Tag: Eyeliner

Etude House – Disappointing products

KimLeave a comment

Etude House products are generally quite affordable, comparable to drug store prices and the brand is massive in Korea.

I’ve purchased a few of their skincare and makeup products and just like with any beauty line, they haven’t all worked out for me. It’s not all grim as I will be talking about the ones I do enjoy in a later post.

Today I will be talking about three items which just didn’t work out for me personally. If you happen to love any of them, I applaud you because for the life of me, I couldn’t get any of them to work.

Berry Delicious Cream Blusher #OR201

Berry Delicious Cream Blusher #OR201
Berry Delicious Cream Blusher #OR201

What is it?

From Etude house’s website:
This is a moist strawberry coloured cream blusher that flushes cheeks for a lovely look.

Why it didn’t work out for me:

Its texture isn’t creamy, its almost like a pressed powder. It feels slightly oily and almost velvet when I touch it with my fingers. Kind of hard to explain.

Along with the strange texture there is hardly any pigment to it. I have tried using the air puff (provided) and no matter how much I pat the puff onto the blush cake, the colour just doesn’t show up on my skin tone. I’m a NC30 for reference. Tried to apply it with my fingers and no such luck either. I’m sure that if I took the time to layer 5 layers on, something might show up but who can be bothered doing that?!

Berry Delicious Cream Blusher #OR201
Poor pigment, so poor swatch. Had to go in hard for this to show up :/

Another criticism would be the smell, smells strongly of peaches and chemicals.

Etude House has loads of other blush options to choose from so I would try something else instead. If you are my skin colour or darker, I wouldn’t recommend this product.

Price: $11.50 AUD from jolse.com

Dr Mascara Fixer – Perfect Lash

Dr Mascara Fixer
Dr Mascara Fixer, couldn’t get it to stand up by itself or lay down properly for the shot. Just an overall disaster.

What is it?

From Etude house’s website:
This transparent fixing gel mascara offers perfect curl / volume / waterproof fix in any environment and climate. Infused with Black Food extracts to condition lashes.

Why it didn’t work out for me:

I bought this when I first got into korean makeup and didn’t know any better. I saw a video where Gothamista used it and it made a substantial difference to the curl on her lashes. I think this fixer comes in two types, I may not have bought the same one as hers.

Anyway I used this fixer before I applied my regular black mascara. My biggest gripe is that it leaves white clumps on my lashes. The white clumps shouldn’t be an issue because I am overlaying another mascara over it. But no, my black mascara isn’t able to fully cover the white bits. On the lashes where it can, it paints over the clumps making it even more clumpy and spidery looking. All of this is minus any volume or curling action on my lashes. I bought this product hoping that it was clear and I could use it without applying mascara. Turns out I can’t use it either way.

I wouldn’t even bother with a lash primer anymore (bit gimmicky), I’ll just use my trusty Shu Uemura eyelash curler as I always have. The mascara which I have been using from Heroine Make is a rockstar on its own, more on that next time!

Price: $7.55 AUD from eBay *

Oh m’eye line eyeliner – Black

eh_04

What is it?

From Etude house’s website:
This highly pigmented, smudge-proof liquid liner goes on smoothly for precise application and creates strong, beautiful lines that last.

Why it didn’t work out for me:

It’s pigmented, but it’s also very wet. There is too much product on the brush when you extract it from the tube. When I try to draw any type of line, the line bleeds straight away and it looks blobby (refer to the swatch for what I mean by this). I’ve tried using both small strokes and large strokes and to no avail. It’s a streaky and blobby hell. After doing some googling, I discovered that other people have also had a tricky time with application.

Oh m'eye line eyeliner - Black
Blobby mess – Oh m’eye line eyeliner – Black

The tiny brush is a bit too flexible and small for my liking, making it even harder to get a straight line. I’ve never been able to get this to work so I can’t comment on wear time or if it smudges. I’m no MUA, but I know how to apply eyeliner on myself. Eyeliner is a product which I am extremely picky with since I have hooded eyes and semi-oily lids. I’ve tried more bad ones than good ones and I would put this in the very bad category. For my HG, check out this post on the Macqueen liquid liner.

