Sephora: Nano and Flashy Waterproof Eyeliners

I was in the market for new eyeliners. Search criteria:

• Waterproof (or at least smudge-proof) – because I wear contacts, and sometimes my eyes get irritated and tear up
• Pencil –  I don’t have the steady hand for liquid
• Skinny – I just want to add a little color; I don’t need anything dramatic (fat eyeliners)
• Inexpensive or a set – I don’t use a ton of eyeliner, and they last me forever. I want a few colors (at least 2), but don’t want to pay a ton!

Aside: The ones I really really wanted were the Make Up For Ever: Aqua Eyes. (Do I need to start a “Wishlist” aka “Things I want but can’t afford/don’t want to pay for” page/post?) They last for-freaking-ever. I had a few test swatches on my arm one day while I was testing various brands. I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, and I unrolled the sleeve after I walked out of the store. More shopping ensued. MUFE and another brand (I can’t remember right now!) were still doing OK at the end of the shopping day. I had dinner, went home and kind of forgot about the eyeliner. Then I fell asleep at one point without removing the eyeliner. In the morning I checked again and MUFE was still relatively vibrant! One brand was completely faded, and the other one was “OK.” Wowza. It wasn’t that difficult to remove with my makeup remover, either. Anyway, at $18 a pop (remember, I want at least 2)… it was rather steep. I saw that they had a couple sets (really great price!!! for like 6 minis!!!) BUT THEY WERE ALL SOLD OUT (in stores and online!) I kept waiting to see if it would come back in stock, but eventually they just stopped listing the sets on their site. SO SAD! Anyway..

I read good reviews about the Sephora line of eyeliners, so I was excited to try them; they seemed to fit most of my critiera, but they didn’t work out.

Sephora Flashy Liner Waterproof
I really thought I was going to end up buying these. I tried on a few colors: nice, creamy, vibrant, some are shimmery (I’m OK with that). First point is that they are immediately smudgable (that’s good if you want to blend, but I don’t), and secondly, they are still smudgable (walk around the store a little and then rub lightly) – not good. They seem fairly waterproof though (didn’t run when I was washing my hands and splashed water on them).

Sephora Nano Eyeliner
BIG color selection (25 colors)! There were a lot of colors I liked too (#23 Midnight Blue, and would be nice to get a White [#3])! Unfortunately they seemed a little more brittle (not as creamy/does not glide on as easily), and the color faded so quickly! Sad. Because these were only $5/each. I was really hoping they would work out!

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Notes: I ended up buying Urban Decay’s 24/7 Eyeliners, which I think might have been the “I don’t remember” brand from the Aside up there. Not as amazing as MUFE’s, but the next best thing, imo. I did try them at Sephora, and remembered liking them. Sephora (at the moment) only sells individual pencils ($19), but I found a really good deal at Ulta: 4 half (third?) sticks AND a sharpener for $28. I don’t already own a sharpener, so this is quite the steal for me! :) I ended up ordering online since I wanted something totally unrelated which I couldn’t find in stores, and I had a free shipping coupon (with purchase of $25+) so now I’m just waiting for them to come in the mail!!!

Too Faced: Tinted BB

So, perhaps just as importantly are the products I didn’t (and/or wouldn’t) buy–in case anybody is interested–because, after all, I did try them, and there was a reason I did not make the purchase.

(Image from Sephora product page)

I saw Sephora’s list of BB creams on their front page a week or so ago, and started looking into BB creams. A lot of the more expert reviewers (blogs, video reviews) highly suggested brands from Asia, but I was a little hesitant to buy from Amazon, eBay, and some random sites; I’d heard that there were often knock-off products. I was really curious to try one (more-or-less an all-in-one product — who wouldn’t want that?!), although most opinions were that the American versions were more of a tinted moisturizer than their Asian counterparts.

The first Sephora I went to after reading about BB creams was… sadly… inside of a JC Penney. I only saw one of the BB creams out of the entire list, which was by Too Faced. I wasn’t thinking about blogging at the time, so I didn’t make mental notes. From what I recall… it was thick and greasy–more like a tinted sunblock. I was a little horrified as it was my first experience with a BB cream–I was a little worried they’d all be like this!? After spreading it on the back of my hand, and letting it dry as I walked around the store, I remembered thinking it was still really thick and cakey–definitely WOULD NOT want this on my face!

Other thoughts: I’m not sure if I’d post about “Products I’d Consider Buying” :/ But today at a REAL Sephora I also tested three other BB Creams: Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse, Dr. Jart+ Premium, and Smashbox’s (in Light). Both Dr. Jart+’s comes in one color only, which is…interesting, right? I remember liking them both, but liked the Premium better since I felt like it blended better; the Water Fuse seemed to settle more in the lines on my hand. Smashbox’s was nice too, but I don’t know if I’d preferred Dr. Jart+ Premium or Smashbox. Also not sure if I’m interested in BB creams anymore as I just bought a Laura Mercier set; will be posting after I try it out for a few days!