E/L

Eyeliner ... my NeverEnding Story

I'm not a big eyeshadow fan, so I finally stopped buying it. I hardly ever wear any.

Likewise, mascara is a hardly ever event. I buy a tube every six months or so, use it 5 or so times, and toss it when it gets out of date. I just don't like the way it feels on my lashes.

However, eyeliner (e/l) is a totally different story. It is my eye makeup. I wear e/l everyday, on both lids. And that's where I run into my problem. I can handle smudgey liner on my upper lids as long as it doesn't migrate far. Unfortunately, it's a different story on the lower lid, where liner migrates to my under eye crease and disappears from my lash line. This is true for all pencil type liners, and yes I've tried a few.

So for this year, I will find a HG e/l. Since the scuttlebutt about gel liners seems so positive ... longer lasting than a pencil, and much easier to apply than a liquid ... I've taken the plunge.

I dropped by ULTA on my way home from dinner to look over their brush selection, and decided to peruse their gel liners. They had Smashbox Cream e/l (which has a bad ingredient for me), Garden Botanika Long Lasting Cream Gel e/l (bad ingredient), Stila Smudge Pot (with no ingredients list to be found), Elizabeth Arden Gel e/l (no ingredients list), Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof e/l (no known allergy ingredients, but a poor color selection to this point), and L'Oreal's HIP Cream e/l. My first attempt will be with L'Oreal's HIP Color Truth Cream Eyeliner in Brown (930).

It is 0.159 oz for ~$12 and has the following ingredients list:
Isododecane
Polyethylene
Cyclopentasiloxane
Trimethylsiloxysilicate
Disteardimonium hectorite
Alumina
Phenyltrimethicone
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene
Phenoxyethanol
Lecithin
Propylene carbonate
Propylparaben
Butylparaben
and
coloring agents

i.e. no Ricinus communis ... to which I am allergic


I like the brown color, but it is a little dark for the lower lids. It can be applied lightly, and in the four or so hours since first application, it has not smudged at all. No liner in the lower lid crease. Wow. I did not think this was possible.

So I'm going to need at least a grey/charcoal, light bronzy brown, and a red brown. Now to continue my search since L'Oreal only has the following colors: Black (of course), Brown, Teal, Midnight Blue, and Eggplant. All but the brown are totally useless to me.


Some other products I may try include:
* Stila Smudge Pot $18 * (on order)
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner $19
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow $22
Make Up For Ever Aqua Creamliner $20
Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner $22

I can get to the ingredients lists of all but Bobbi Brown's products. BB follows EU regulations, but that only tells me so much. I've dropped a line to the BB team, and hope to get a positive answer from them soon. In the meantime, I'm placing an order for Stila Smudge Pot in Bronze and will keep an eye out for the perfect brush for applications, since that is half the battle. You need a narrow, not too full brush that balances stiffness with flex. Either extreme, too inflexible or too flexible, gives you a rotten application.

I really wonder whether the application will be much different between the various brands, because their ingredients lists are very similar. I look forward to the Stila Smudge Pot, they are running a no shipping sale right now, and it will be an interesting comparison between the brands.

The ingredients list for Stila Smudge Pot:
Isododecane
Polyethylene
Cyclopentasiloxane
Trimethylsiloxysilicate
Disteardimonium hectorite
Lecithin
Phenyl trimethicone
Hydrogenated polyisobutene
Propylene carbonate
Barium sulfate
Phenoxyethanol
and
coloring agents

Notice something? Those first 5 ingredients, exactly the same ... and a $6 difference. Well, what's the product amount difference? Stila is 0.14 oz., less than the L'Oreal product. Just something to keep in mind.