Price: $8.95 AUD from eBay *

Final thoughts

I hope this has been of help to anyone who has been curious about these products.
Again, I need to stress that if you happen to like any of them, I’m glad to hear it. It’s just a bummer that I couldn’t get them to work for me.

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Please note: links in this post marked with an * are affiliate links. They provide me with a small commission, if you should choose to use them for a purchase, without any extra cost to you 🙂

 

 

 

 

[Review] Liquid eyeliner: Korean vs American

Kim2 Comments

Today I will be reviewing two liquid eyeliners which I think are good dupes. The American eyeliner is the Tattoo Liner from Kat Von D and the Korean eyeliner is Waterproof Pen Liner from Macqueen New York. 

Macqueen New York products are made in Korea so I don’t know what “New York” represents in their name. There isn’t a whole lot of information or background on the company online.

Kat Von D is an American tattoo artist who created her own makeup line. Her products are exclusively sold at Sephora.

Ease of application and longevity is what I generally look for in liners. Since I have hooded eyes, eyeliners and mascaras tend to smudge on me. I think I have found my HG liner! Keep reading to find out which one it is.

The claims

Both liners claim to be waterproof and budge proof, lasting all day.

Tattoo liner – From sephora.com.au

Achieve eye perfection with this high-pigment, waterproof liner that stays put all day for a fade-, melt-, crack-, and run-resistant finish. The superfine and flexible brush tip glides across the lashline for incredibly fluid application, allowing you to create a variety of looks with ease. Unlike traditional felt tip liners, this brush tip will not fray.

Waterproof Pen Liner – From Yesstyle.com

Keeps a long-lasting vivid line without smearing for a whole day.
Create a line from beginning to end along the lash line. Fine-tipped eyeliner makes it easy to contour and control eye definition. The waterproof liquid formula creates thin, smooth strokes that can be layered for more emphasis.

Costs

Macqueen liner – $6.19 AUD from yesstyle.com
Tattoo liner – $28 AUD from sephora.com.au

Similarities

Both liners have the same brush tip which is awesome for precision lining around the lid. Great for creating wings.

They look exactly the same here.

eyeliner-tips

Both are black and the colour and pigmentation looks exactly the same. The left is Macqueen and on the right is Kat Von D. Please excuse the wobbly Macqueen swatch.

eyeliner-swatches.jpg

Application on the lids is exactly the same. You need to shake them both a couple of times before applying.

Really easy to draw a line with no bleeding and opaque in just one go.
I don’t line my waterline so I can’t tell you how easy or difficult it would be.

Both are waterproof and smudge proof.

Both have matte finishes.

Differences

With all the similarities you might be wondering what differs between the two. And its the staying power.

The Macqueen liner lasts all day on me. By the end of the day I can still see it on my eyes.

However, the Tattoo liner does not last all day. It fades throughout and by the end of the day, it’s completely gone!

I had swatched both liners on my hand for one of the photos. Its only been a couple of hours and I can already see the Tattoo liner fading slightly. I have slightly oily lids so the fading is more apparent when I have it on my eyes.

Final thoughts

Since they are similar in many ways I would consider them to be good dupes for one another. But like all dupes, not everything is exactly the same.

I love the Macqueen liner. Its so budget friendly and fulfils all the requirements I have from a liquid liner. It’s opaque, easy to use and budge proof. Though it still is easily removed using my oil cleanser.

Rating: 5/5 (holy grail!)

I tried out the Tattoo liner maybe a year before I dabbled in k-beauty so that was my first love. I even repurchased it once more (a full size) since I had liked the travel size one so much. The issue with it fading on my lids is minor in my opinion as you can easily touch up but I prefer not to. It’s also more than 4x the price of the Macqueen.

Rating: 4/5 (really liked it)

What’s your favourite budge proof liquid liner? Have you tried these out yet?

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