollipop swatches on as a sheer, but bright fuchsia pink:




It is very much a blue-toned pink, particularly on my lips. The pink can get intense if you swipe on a couple more layers, as it builds up.


(sorry for the dry looking lips! My skin has been going through a dry phase this winter...)

Despite the sheerness of the Lip Butters, I find Lollipop bright enough that I would only wear it blotted on regular days, or save the full effect of it for weekends/special occasions.

In terms of wear, the product is very moisturizing, similar to the Dior Lip Glow product in terms of balminess. However this also translates to a poor wear time, coming off quite easily once I start eating or drinking.

Price-wise I think these are fairly pricey by Canadian standards, running almost $10 a tube in drugstores. However, I hear that Rexall does buy 1 get 1 free for lip products every now and then, so keep an eye out for those!

Overall, I think Lollipop is an awesome colour to have if you are branching out of neutral lipsticks and want a loud pop of colour that is comfortable to wear. However, if you want something more neutral, or more opaque then prehaps consider other products such as the Joe Fresh Cream lipsticks or Revlon Colorburst lipsticks.

Sally Hansen Crackle Polish - Fuchsia Shock

Its been a shockingly busy week for me...I started classes on Monday the 2nd, and have been spending entire days either in class, doing readings, writing papers or working on business simulations. But luckily I did a lot of photo editing for posts over the break, so I just need to write the words!

So I've been staying clear of the crackle nailpolish bandwagon, mostly because I couldn't really see how to combine colours with the crackle effect and also because I rarely do my nails. However my friend recently gifted me with a Sally Hansen Crackle polish in Fuchsia Shock so it was time to try it out.




I got some suggestions on twitter and ended up going with purple holo for my first pairing attempt. I used 2 coats of Milani 3D Holo in Hi Res, and once dry used Fuchsia Shock on top.



It looks better in pictures than in real life for some reason...I wasn't loving it much while wearing it, and ended up removing it in 2 days. I had used a medium to thin coat of crackle polish, so I think thats why the crackle effect isn't as much and tends to be more vertical. The thicker the coat the more horizontal crackle appeared.




Sooo...have you ever used a crackle polish? If so do you have a favourite to recommend?

Marcelle Rouge Xpression Lipstick - Jezebel

One of the products I'd been excited to try from Marcelle is their Rouge Xpression lipsticks.



It comes in a matte dark blue tube, very simple and elegant. The case does feel a bit light compared with higher end lipsticks which have a more solid feel, but it looks nicer than any drugstore lipsticks I've seen.




Jezebel is a dusty rose in the tube and appears darker when swatched. It has a creamy texture and very opaque colour.




On my lips, it tends to lean toward the cooler side of rose pink. The coverage is amazing though, it goes on opaque in just one coat which does not happen often with lipsticks for me.




Here's a full face look just so you can see the colour in context.





Eye makeup is the T'estimo Frame Impact Eyes palette in 01.


The lipstick feels amazing on my lips. I have very dry lips in winter, and am constantly applying lip balm. Most lipsticks, including MAC, emphasize my dry lips in winter, but Jezebel goes on smoothly and doesn't require any lipbalm or special prep underneath. It also makes my lips look a bit plumper than usual, probably due to the fact that it de-emphasizes my lip lines due to its creamy formulation.

In terms of wear, because the lipstick is a cream formulation, the colour does not last as long since it trades off longevity for an extra moisturizing feel and intense colour. However it lasts just as long as other cream lipsticks such as the Joe Fresh lipsticks and longer than the Korres Guava lipsticks. It stays on through drinking and eating with care, just as long its its not oily or greasy foods.

Overall, I'd recommend this lipstick for anyone who wants intense, moisturizing, full coverage colour. For someone like me with naturally pigmented lips already, it can be hard to find lipsticks that show a similar colour to what's in the tube, however the Marcelle Jezebel lipstick fits the bill for me.

You can check out the other shades in the line via Marcelle's Youtube channel. They have a series of adorable clips featuring certain shades!

Holiday look: Gold & berry

For most of this year I've been wearing mostly neutrals, so for Christmas I decided to do something different for a change. I was wearing red glitter tights, and a green wool skirt so it seemed like a good idea to match it with berry lips and gold eyes:





Closeup:






Products used:

Cream bases
Shiseido Hydro-Powder in Glistening Sand on inner corner of eye
MAC Brassy Fluidline on rest of eye

Eyeshadow
MAC Gold Mode pigment on inner corner of eye
MAC Cosmic eyeshadow on middle of eye
Annabelle 101 eyeshadow on outer corner of eye
Lunasol Geminate Liner EX02
Blinc Kiss Me mascara

Lips
Lancome berry coloured lipstick from a GWP a while back

Face
Lunasol Water Cream Foundation
Cle de Peau concealer
MAC Emote blush to contour