Product Review- Milani Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner

For the past few weeks I have been on a quest to find the perfect liquid eyeliner that will last all day long.  It's getting into my heavy wedding season (my last spring season! yay!), and I'm often out doing makeup for people as early as 6 or 7 am.  Being the Washington, DC area means that I have to contend with heavy traffic, even that early on a Saturday morning.  Plus, our company covers such a wide area that without traffic the wedding venue can still be up to two hours away.  That means that almost every Saturday April through June this year I'm awake far before the sun, and I'm a night owl so I don't go to be until almost midnight every evening.

What on Earth does this have to do with makeup though you might be asking?  A LOT!  I need makeup that will stand up to my rigorous schedule.  I'd love to be able to just roll on up out of bed that early and do makeup for weddings with no makeup in my yoga pants.  But that's just not the way us pros roll.  We know that how we appear to our clients leaves a huge impression.  Not only do the bridal party and other family members judge us by our appearance, but we're going to be in the background of their wedding photos.  We can't just be looking all scruffy.  So a properly done face is a must.

I'm usually doing two or three weddings a day, with an hour or more drive time between them, so I barely have time to grab some food at a drive through let alone touch up my makeup.  That's why long wearing products don't just make it in my kit, they make it on my face in a big way.  Hence my search for the perfect liquid eyeliner.  I used to just use a pencil, my favorites being the Smashbox Limitless Eyeliner (in Onyx most of the time) or Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil (in Bourbon for a softer look).  But I've really fallen in love with liquid eyeliner since I learned to perfect my "flick". (Check out my YouTube video on how I do it here!)

I've gotten quite a few different liners to test out from the drugstore, to see if any of them can live up to the challenge of all day wear.  I've looked for waterproof versions, as I think that this usually lends itself to long wear like I need.  Previously, I'd been using the Physician's Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Boosting Eyeliner + Serum.  It's an awesome liner (and supposedly helps your lash health), but it just wasn't quite cutting it on it's own.  It was a lot better when paired over the L'Oreal Infalliable Eyeliner, but I know that with the humidity on the rise it will have creeping issues as the day goes on.

With Flash

Direct Sunlight

Enter- the Milani Eye Tech Extreme Liquid Eye Liner.  I wore it for one of my long days a few weeks ago, and it did a fairly decent job of keeping up.  The liner over the center of my lids stayed pretty black, but the outside flick did start to fade by late afternoon.  All in all, I think I'll keep it around as a back up while I search for that ultimate "perfect" liquid eyeliner.  I'm headed back to NYC on Monday for The Makeup Show, and I know that Makeup Forever and Stila will be there.  (Stila was all out of their black liquid eyeliner at IBS earlier this month when I was there. Boo!)

Pluses:

• Easy to use slim pencil design
• Affordable
• Nice inky black at the outset
• Lasts a decent amount of time
• Dries quickly
• Long, tapered felt tip applicator for control in the line thickness

Minuses:

• You have to really prime the product into the tip or else much doesn't come out and you have to go over the line a few times
• Tips of the "wings" started to fade after about 8 hours
• Applicator can "skip" sometimes if your lid has some creasing at the lash line
• Not really waterproof at all.  I can lick a fingertip and wipe right through the dried line 

My "flick" disappeared by the end of the day

Overall, I think I rate this a sold 4 out of 5 stars. It's a great liner, but not long wearing enough for my needs.

Do you have a recommendation for the perfect liquid eyeliner for me?  I'd love to hear about it!  Leave your recommendations in the comments section below!

**Disclaimer: As with all my product reviews, I was not paid by the cosmetic company to provide feedback or review/promote their products.  All the opinions expressed in this article are my own.  These items were purchased with my own money. 

March Favorites 2013

Here are some of my absolute favorite products from March 2013.  I've been either using or wearing these for the majority of the month and highly recommend them to anyone.  As with all of my product recommendations, I do not receive payment from the brands to promote their products, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am part of an affiliate program through Ulta, so if you are interested in purchasing any of these items they sell, the link provided in the text is an affiliate link to their site.

