Coastal Scents Step One Eye Primer Review

I can sum up this product in one word. Perfect. So I won't drone on with a long review.

This is a dense, cream formula and it's really easy to apply and blend. It has a light beige tint when it comes out of the tube, but sheers out completely. This primer has intensified the finish of every shadow I have tried with it so far.  And there is no creasing, smudging or fading for a full 12 hours. Step One Primer has given new life to shadows that I had given up on, due to their tendency to majorly crease. Even my super cheap Dollar Store shadow lasts all day long with this primer underneath.

I also apply it on my under eye area before my concealer which gives me a better finish from the very start and gives me several more hours of wear time before I need any touch ups.

This tube is $9.95, and I think it's totally worth that, but Coastal Scents has frequent sales so you can probably get it for less.

Covergirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencil Reivew and Swatch

As soon as I heard about these jumbo eyeshadow pencils I knew I had to try them. I wasn't really expecting to be very impressed but I loved the idea of a drugstore shadow pencil and I was curious to see if they could deliver. So I grabbed one in Melted Caramel.

I love shadow pencils for their ease of application. I can get a much more precise application with these than I can with brushes.

These pencils come in 10 shades. None of them appear to be matte - they seem to range from shimmery to glittery depending on the shade. These are not twist up chubbies, but true pencils that you will have to sharpen. The formula is creamy - not as creamy as Laura Mercier Caviar sticks or Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow Sticks - but they are still easy to blend. The stick feels really cool on the lid which was unexpected and the wear time if fantastic! Without primer it still looked completely perfect, as if I had just applied it, after 6 hours and after 9 hours there was only the tiniest bit of creasing that you wouldn't even notice without a close inspection.

Melted Caramel

 

Melted Caramel is a beautiful chocolatey brown shade, with golden shimmers. It's basically the perfect shade for just about everyone. You can apply it with a light touch as a base shade or build it a bit for a beautiful crease. I like to use it alone or to create a neutral smokey eye. It does require a couple sweeps to get more than a sheer color, but it is easy to build so that doesn't bother me.

I will definitely be purchasing more shades as they are all really wearable and pairable with other shades to create depth and dimension. Overall I think these shadow pencils  are a great addition to drugstore offerings. 



Lancome Maquicomplet Concealer Review and Swatches

As my quest for the perfect product to conceal my dark circles continued, I ventured over to the Lancôme counter to see what I could find. Lancôme's Maquicomplet Concealer is not a new product by any means, but you can definitely file it under "oldie but goodie." This concealer performs on every level.

The Maquicomplet Concealer comes in a whopping 14 shades, which includes one yellow corrector. So there's a high probability that you will be able to find the right shade for you. Below are the 4 lightest shades. (the quality of the photo isn't great but you can still get a pretty good idea of the shades)

(R to L)  Porcelaine, Ivoire, Camee, Claire II

As you can see, Porcelaine is really pink. Saying it's got pink undertones doesn't do it justice. This stuff is straight up ballet slipper pink, so I passed and went with Camee, which looks somewhat beigey in the tube, but once applied it's actually a nice, light, yellow-undertoned shade that is somewhat brightening, without being overwhelmingly so.

The formula is a velvety, creamy, liquid and it's a dream to blend under the eyes. It dries down to a powdery matte finish, which can and will look cakey if you over do it. Unless you've got super oily skin, I don't suggest that you set this with any powders. You won't need to anyway as this wears well for at least 6 hours on me and then only light touching up is needed.

Coverage is medium. Lancôme says it's full but I've got some serious dark circles and while this seriously diminishes their appearance, it doesn't conceal them completely.  However I do think this will provide enough coverage for most people. It's certainly more pigmented than most concealers. The most impressive thing about this concealer is that it doesn't start creasing until after my work day is over.  Yep, I said it. So many concealers begin to crease within the first 2 hours of application but this is still crease free when I get home! Having said that, if you leave this on for 10+ hours, things are going to start looking cakey and it will start to crease.

This is currently retailing for $30. You might suffer a bit of sticker shock from that, but to me this formula is worth it, if you're having trouble finding something with enough coverage to hide really dark circles. Of course, I'll keep looking for one that performs just as well for less ;)