Beauty Product Review: Stila Smudge Pot

My eyes are hands-down my best feature. They're a pretty unique shade of super pale blue that never fail to garner compliments on a very regular basis. (And it never gets old, trust me.) You can see why with eyes like mine I might be a little more interested in eye make-up than any other aspect of make-up. I'll admit it's why I started wearing falsies more regularly.

Stila Smudge Pot, Sephora, $20

Anyway, all of this is simply to say that I love trying out new make-up products. I always ask people- friends, family, even strangers- what product they're wearing. That's how I learned about Stila's Smudge Pot eye liner. Eye liner is something I've only been using for about 2 years now. Prior to that, I just didn't understand how to apply it on my face and have it look good. Once I got the knack, I was immediately addicted and now I wear it daily. Part of the learning process involved figuring out which type of liner product was the easiest for me to use. Some people swear by pencils, others love liquid and of course there are the gel people. I have always hated pencils unless I'm going for a very (and I mean very) smudged-up look. For about a year and a half I wore liquid liner with a great deal of success. Juhree actually introduced me to Stila's Smudge Pot a few months before I decided to try it myself. There's a special smudge-pot brush that they try to get you to buy in addition to the liner itself, but I didn't want to spend the extra $34. Instead, I found an identical brush in the brush section at Sephora for just $11 and it's suited me just fine.

Sephora Collection Eye Liner Brush, Sephora, $11

Anyway, back to the product. As a long-time eye-liner wearer, Juhree swears by the Smudge Pot for its creamy texture, easy application and rich color. (She wears the chocolate brown just about every day.) When I finally gave it a try, I was an immediate fan as well. I purchased it in black to start and soon discovered that the color is amazing- it's rich and creamy and definitely the best black eye liner I've ever used. I wear it daily and it has completely replaced all my other favorite liquid liners. It took me a month or so to really get the hang of putting it on, since it's a little different from liquid. But once I got some practice in, I was fine. The key (for me, anyway) is small quick strokes to outline the shape and then I go back with one even stroke on top to make sure it's a smooth, crisp, clean line. I only use it on the top unless I'm going for a very dramatic look. Here's my typical daily make-up look using the Smudge Pot eye liner:

As you can see, I'm a fan of the "winged" look. And no, I'm not wearing my falsies in this photo. Also, I completely FORGOT to put on lipstick! AAAHHH!!!

After using the product successfully for a few months, I decided to branch out and try some other colors. That was when my love affair with this product met a bit of a bumpy road. I purchased both "Kitten" and "Bronze" colors with a few ideas in mind. I hoped to use the "Kitten" as a high-lighter on both upper and lower water lines and I planned for the "Bronze" to be used just like I currently use the black, but for looks that I wanted to be a little softer and subtler.

While the black is perfectly creamy and just glides on like a dream, neither the kitten nor the bronze have the same effect. Perhaps it's due to the shimmer element within the color, but they tended to clump and flake and just refuse to cooperate. I gave each one several attempts with several different types of brushes before returning them to Sephora. At $20 each, I just couldn't see myself using them at all and $40 is a lot of money to toss down the drain. Back to the store they went and I drowned my sorrows at Starbucks afterwards.

In summary, I whole-heartedly stand behind the original black smudge pot as an amazing gel eye liner that I recommend to literally everyone whether they are liner lovers or not. As for the other colors, I cannot recommend the kitten or bronze colors at all due to their clumpy texture.

Do you have a beauty product you absolutely love? I am always on the lookout for great new products, so please leave a comment or send me an email or tweet me or whatever and tell me what you love! Thanks so much for reading and have an awesome day!

What to Wear on a Skype Date

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I've been seeing a gentleman I met on match.com. Since I live in New Hampshire and he lives in North Carolina, there has been quite a bit of flying and Skype-ing over the last few months. Skype is pretty awesome because I can be on a date in my pajamas or some beat-up, old sweatpants. I'm not gonna lie, there are times when I'll put on a more dressy top with my most comfortable sweat pants.

Since Skype dating is less about the outfit and more about the face, I've actually found myself spending more time on my hair and make-up. Here's the view from my webcam:

Sexy, right? Haha- just kidding! But seriously, this is the view when my laptop is on my lap. The lighting is usually better than in this photo, but you get the general idea. As you can tell from the photo, it's all about looking great from the neck up. I will sometimes add a cute pair of earrings, or a nice necklace if I want to be a little more dressy. For our first Skype date, I was super careful about lighting and camera angle. I'm much more comfortable these days, but I still try to look decent. 

