My clients last weekend were surprised when I busted out my Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Liner, but it really is the best gel liner I’ve used. Bobbi’s is too wet and slides around and the one by M.A.C dries out too quickly. This one glides on perfectly with a finish somewhere in between matte and glossy and dries to a perfectly deep black (I use the Blackest Black shade) that doesn’t budge. I can use it to tight line without any transferring, make a thin line, or a perfectly winged cat eye. For $10, it’s the best bet there is when you want a gel liner. Oh! And the brush that’s pictured above the pot is included and almost identical to Bobbi’s Ultra Fine brush that she sells to use with her gel liner (but is sold separately of course.)
These Skinny Black Liners from NYX are so popular they sell them in 3 packs. It is the finest tipped liner I’ve ever used which I recommend to women who have a hard time getting their liner on straight without making a huge mess. Because you can only draw a fine line, it won’t appear too thick or smudgy so you’ll get the precise look you want without even trying.
I know that brow lines like Anastasia have exploded, bringing with them an arsenal of $25 waxes, pencils, and powders to define and sculpt brows to perfection. For me though, $6 is all I need to spend when it comes to brow definition especially because of Maybelline Define-A-Brow that I even carry in my kit. It’s a really skinny pencil with a fine tip to define an arch and easily fill in where you’re sparse. It doesn’t run or bleed and the texture is a little on the dry side which is just what you want when it comes to filling in your brows.
I just blogged about my love for Trish McEvoy’s tubular mascara but I forgot to mention that L’Oreal also has one for under $10. Double Extend even comes with a primer to bulk up lashes before you apply mascara and it wears and washes off the same way Trish’s does. I have a primer I use for my lashes, so splitting the tube space with the primer for me is a waste that I wish was devoted solely to the mascara, but it’s the only $10 tubular formula I know of which makes the buy totally worth it.
I’ll always buy Burt’s Bees glosses and Lip Crayons because I’ve never been a $30 gloss kinda girl. For me, that money is better spent on a good foundation (like this one or this one) versus an overpriced gloss that looks the damn same as a $10 one does.