Marbella Permanent Eyeliner Pen

I’ve been developing quite a fondness for felt tip eyeliner pens lately. They are incredibly easy to apply (Hurrah for perfect precision!) and with them you can create much thinner lines than with liquid, gel, or pencil liners.

However, not all felt tip liners are created equal and I’m sorry to say that I was pretty disappointed by the Marbella liner.

The application isn’t as accurate as one would expect a felt tip liner would be. The line thickness will suddenly shift, making it much harder to apply than other products of the same type. The color also tends to fade mid application, looking as if you lined your eyes with magic marker.

What really killed it for me, however, was how… erm… literal the “permanent” part of the name was. Liner that doesn’t smudge is a definite plus, but I want to be able to take it off at the end of the evening. After trying to remove the product three times from my face the first time I used it, I still looked as if someone had decked me in the eyes. This was followed by the use of a hardcore eye make-up remover (twice) before the color was mostly off. I ended the evening with bluish gray rimmed eyes and oil-vision from too much remover.

I didn’t take a picture then, but from this one you get the general idea of what will be around your eyes after application. To make matters worse, this has been used only a few times, but already seems to be running out. I suppose, though, if I ever take up fake tattooing, this product might come in handy….

Final verdict: Leave it!

Healing Waters Body Splash Kit

Though it is difficult to confess one’s flaws before an audience, I simply must state this about myself: I am easily suckered by pretty colors. Like animal instinct, I am instantly drawn to any products that sport bright packaging in vibrant shades. 

Or that’s my excuse, anyway, for why I ever purchased this product.

To say the least, I was pretty underwhelmed by the quality of the body splashes once I opened them up. Not only do they have the consistency of water with food coloring, their actual smell… good grief. Even though the bottles are nice to look at lined up, I wouldn’t even recommend this as a gift for a little girl, because little girls still have noses, and I would have found myself feeling terribly offended if I’d received this as a child. You know you need to go back to the drawing board when your beauty product can only serve decorative purposes. 

My thoughts on the individual fragrances:

Purple Iris:

I love bubbles. As a kid, I would go through bottles of bubble solution and had a little box dedicated to collecting all the bubble wands that came with them. This does not mean, however, that I want to smell like a mixture of bubble solution and… a hint of mint?

Sunflower:

Perfect for those nights when you really want to smell (for about ten minutes, of course, these don’t last long) like generic gas station bathroom hand soap.

Wild Jasmine:

Vaguely potpourri with cinnamon, with a really dank base note. It’s honestly a blessing that these fragrances don’t last for more than a few minutes.

Cherry Blossom:

A somewhat upgraded version of Sunflower. Sweeter, more “refined.” This hand soap would be from a nicer bathroom, maybe from a mall department store, but a mid-priced one. 

Tiger Lily:

They’re not even trying with this one. I just smell pure chemicals. 

Cotton Blossom:

Dollar store laundry detergent swilled with baby powder, except that I wouldn’t have to struggle to smell the above concoction. 

Pink Rose:

The best one of the bunch, which isn’t saying much. It’s the least chemical-y, but it’s roses at their worst. Not sweet, romantic rose notes, but the singeing, pungent stench of roses that screams Crazy Cat Lady loud and clear.   

I am not a fan of leaving negative reviews, but there was really nothing else I could say about these. =(

Final Verdict: Leave It!

Ingredients:

Water, Alcohol, PEG-40, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Fragrance, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben. May Contain: Blue 1, Yello 5, and Red 40. 

The Body Shop’s 4-Step Smoky Eye Palettes

After playing with my Victoria’s Secret palette, I was eager to try out these two exciting-looking kits from The Body Shop, at $28 each

The looks depicted on the covers are very dramatic, yet use a neutral combination of colors (Golden Brown and Silver Black,) which is not something you see commonly. They come with four eye shadows (a light, a medium, a dark, and a highlight,) a little eyeliner in a corresponding shade, and a mini-brush.

 Opening them up, I was most excited by the highlight shade in the Golden Brown kit. It’s gorgeous pale gold, with flecks of light green. However, once on skin, the colors don’t seem as pigmented, even with the use of primer (stripes on the right.)