Skincare:

1. Ren Glycol Lactic Radience Renewal Mask-  This stuff combines the exfoliating power of both glycolic and lactic acid to dissolve dead skin cell buildup on the surface of the face and unclog your pores.  It's got a bit of an orangey scent to it, and it looks quite gross when you apply it. But it works wonders.  You only need about a quarter size amount once a week, so this stuff will last forever!

Makeup:

2. Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW Foundation (my color is Ivory)-  I love the texture of this.  It's almost like a silicone primer, but pigmented like a foundation. I don't even use a primer with it, and it evens out my skin and minimizes my pores.  And best of all, it looks like real skin, not heavy makeup!  Even if you build it up to more full coverage!  Better for people with oily or combination than dry skin, as I found that it did start to cling a bit to my drier patches by the end of the day.

3. Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder-  There's not too much to say about this other than-  It's the shiz.  And smells like real chocolate.  Ah-ma-zing.  There's the darker- the chocolate soleil color, and the lighter- the milk chocolate soleil color.  They are matte and really pigmented.  Perfect if you like to contour with a bronzer.  (I forgot to talk about this in my video!  Whoops!)

4. Milani Glosses-  I'm addicted to these things.  I own almost every color.  I love the 3D Glitzy Glamour Glosses best.  They smell like glazed lemon cake.  Yummy!  All the Milani lip products smell so edible, and they aren't sticky and super pigmented.  Plus, they're cheap!  Score!

5. Tarte Clean Slate 360 Creaseless 12-Hour Smoothing Eye Primer-  I love Tarte, but these guys have got to narrow down their names.  Bonus points for descriptiveness though.  But back to the product... it feels like a lotion going on the skin, so it's hydrating and not sticky or dry feeling like some other eye primers. I can feel it working on my skin, improving the texture of it while it holds my makeup in place.  I don't know if it's actually doing anything, but it feels great and works great so....  it gets my thumbs up!  I also love that it's a squeeze tube, so I can measure out exactly how much I want vs using an applicator to wipe some off on the back of my hand.  (I forgot this one in my video, too!  And thiiiis is why I need to be better organized when I film these things!)

6. Lorac Pro Palette-  (Not pictured)  These eyeshadows are super pigmented and blend really beautifully.  Plus, one half of the palette is mattes, and the other half is shimmers, so you can mix and match to your hearts desire!  

Nails-

7. Essie Spring Nail Polish Collection-  Just tried these for the first time the other day, and while I didn't use them all month, I am a huge fan of them right off the bat.  They are so creamy and pigmented compared to every other brand I've ever tried, that I think I'm a believer for life.  Now I just have to control myself from buying them in every color!  My favorite from my Spring Collection Review is the gorgeous coral shade Hip-Anema.  I have no idea what that means, but its a beautiful color, so what-ev's!

Tools-

8. Real Techniques Brushes-  These are so nice!  They are super inexpensive, and I love that they are lightweight aluminum handles.  I haven't had a single hair shed on any of them, and I've got multiples of all of the collections as well as the individual brushes.  I've been using and washing them all month testing their durability, and they pass with flying colors.  My biggest fav right now is the Expert Face Brush.  Great for buffing in liquid or cream foundation or contouring under the cheekbones.  It's a real multitasker, which I love in a brush.

I don't have any favorites for hair right now.  I just started going back to my regular stylist after she came off of maternity leave, and there was some color repair she's had to do on my roots.  So I'll be using my Bed Head shampoo and conditioner for the next month or two until it's time to color again to avoid anything interacting with the color process.  Reds are so finicky!  If you have any products you'd like me to test run (that are safe for color treated hair of course!) please leave me a comment below, and I'll add it to my review routine coming up!

Thanks so much for reading!  Be sure to check out my other articles and product reviews and leave me some love.  I always really appreciate feedback, and the random hello's! are fantastic, too!