I work in an office with young girls that are tragically wearing the wrong makeup. And when I say wrong I'm talking about brands, not colors or shades. I've had to learn over time that most drugstore brands just aren't work it and sometimes you have to spend a bit of money in order to get what you want. When I mention the cost of my liners and mascaras they practically vomit until I let them see not only how smooth they are to apply but also how pigmented and long lasting they are.
After sharing my most recent Sephora shopping bag with them and seeing the look of shock on their faces I decided to fill them in on affordable alternatives to the brands that I love so that can rock long last shadows and a 365 day glow to match!
Posh-$119
I've been a fan of Urban Decay's eyeliners ever since my friend
+Paulette Romero introduced me to them many years ago. I can't remember a time before Urban Decay liners came into my life. I was a fan of the Sephora brand liners, I had tried Sue Devitt, but I can't remember a time when I used colored liners enough to be dedicated to a brand.
The great thing about these liners is that they last! It's so bad to admit this but in the past my NYC lifestyle meant staying out until the sun came up and on the rare days that I did touch my pillow it was always tinted with blue, green, black or purple due to my highly pigmented liners. Lucky for me these liners also stayed on my lids and I never had to do more but wipe the corners of my eyes and get ready to start my day again.
While
Urban Decay holds the market for best colored eyeliner
Tarte has taken over as my go-to liner for black. There's something really special about their SmolderEyes black liner that make everything else seem like a dollar store brand. Not only is their black super pigmented and stays looking fresh after hours of use. The good/bad thing about this liner is that once it's on you only have about 1 minute to smudge or adjust it in anyway because once it's on, it's on and doesn't like to go anywhere without a bit of elbow grease!
I've been searching for a highlighter/luminizer that worked well with my foundation but most of the ones I've tried in the past have been too watery, oily, had way too much shimmer or were just super thick. I was happy to find a happy medium with
Stila's Illuminating Beauty Balm. I received this in the spring with Sephora's Sun Safety Kit but didn't really give it a shot until recently. I want to remain a nice healthy glow, real or not, throughout the fall and this is the perfect product for that. I'm a fan of mixing products so that they can be applied evenly and mixing this with my
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer gives me a perfect sunkissed glow that isn't too overpowering on any area of my face.
After falling in love with thick liners courtesy of Sue Devitt back in 2005. Years later I've gotten back into the swing of using a thick liner pencil as a highlighter or quick and easy eyeshadow when I'm commuting. In terms of these liners by Tarte I like to use them more as highlighters for my brow bone because they don't make them in the bright colors that I like. I also prefer to keep my colored liners thin so a thick one wouldn't work anyway.
After priming my lids I make sure to apply this liner, in Gunmetal, to the inner corners of my eyes and my brow bone before layering my multicolored shadows and liners.
Colors: Urban Decay in Loaded and Vice. Tarte in Onyx and Gunmetal
Pinch-$60
Sephora Collection 12 hr Wear Eyeliner- $10
Despite the fact that I turned my back on Sephora liners when I discovered Urban Decay's 24/7 liners I've got to give Sephora some credit these days. They've stepped up their game over the past few years and changed their eyeliner formula to a nice creamy texture instead of hard pencil one. The result is not only last color but color that goes on smooth. While they fully admit to not being a "24 hour" liner I can't say that these last more than 8. But it's not a big deal to re-apply and freshen them up if you put them on at 8am and plan to go out past 6pm. Plus the price makes it hurt a bit less if they happen to run out quicker than the pricier alternatives.
Tarte Bronze & Glow Bronzer and Cheek Tint- $16
If you're looking for an more cost efficient way to give your skin a nice glow Tarte's bronzer is the way to go. It's smaller and is dispensed in a small lip gloss style tube that let's you have a bit more control of the amount that you use. Along with Stila's Illuminator this product mixes really well with Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizer and helps give a nice every day glow.
Sephora Collection Jumbo 12 hr Wear Eyeliner- $14
Along with their thin pencils Sephora has changed their jumbo liners formula to continue the creamy trend. These come in a lot more colors than Tarte's jumbo liners and blend really nice so they can be used as a light shadow or highlighter equally. Because they have some staying power I like to use these as a base for my eyeshadows to help give them a different effect and to pop.
Colors: Sephora Collection in Go For A Ride, Purple Stilettos, Black Lace and Dark Taupe Shimmer
So there you have it ladies. Now run to your nearest Sephora store and scoop of some of these items. Or just head to your Sephora tab and shop away! Because you're always cruising the site. Right....? RIGHT!
