Clinique Skinny Meets Chubby Set: Review and Swatches

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I picked up the Clinique Skinny Meets Chubby gift set ($27.50) back in November, as it seemed like a good way to try two of Clinique's eye products that were new to me: the Skinny Tints eye liners and the Chubby Shadow Tints. Mine arrived with two of the bullets loose (hence the damage you see above), but it was easy enough to fix so I did not return them. The set does give you a bit of savings as it's worth $45, and it's still available at Nordstrom, which is also having a Clinque GWP offer at the moment.

The set contains:

• Bountiful Beige Chubby Stick (0.04 oz.)
• Skinny Jeans Skinny Stick (0.001 oz.)
• Lavish Lilac Chubby Stick (0.04 oz.)
• Petite Plum Skinny Stick (0.001 oz.)
• Ample Amber Chubby Stick (0.04 oz.)
• Slim Sable Skinny Stick (0.001 oz.)

The Chubby Sticks are super easy to use for a one and done lid color and once they set I got a good 8 hours of wear on my oily lids (over primer, always). They are not what I would call impactful colors, as the shades are soft but do have a nice luminosity on the lid. I like 'em for an easy day look.

The Skinny Sticks leave me a bit ambivalent, as I was hoping they would be good waterline liners. I can get maybe 2 hours of wear on the water line but they seem to fade pretty quickly. I would not call these soft liners either, as it takes a bit of pressure to lay down color. I did not have any migration or smudging issues when worn on the upper lids, so there's that.

Ample Amber + Skinny Jeans

Bountiful Beige + Petite Plum

Lavish Lilac + Petite Plum

Overall I'd say I like the Chubby Sticks more than the Skinny, and I'll be reaching for the Chubsters again.

Prestige Cosmetics Automatic Waterproof Eyeliner in Lightning

Lightning by Prestige Cosmetics is a medium green, which makes me wonder the logic behind naming products sometimes.  Was this named Lightning because lightning can make an overcast sky look green sometimes when it flashes?  It's a mystery.

Regardless, Lightning is a really pretty color and a fairly solid performer when it comes to pencil eyeliners.  Waterproof and smudge resistant, these Prestige eyeliners are also reasonably priced at about $5.50, making them an attractive alternative to higher priced pencils.

Lightning applied smoothly and you do have a short window of time to smudge it out before it sets.  I did not notice any significant migration of color once it set and the color wore well for about 8 hours before it started to fade a bit. I initially thought I did not have any other eye pencils close to this color, until I received Urban Decay's recently discontinued Covet in the mail on Tuesday.  While they are not identical, they are close - I'll have to do a comparison post!

For this eye look, I used all of the colors in the Lancome Color Design Emerald Boudoir palette except for the dark brown.  The green layered over Lightning gave an extra dimension to both colors.

Foundation = Revlon Colorstay Whipped Creme in Warm Golden
Blush = Le Metier de Beaute Traviata
Lips = Revlon Just Bitten Rendezvous lip stain with Bite Beauty's 2005 lip gloss

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Turquoise

Turquoise eyes are on trend this spring, and the turquoise Smudge Stick from stila did it's siren song thingy on me.  I'm more of a neutral eye kind of gal, but I also love the color turquoise, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I'm glad I did, as I really like the finish and color of this liner!  Sometimes it looks turquoise to me, sometimes a jade green, and the matte finish makes it both retro and modern (is that possible?).  I like the formula of stila's Smudge Sticks and have good success with them, as they are creamy, nicely pigmented, and do not smudge once set.  As described by stila,

"This eye liner glides on smoothly with no tugging or pulling and provides immediate color release. The formula is long-wearing and delivers an extreme color payoff. A high content of volatile silicones combined with modern wax oil makes this innovative formula ultra-wearable and comfortable."

The color screams 1950's to me, as apparently that was a popular color for everything from kitchen appliances to cars. 

