Etude House Styling Eyeliner -White

Etude House Styling Eyeliner -White
Price: 2500won ($2.50)

This liner is a white dial up liner, designed for the inner edges of your eye, your water line. Or at least I think so.

As you cans see from my swatch it applies beautifully to the skin, very white, very opague. However on the waterline, it's not so successful. It doesn't really show up at all. If I aply it on my eyelids or the inner corner of my eyes, no problem, a bright crisp white.
But on the water line... Useless.
It's a shame. As an eyeliner I can't fault it, but who uses a white eyeliner for the outer rims?

Etude House- Code B strong eyes cream eye liner

Etude House- Code B strong eyes cream eye liner

I have been a loyal user of Kate by Kanebo’s (Japanese brand) cream eyeliner for a long time. It is, in my opinion, the best eyeliner ever.
But, being here in Korea, Kate isn’t a brand easily available. Sure I could ship it in, but I’m trying to use more local stuff.
So when Etude house came out a combo pack with the  Code B eye liner and a mini of my favorite BB cream, I bought it almost compulsively.
There’s something about mini’s that just does me in.

The liner itself is boxed in a cute box, the look of the Code B item’s is very different from Etude House’s usually pink and frilly style. To me it looks a little James Bond.
A weird, but not bad, departure from the norm.
Inside is a little Jar, that looks very similar to Kate’s liner and nearly all brands of cream eye liner. But unlike Kate’s, this jar is.
This is a huge improvement in my opinion.
As some one who gets a lot of stuff over the internet, from half way across the world, plastic makes shipping cheaper. and really, what good are glass bottle anyways?
And once, I dropped one of my kate jars, and chipped a huge piece of glass from the bottom. The jars are super sturdy, considering the whole thing didn’t crack, but a huge chip f glass is pointlessly dangerous.
Another plus of the packaging, the brush is attached right to the lid of the jar.
Now this feature also drives me up the wall. It makes screwing on the lid needlessly complicated, with the brush flinging every where. Now, I flip the whole thing over and screw the bottom into the cap.
With the Kate line, I have bought, I think 6 jars of the liner. Currently I have 2 brushes….
So, it’s worth putting up with the hassle of an attached brush, simply to prevent me from loosing it.
The brush itself…. It’s not very good.
The quality is fine. The brush tip is soft, and tight. The handle can be pushed into the cap to lengthen it(then you have the cap dangling from the end, so I don’t).

But the brush tip is super wide and thick.
It’s way to wide for a liner.
I use the side, the narrowest side.
But still! It’s almost big enough to be an eye shadow brush! It’s absolutely ridiculous.

The liner inside the pot, is a good solid black.
The consistency is thinner and creamer than Kate’s, and a lot less dry. Because of this, the liner is easier to apply (slightly), and the jar last longer, because Kate’s has a tendency to dry out.
This thinner wetter consistency does mean a slight compromise in staying power.

As some one with a tendancy to rub my eyes, I need a liner that stays put. This liner barely flakes with even intense rubbing.
And stays put for all of a work day. But you will probably have to reapply before going out.
With Kate, you’re good all day, all night, and into the next morning.

Code B hasn’t converted me, but with that said, I definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn’t need intense lasting power, or doesn’t wear liner everyday, or  has any issues with products drying out.
Plus, since it’s almost half the price of Kate’s liner, it’s a great buy.

Missha single eyeshadows and palettes

Missha - Single Eyeshadows and empty Multi shadow case

Small shadow -3500won, ($3) On sale $1
Large shadow - 4200won ($4) On sale $2
Small Palette- 9000won ($8.5) 0n sale $3
Large Palette- 1500won ($14)  On Sale $5

I adore pre-made eyeshadow palettes. I think my eye for colors is pretty good, but with most pre-made palettes they are quick easy and create beautiful results. Well, when you get them from good Makeup brands.

The make your own eye shadow palette thing is not something I’m really into… There are a few colors I use a lot, but then I just buy a couple of singles.

The Missha single eyeshadows and empty palettes were on sale, for 50% off.

That’s sooo cheap. Plus the brand’s few pre-made sets looked…. Ugly.

So I bought two empty palettes, a small and a large, and an assortment of colors. I bought a couple that I use all the time, and some random colors just to mix things up.

The palettes themselves are really nice.

The large one is a pale(almost white)sparkly pink on top, with the usual Missha mirror finish on back.

The palette is sturdy plastic. Inside the mirror takes up the whole of the cover. Large enough to actually do ones make up.

The case fits 4 large eyeshadows and four small. The liner that holds the shadows in place is a stiff sponge, making them stable but relatively easy to switch out.

Also included is the standard eyeshadow applicator.

The smaller case is done completely in the mirror finish. Which of course picks up finger prints like crazy.

But when it’s polished it looks so sleek….

The inside is hard plastic, unlike the larger palette. But the back has small holes to depot the eyeshadows. I prefer this personally, even though use eye shadows tend to make a mess when tipped upside down. Still it’s better than the sponge, because I tend to be clumsy, and more than a few times have I accidentally gouged a chunk out of an eyeshadow.

