Liquid vs Gel Eyeliner

Hello and welcome to my Realm of Beauty. 

Today's post is going to be about eyeliners; one of the most loved and at the same time hated makeup items in everyone's makeup collection. We've all been intimidated by them at some point in our lives. We've also all been jealous of those beautiful and even winged eyeliners you see on Instagram. If you get passed that initial stage of fear by practising your technique and familiarising yourself with the shape of your eyes, you'll get to the point of exploring all the different options out there: liquid, pencil and gel eyeliners.

Soap and Glory Supercat liquid pen and Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner. Both available at http://www.boots.com.

I personally started with pencil liners. But I only used it in my waterline or sometimes under my bottom lashes. I never got to successfully apply the pencil above my eyes, so I moved on to liquid eyeliner. I remember my first purchase was mac's classic liquid eyeliner. I initially had to practise with it but I instantly picked up the method and wore it a lot. It still took me a while to apply it though, because as a perfectionist I had to make sure that everything was on point.

After that I came across eyeliner pens. The results were very similar to the classic eyeliner, but a little less intense. The pens were a lot easier to apply, so I tried them in different brands, some of which I was really not happy with. Since I have oily eyelids, most of the eyeliners I've tried would smudge or leave awkward marks on my crease. It really is frustrating when you've got the most perfect winged eyeliner, but 2 hours later you find that half of it has gone on your crease.

I wasn't really satisfied with any liquid pens until I came across Soap and Glory's Supercat Eyeliner. I, like many other beauty bloggers, absolutely love this product. It doesn't smudge, it's super easy to apply and it looks beautiful. If you're just getting into eyeliners and would like to experiment with cat eyes and wings, then I'd totally recommend this especially since it's only £6 and widely available.

The story doesn't stop there. One day I was watching one of Lisa Eldridge's videos (can't remember which one) and in this video she used the Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner. I just loved the results and the fact that she recommended it was enough to send me to Boots to get myself one. Now, I have to be honest, I was always very intimidated by gel liners because I thought they were difficult to apply. But I thought I was confident enough with my skills to finally give it a try. And I'm so glad I did. Gel liner has become by far my favourite type of eyeliner. The intensity of the blackness is just amazing, and you can see the comparison with liquid in the pictures below. Also, if the product is high quality, such as the Maybelline gel liner, it will last all day without smudging.

Note: I didn't apply mascara in any of the pictures, because this way you can see the eyeliner more clearly.

Another advantage is that you can apply gels in your waterline, which you can't really do with liquids. Before I started using gels, I used to apply pencil in my waterline and liquid above my lashes. But now, I can just use the gel for both purposes.
You can see the comparison in the picture. I know it doesn't look like I've applied any product in waterline of the left eye, but trust me I have. It just doesn't show because that's the nature of liquid pens.

The down side is that drawing wings with gel liner is more challenging than with liquid, at least in my experience. You also need a fine liner brush, which is an added expense. The good news is if you buy the Maybelline gel liner, it will come with a brush of its own which has two sides: smudging side for smokey eyes; and fine liner brush for precise application. I personally use the Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush. It's much easier to use and it's of higher quality.

Final thought:
if I'm in a hurry, or not in the mood to spend 10 minutes applying eyeliner, then I'll reach for Soap and Glory's Supercat. But since I don't really use eyeliners for everyday makeup, this rarely happens. I also sometimes use it to outline the lines and go in with the gel.
I much prefer gel liners to liquid liner. And since I only tend to use eyeliner when I'm going out in the evening, I can afford to spend time applying it. Trust me, it's really worth it. Also, since there's such an amazing product like Maybelline's Lasting Drama Gel Liner available for only £7.99 at any drugstore, you don't really have any excuses not to try it out. I personally don't think I'll ever seek a high end gel liner, that's how amazing this product is.

There you have it lovelies. I hope you enjoyed this comparison post. Make sure to follow me on social media for updates and tips. All my social media links can be found in the right hand column.

See you soon x

Review and Comparison: Tinted Lip Balms

Hello beauties and welcome to my Realm of Beauty. 

Today's post is gonna be about tinted lip balms. Some days I don't feel up to putting lipstick on, but I hate the natural colour of my lips because they always look really pale and make me look like a ghost. So tinted lip balms are my saviour on these days. Not to mention that they're incredibly hydrating and good for cold winter days.

So let's get started. The lip balms I'm gonna review are: the famous Maybelline Baby Lips - Cherry Me; the much loved but underrated Burt's Bees - Red Dahlia; and even more underrated Korres Madarin Lip Butter Stick - Rose.

Swatches

Moisturising aspect: 

This for me is the most important aspect of a lip balm. The best one out of the three is Burt's Bees. It's made of 100% natural ingredients including Shea butter, and it slides on the lips beautifully and with ease. The moisture stays on the lips longer than the other two products. Though Baby Lips seems more moisturising when you apply it, it gets absorbed by your lips quickly and you find yourself in need of applying it again. However, this could just be due to the specific shade, since the other shades offer a range of other benefits such as SPF20. I'll strive to collect them all and write a separate post on them.
The Mandarin Lip Butter also has a gorgeous texture thanks again to Shea butter. It's quite thick thanks to the SPF15, which for me is a fantastic benefit that the other two products don't have. That being said, the moisture doesn't last as long as Burt's Bees, but don't let than stop you from adding this to your handbag.

Colour aspect:

If you purchase a tinted lip balm, you obviously expect it to give your lips a hint of colour.  I wanted to have a range of different colours, from pink to red to dark red. As you can see in the picture of the swatches, that goal was achieved with these three products. However, as you see in the pictures below, the clear winner is the Mandarin Lip Butter, with Baby Lips following closely. I don't really see much colour when I apply Burt's Bees, but I understand for some this can be a good thing. I adore the pink colour of Baby Lips and I always have it on when I'm at home.

Price aspect:

Maybelline Baby Lips is the cheapest out of all three and can be purchased at almost every drugstore for only £2.99. It comes in 6 different shades and is totally worth having in your handbag or just to use at home.

Next on the price list is Burt's Bees which can be purchased for £5.99 at http://www.feelunique.com. It comes in an amazing 9 shades! And take my word for it, it's totally worth every penny.

Lastly comes Korres Madarin Lip Butter Stick which costs £8.00 and can be purchased in 5 shades on http://www.feelunique.com. I understand some people might not want to pay this much for a lip balm, but the colour range is gorgeous and the SPF15 makes it much more desirable. The texture is also very unique, you'll love the feeling on your lips.

So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful.
Make sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram for updates.
See you soon x