Source:  Kitchen Layout and Decor Ideas

So how does it translate on the eyes?  Here I did a beige matte on the lid with charcoal liner and the turquoise above the charcoal.  It added a nice pop of color without screaming "look at me!".   It wore well without smudging or flaking all day and was still visible when I washed my face that night. 

Indoor lighting

Outside lighting

I also tried it on my waterline, and it wore for about 3 hours.  It may wear better than that, but it's allergy season around here and my eyes have been pretty watery. 

stila Smudge Sticks are $20 and the limited edition turquoise is part of the 2013 summer collection.

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Seeing Stars Smudge Stick Set by stila

Was anybody able to pick up the stila Seeing Stars smudge stick set when Ulta had it in store for $15 before the holidays?  It was a one day deal, and even though I had just ordered it online from ulta.com (at the still reasonable sale price of $19.60), I decided I would pick up one for my mother for Christmas.

So, I got to the store at around 9:30 am to find only one on the shelf, which I was lucky enough to get.  Don't you hate it when stores run specials with such low stock numbers?  One of the sales people told me they had to be very creative with stock, as it wasn't like they were getting replenished even with the specials.

But, on to Seeing Stars.  I've become a fan of stila's smudge sticks after having tried a few that were included in eye shadow palettes.  These are propel up pencils, but be aware that you can't rewind them.   I consider that to be a design defect, personally, but that's my only criticism.  These are soft, nicely pigmented, smudge proof, and have a subtle shimmer which makes them visually interesting without veering into glitter territory.

• stargazer (black with gold and silver pearl)
• angelfish (metallic pewter)
• tetra (deep shimmery purple)
• moray (golden olive shimmer)
• oscar fish (warm brown with gold pearl)

Angelfish and Oscar Fish are the only two colors that I don't see on the current list of smudge sticks on stila's site. 

Smudge sticks are normally $20 each, so this set contains $100 worth of product.  The normal retail is $32, so if you were lucky enough to get one at $15, you were very lucky indeed!  I bet we'll be seeing it on sale again before very long.

Disclosure:  I purchased this.

Tarte Eye Catchers Six Piece SmolderEYES Collectors Set

Tarte's Eye Catchers set was another holiday collection that caught my eye enough that I decided I had to have it.  Included are 5 SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Champagne, Gunmetal, Rainforest Black, Gold, Ash Violet as well as the Skinny SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Onyx and a sharpener.  Onyx may well be a dupe for UD's Perversion, as it is an intense black.

If you are not familiar with what Amazonian clay as an ingredient adds to the mix, it is supposed to ensure longer wear, nourish your lids, reduce surface oil, and improve overall texture.  All I know is that these pencils glide on so easily but then set to a smudge proof finish that lasts quite well.  I'm impressed.

I'm also loving colors included, as there is a nice combination of neutrals and darker colors.  You get a blackened purple in Ash Violet, a lovely blackened green in Rainforest Black, a nice highlight shade with Champagne, a taupe in Gunmetal, and a topaz gold in Gold.  As mentioned before, Onyx is a deep and glossy black.

I've used these to line my eyes as well as an overall lid shade.  I find it a bit difficult to get a good smooth color on the overall lid, but do find they make a great base for powder shadows.   As an eyeshadow base they wear for a good 12 hours, but on their own I see some flaking after about 8 eyes.  Still good, but not bulletproof.   I like the rubber smudger on each of the pencils and found it useful for smudging the pigment into my lash line.

This look featured the Gold and Champagne eye pencils.  I used Stila's Honey and Clay eye shadows to highlight and define the crease area.

In this one I used Gunmetal on the lid as a base for a Korres taupe eye shadow, Champagne to highlight, and Onxy along the lash line with a black matte shadow to smudge out.

Here is Blackened Rainforest along the lash line with Stila's Juniper from the In the Garden palette over it. 

Lastly, here is Ash Violet along the lash line with Two Faced's Framboise eye shadow from the Bon Bons collection to soften it.  The set retails for $39, which is great considering the items are full sized and would cost you $144 individually.  There is not a dud color in the bunch and they perform really well, so glad I got these!