The first step on the back of the box has you start off with the light and medium shades. To be perfectly honest, I was turned off at how chalky and sheer they looked on my skin. There was also a little more fall-out than what I’m used to when applying a pressed powder shadow. However, at this point, I figured that since the darkest shade has a very prominent role in the look, chances were it’d smooth everything out...

…Was I ever wrong…

...Dear Readers, I apologize for the following gross picture, but yuck!

 The fall-out on the darkest color is unbelievable! I tried my best to keep it from smearing everywhere, from using the brush that comes specifically with the kit (it’s not very good) to using the best of my make-up applicators. Nothing could keep that flaky, smearing powder from going everywhere! I finally had to use a make-up remover wipe to smooth out the edges. If you already own or plan on purchasing this product, do NOT apply your foundation and concealer beforehand. You’ll only have to do it again.

After dealing with the whole mess, I was surprised to learn that the highlights aren’t powder, but rather cream shadows. While I was hoping this would be the saving grace for this kit, the consistency made them hard to apply. To my disappointment, most of the green reflection of the Golden Brown highlight was completely lost. One quick sweep over my waterlines shows me that the pencil liners are more for show than anything. 

Is it worth it? Personally, I'll probably keep the kits around to use as individual shadows, but I’m not too impressed by the instructions, especially considering what the box promises. The final outcome isn't terrible, but it’s not what I was looking for. Maybe in the future I’ll come up with better uses for these shades.

Here is the final look when using Silver Black. I’m a little bit fonder of this result, but there was still a ridiculous amount of shadow falling everywhere. Do not use these kits on the go, you will regret it!

Final Verdict: This is gonna be a tough one… I do like the looks, even though they were kind of a hassle to achieve. The shadows could also be useful to have around. I guess if you don’t mind the trouble, you can take it as a Like It. If not, please LEAVE IT.


Ingredients: Mica (Opacifier), Talc (Absorbent/Bulking Agent), Synthetic Fluorphlogopite (Viscosity Increasing Agent), Lanolin Oil (Skin Conditioning Agent), Dimethicone (Skin Conditioning Agent), Isostearyl Neopentanoate (Emollient), Zinc Stearate (Binder), Isopropyl Palmitate (Emollient), Copernicia Cerifera Cera (Stabiliser/Viscosity Modifier), Synthetic Wax (Binder/Emollient), Polymethyl Methacrylate (Emollient), Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil (Skin Conditioning Agent), Silica (Absorbent), Ethylhexyl Palmitate (Skin Conditioning Agent), Ricinus Communis Seed Oil (Emollient), Tocopheryl Acetate (Antioxidant), Sorbitan Stearate (Emulsifier), Hydrogenated Caprylyl Olive Esters (Binder), Methylparaben (Preservative), Propylparaben (Preservative), Lauroyl Lysine (Skin Conditioning Agent), Tin Oxide (Opacifier). [+/- CI 77499 (Colour), CI 77491 (Colour), CI 77492 (Colour), CI 77891 (Colour)]. Isononyl Isononanoate (Emollient/Skin Conditioner), Triethylhexanoin (Fragrance Ingredient), Calcium Sodium Borosilicate (Bulking Agent), Silica (Absorbent), Silica Dimethyl Silylate (Binder/Viscosity Modifier), Candelilla Cera (Stabiliser), Polyethylene (Opacifier), Synthetic Fluorphlogopite (Viscosity Increasing Agent), Mica (Opacifier), VP/Hexadecene Copolymer (Film Former), Tocopheryl Acetate (Antioxidant), Tin Oxide (Opacifier), Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil (Skin Conditioning Agent), Synthetic Wax (Binder/Emollient), Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate (Emollient). [+/- CI 77891 (Colour), CI 77000 (Colour), CI 77491 (Colour), CI 77499 (Colour), CI 19140 (Colour), CI 15850 (Colour)]. Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Emollient/Hair Conditioner), Hydrogenated Castor Oil (Emollient), Mica (Opacifier), Ceresin (Stabiliser), Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil (Skin Conditioning Agent), Tocopherol (Antioxidant), CI 77499 (Colour), CI 77491 (Colour), CI 77492 (Colour).