For Christmas, I got the most fabulous gift- an amazing eye make-up palette by Stila called "In the Light." It was definitely one of my favorite Christmas presents this year and I've used it nearly every day since then. I was considering purchasing the Urban Decay "Naked" palette for months, but the price was a bit high and I didn't think I would wear a lot of the darker colors. It's not often that I do a dark, smokey eye, but I wear shimmer- nudes nearly every day of the week. When I saw Stila's "In the Light" palette, I knew it would be a better choice for me. 

 This palette includes 10 beautiful neutral shades, mostly in nude and brown tones. My favorites are Kitten (second from left on top row) and Sunset (second from right on top row). The palette includes matte and shimmer shadows, all of which are perfectly blend-able and look amazing layered over each other. My daily look always starts with kitten. I dab it over my entire lid, making sure I hit the inner corner of my eye and directly under my eyebrow. Next, I layer on a slightly darker shade, just over the lid. Sunset is perfect for this. Finally, I add a bit of contouring in the crease and on the outside corner of my eye. Luster (center bottom) is perfect for contouring and adding dimension to the overall look. I finish with mascara most days. If I want a dressier look, I use the eye liner as a finishing touch. In the end, I have a beautiful, nude, shimmery eye: 

If that's not a great, casual date look, I don't know what is! This palette is definitely my new favorite and I will continue to use it every day until it's all gone! What is your favorite eye make-up product? Do you use a palette or do you mix and match different shadows from different companies? Leave a comment and tell me your beauty secrets! 

Beauty Product Review:

Not too long ago, I stocked up on some make-up while Sephora was having a huge sale. One new product I decided to try was the Stila One Step Primecolor:

I purchased it in "Kitten" which happened to be the color that was on sale at the time. It's also a color of Stila's that I love for eye and lip color, so I figured it would work for me. This product is intended to be used for pretty much any area of the face- lips, eyes, cheeks, etc. I've been using it on my cheeks and eyes as a base for blush and shadow. It is amazing! Because the color is fairly neutral on my fair skin, it just adds a touch of shimmer and a great base for the blush or shadow to cling to. On my cheeks, the effect is like a dewy glow. On my eyes, it's a gentle shimmer. This product will definitely be a part of my regular make-up routine from now on- I'm completely hooked! 

Fabulous Make-Up Deal

I got together with Andrea on Black Friday and we spent a little time in Sephora. Andrea is one of the most skilled make-up artists I know and her make-up recommendations are always spot-on. As you all know, when I had pink eye a few months ago, I had to get rid of all of my eye make-up. It literally went into the trash. So sad. Since then, I've been gradually replacing it, but I also decided to take this whole situation as an opportunity to upgrade my collection bit by bit.

When I was out with Andrea at Sephora, I asked for her advice on some great eye make-up. Her recommendation? Stila. The quality of the product is very high- you feel like you're putting healthy make-up on your face. It's smooth as silk and the colors are stunning. They go on smoothly and blend like a dream. They are priced about mid-range and as I mentioned above, are available at Sephora, as well as at Stila's own website.

Because there are so many colors available, I felt a little overwhelmed. Also, I wanted to get a couple of shadow colors and a nice liner, but I didn't want to break the bank. Andrea recommended Stila's award-winning color "Kitten." It is one of the prettiest nude shimmer shadows I've ever come across. It's a little bit pink, a little bit nude, a little bit shimmery, but not glittery. Andrea's advice was to start with "kitten" and wear it on its own with a sleek liner on top only and some nice mascara. It's a low-maintenance, but very pretty look. While debating what other colors and liner to consider purchasing, we happened upon what I think was an incredible deal- the Stila Eye Shadow Trio:

Available in three color combination options, I ended up choosing the "bronze" option because it appeared to include "kitten" or at the very least, a color extremely close to kitten. (In the picture above, the top color is "kitten.") At $28, it seemed like a lot of bang for my buck. I finished out my shopping trip to Sephora with the Stila Kajal Eye Liner in Tiger's Eye. What I liked about this liner is how well it smudges. Have you ever had an eye liner that didn't smudge well? It ends up being really hard to blend and you get a harsh line. That look does not work for me, so I was excited to find the super smudge-able Kajal. Since making these purchases, I've really enjoying doing my make-up in the morning. Stila seems to be everything Andrea said it would be and then some. I feel glamorous, but because the colors are in the nude family, I don't feel over-done.

Do you have any make-up tips or tricks you'd like to share? Leave a comment and tell me all about it!