Disclaimer: I purchased these.

Tarina Tarantino Eye Dream Hyperliners in Cute Robot and Sparkling Ammunition

As you are probably already aware, Sephora will no longer be carrying Tarina Tarantino products.  Consequently, they've been on sale for 40% off for quite a while now, which motivated me to try out some of her eyeshadow palettes and eye liners.  Today, I've got the Eye Dream Hyperliners in Cute Robot and Sparkling Ammunition to show you.

I've seen the Eye Dream Hyperliners compared to my much loved Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners, so I was quite curious if they truly were on par.  Cute Robot is a lovely blackened blue that is buildable and applies quite nicely.  I didn't have anything like it in my collection and have been searching for a dark blue, so was happy I was able to snag this.

Cute Robot

Sparkling Ammunition is an olive with gold shimmer, a color that I love to wear!  This did not build as well as Cute Robot, but still quite nice.

Sparkling Ammunition

The pencils are soft and apply easily, but then set for smudge proof wear.  On the day I was photographing these it was warm, and Cute Robot ending up melting a bit so I had to put it in the freezer.  Unfortunately, once I retrieved it again and tried to use it, the tip broke off down into the pencil.  I'm hoping once I sharpen it I won't have any more breaks!

Two of the hyperliner colors are still available on Sephoa - the turquoise Kanzashi and Sparkling Ammunition.  So, if you want to get some of these at the discounted price of $9, I'd move fast!

Disclosure:  I purchased these.

stila In the Know Palette: Swatches and Review

stila's In the Know palette features 10 matte eye shadows in neutral earth tones, with names that reflect natural elements: 

air: a light cream
wind: a light nude beige
desert: a  peachy nude
clay: a muted pink nude
earth: a deep cool brown
driftwood: a mid-tone warm brown
fire: a spicy orange (reminds me of the red clay dirt here in Alabama)
rain: a fawn brown
smoke: a cool grey
ebony: a soft black/charcoal gray

For a neutral lover such as myself, it was only a matter of time before I succumbed and bought this beauty!

Shade

Sun

My concern was how well these would apply, as mattes can tend towards being powdery and/or patchy.  When I swatched these, I was pretty impressed, as patchiness did not seem to be an issue.  All swatches are done dry over UD's original eye primer.  Apparently, these shadows can also be used wet, although I've yet to try them that way.

The lightest shades, air and wind, don't show up on my arm swatch as they blend in with my skin.  There is some powder kick up with these, although I did not notice a lot of fall out when applied to my eyes.

air, wind, desert

Pigmentation on clay, earth, and driftwood was good and they applied smoothly.

clay, earth, driftwood

Fire definitely had the best color payoff out of the bunch, whereas smoke was the most problematic.  While the arm swatch of smoke looked decent, it applied very patchy on my eyes.  I finally resorted to using a cream shadow base in a similar color to combat the problems I was having with smoke.  Disappointing, as I really like the color and would have preferred a softer look without the patchiness.  I shall try using smoke with a mixing medium next and see if that works better.

fire, rain, smoke

Ebony applied better than smoke, and I found that lightly taping my brush on ebony was plenty sufficient to pick up enough color and not overdo it.  Also included in the palette is a smudge stick waterproof eyeliner in half moon, a blueish gray.  The liner can be built up and I found it takes a few sweeps to get an opaque line.  Staying power was good.

ebony, half moon eyeliner

Also included in the palette is a  small booklet with instructions with different looks.  I've tried 3 of them so far and will have pictures of those tomorrow.  Overall, I really like this palette.  Most of the shadows performed well and the colors are perfect for work friendly looks or for creating a smoky eye (something I'm still trying to get the hang of). 

stila's In the Know palette retails for $39.00.  I got mine directly from stila, and first time purchases from their site qualify for a 20% discount.

Disclosure:  I purchased this.