The mirror and applicator are also included in this size.

Both were on sale. I paid $5 for the large and $3 for the small. Completely different from the original price.

I purchased 11 eyeshadows in total.

Small -VL207 (dark purple with small blue sparkles)

- BR204 (Bronze with gold sparkles)

- GL202 (Acid green with white sparkles)

-WH301 (white with white sparkles)

-KH201 (looks wine in the pan but applies as a dark slightly metallic brown)

- Unknown number (dark slate grey)

Large- No. 10 (grey/ midnight)

-GL02( warm shimmer gold with some white sparkles)

-BE01 (Shimmer bronze with no sparkles)

-08 (Dark shimmer bronze and light shimmer pink)

The main difference between the small shades and the larger, is the fact the small ones contain sparkle. The only larger shade I bought with sparkle, the gold, has barely any.

And I realize I bought two nearly identical colors, but bronze is the color I wear most. So it only makes sense!

The shadows are smooth and silky. They apply beautifully. They are a tiny bit powdery. Though this varies by color. The two liner colors are of a different composition and apply almost like a cream. They are not at all powdery.

The most sparkly are also the most powdery, the small green, bronze and white.

The shadows in general have very good color pay off. The bronze and white being the least. As for lasting power, they are pretty average. The last the whole day for me, fading somewhat but still looking lovely.

Though I really like my new shades, and the palettes to put them in, they aren’t special enough to pay full price for. If they ever go on sale again, I will definitely pick up more shades.

Missha dual tip eyes

Missha - Dual tip eyes

Price: 6000won/$5.99 
On Sale: 3000won/ $3!!!!!!!! 
Colors: pink CR01 and brown BE01  
The dual tip eye, a liner and cream eyeshadow combo is not normally the sort of thing I would waste my money on.

They are super slim compact pencils, with a whole eye look in one tiny compact package. With my Christmas Vacation approaching, and the dual tip eye being 50% off, they seemed perfect. Since on Vacation I was traveling to Japan and China, where I would have to carry all my luggage on the train and suitcase, I was attempting to pack light.

The liner is a dial up pencil type liner. It's very creamy and smooth.

Cr01 is a deep metallic bronze liner BE01 is a soft cool tone bronze, much much paler than CR01

As liners they are very nice colors. The cream shadows are Cr01 Pinkish peach ( slightly metallic)

BE01 super pale bronze

.Both make for very complete, very subtle and very lovely eye looks.

The problem… They don’t last. At all. Like an hour or two tops…Sometimes cream shadows have good staying powder. Occasionally… with a good brand…
The dual tip eyes… *sigh* I love the idea. I really do. They are just something of a flop. I am going to test them with a good primer underneath. If that works out, I will update…. Conclusion : Very pretty, but not enough staying power to be worth buying!

Conclusion : Very pretty, but not enough staying power to be worth buying!

Update: I wore the Dual eye tip out to the grocery store today, with my favorite eye primer underneath. I was gone an hour- hour and a half tops. The cream shadow creased like mad, and the liner is now invisible.

Kate - gel eye liner

Price : 14.95 at alphabeautystore

Size: 2.5g

Not so long ago there were generally only two options for eyeliner, pencil of liquid. For the longest time I used a soft black pencil, creating a smudged eye look rather than a line. I used to like how it looked, but a nice clean line looks so much more posh and professional.

But liquid liners are f*ing hard to use. I now, am more than capable of using one to create a nice even line.

Unless I’m in a hurry, or distracted, or my hand accidentally slips.

At least with a pencil, there is never that much mess…

I’ve been using Kate’s Gel liner for about 2 years now. I’m on my fourth order.

This stuff is wonderful.

Like all gel liners, it creates a finish somewhere between that of a pencil and liquid.  But with total control, and greater flexibility.

The liner is a good dark black. It applies smoothly. The little included brush is of good quality, and applies the liner in a narrow, even line.

And if you screw up, it is pretty easy to fix.

Kate’s liners in particular stay on all day, no flaking, and once dry, eye rubbing/ light crying doesn’t affect it.

I have tried a few other gel liners , but keep going back to kate. It’s lasting power is the best. 

The only issue I have is it dries out pretty quickly. It’s usually unpleasantly dry before I even finish the pot, and I wear the stuff just about every day.

Since I think the dryness of the liner is part of what gives it such good staying power (oilier/ wetter liners almost always smear/fade easily), I’m ok with it.

The price is not super cheap, but its not expensive either. And it’s comparable to far more expensive brands.

It’s my absolute favorite, so if you can find it, buy it!

Silver and Gold

This review is totally different than the Black liner.

I hate these liners. Since I’ve had such success with the black liner, I thought, yay more colors.

No.

The liners are flaky. Like little chunks of gold or silver leaf. It’s weird, and they are big flakes. It applies flaky. So you have to sort of pat…. Like applying gold leaf if you’ve ever tried it.

The effect once on is very silver, and very gold and they do last nearly as long as the black.

But I tend to end up with flakes in my eye! 

This sucks!

Don’t buy them!!!