The Ravings of an Insomniac

Dove Replenish + Care Dry Shampoo

This is raved about so much but it's "eh" at best. While it smells good and provides hair with texture, it is totally temporary. There are also no oil-absorbing properties. I will not be repurchasing. 

Mary Kay Timewise Replenishing Serum + C

Ummmm this was an alright product. I did not see a huge difference in my skin; it was not brighter, nor did it imporve texture, but there was nothing wrong with it. It had kind of a funny cookie-dough type scent, and abosrbed in my skin very fast, but the retail proce is over $50 and for a serum that I found did nothing, I will not be repurchasing.

Giovanni D:tox System Purifying Facial Mask

I always raved about this mask, although nobody else had even ever heard of it. I found that it really calmed down my skin whenever it was irritated and was quite gentle. It definitel

Alba Botanica Very Emollient Sunscreen - Pure Lavender

I really liked this sunscreen before it went to shit. One day it was fine, and the next it had pretty much melted to some weird, liquidy oil. I might have left the bottle outside in the shade for a few hours which might be the culprit, but I don't think I'll be repurchasing simply because there are other natural sunscreens.

Tarte Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment

I quite liked this eye cream, which contained shimmery particles. I thought it made for a great morning eye cream since it sunk in well and sat beautifully under makeup. The full size of this is a hefty $32 dollars, but if it goes on serious clearance I will repurchase.

Almay Softies Eyeshadows

Bleh. Had great potential and sounded incredible, but there was simply no color payoff. They were sheer, did not apply well with tools, and did not seem to want to leave fingers when applied with those. They also faded pretty quickly on the rare chance that I got them to show up.

Pixi Extra Eye Bright Liner

I only used this on my waterline once or twice. It was simply too hard. However, I loved the pinky-lavender color and instead used it on my browbone for a very subtle and sharpening brow lift. I love the color so I may repurchase, but unless it's on sale I probably won't.

Pixi Lash Line Ink

I really loved this eyeliner. The long nib made lining my eyes easy, and winging it out would take no time at all. The formulation was pretty decent, although it wasn't entirely waterproof. I may repurchase sometime in the future - not anytime soon, however. But I would recommend this to people!

NYX Cream Shadow in Suede 

Man, this shade is beautiful and oh how I wished it had worked out. This set in about .12 seconds and would pill up and rub off if you tried to blend/smudge it out after it set. I would say that I could work with this, but I couldn't. It didn't have that sort of half-set tacky mode where some cream shadows get right before they set, it seemed to go from wet to bone dry immediately, so there's no way you could blend it out. It would also crease within 5 minutes, and the oil would eat up the shadow and an unattractive line would appear in my crease. Such a shame. Will not be repurchasing.

NYX Eyebrow Marker in Medium

I totally dug the formula of this, but the shade was just totally wrong. This is probably a shade for people with red tones - whenever I wore it it would look obviously wrong and very very bad on me. However, I did really love the simplicity of applying and the lasting power. If a neutral toned brown was released I would probably be all over that shit.

Sonia Kashuk Brightening Powder

Simply put, this was too easy to overdo on. It was pretty much impossible to not overdo. The shimmer would look very pretty in proportion, but it's extremely difficult to get the perfect amount and you end up looking like you'd just been glitter-bombed.

No7 Lash Adapt Mascara

While this mascara was a fine product, it didn't hold my curl very well. I actually really loved it on my lower lashes, as it really doesn't clump no matter how many layers applied, but I hardly ever wear mascara on my skimpy lower lashes and buying another for the lower lashes just doesn't seem justified. Those with naturally curly lashes might really enjoy this product. It never smudges or

flakes!

Burt's Bees Evening Glow Lipgloss

This is a pretty shimmer sheer red lip gloss. I really liked it, it wasn't sticky and was a great low-maintenance red shade, but I've had it for ages and figured it was time to toss it. I may repurchase, and I'll probably get other shades whenever possible.

e.l.f. studio small angled liner brush

I loved this brush! Until it just randomly pooped out on me one day. The glue loosened up and the bristles came flying out. Altho these are $3 and repurchasing them wouldn't hurt, I do not want to spend more money on yet a third broken brush. 

Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Rollerball

Hoooooly crap, this smells so good. This perfume smells exactly like oranges. While it's awesome, the scent barely lasts and I began to see stuff in the perfume, like skin and dust. I will repurchase eventually, but after I go through some of my perfumes. 

Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat

While I loved this, it got super goopy and useless. The finish was very matte and lasted up fairly well. 

Holy crap, I've been gone since October! I've just been so caught up in school, busy applying to colleges! I've been accepted to two out of my eleven choices so far (: Anyways, I'm back today with a review on this liquid liner.

What it is: liquid eyeliner

Where: Ulta and the UD website

Price: $19 but several of the shades are on sale for $10 on the UD site today (12/4/14)!

Note: Urban Decay is cruelty free and this product is vegan friendly!

Let's talk packaging. It's simple and very functional, and I quite like it. (Above is a NYX single eyeshadow for size reference) Each tube matches the shade inside. As you can see, my black liner has black packaging. The brush is a thin, brush-tip applicator. It's on the shorter side of applicators. Despite how thin this is, it's surprisingly easy to use. It's very easy to control where the product goes and how thick/thin you want your line to be. I think the packaging is great! This product contains 1.7 mL (.058 fl oz) of product.

Perversion is a black-ass black. I think this shade is supposed to be matte, but it's not - there's a sheen to it. This used to irritate me a little bit since I like my liner matte as possible, but I'll let this pass since this liner is so good. This liner has a very thin and watery formula, and needs shaking before usage. There's a mixing ball inside the tube. Despite how thin it is, it dries almost immediately. Wear time is wonderful - this liner is nearly 100% waterproof. I tend to ignore waterproof claims because basically nothing is totally waterproof, but this one almost passes the test. I'll explain in a little bit. After it dries, this liner will last you all day and night with no budging. I've worn it on 16 hour days with hardly any issues. There is no flaking or smudging or transferring. But back to the waterproof front, if the liner gets wet and the water is dabbed off (versus rubbed off) it will stay fine. Rubbing with water can cause flaking. This liner removes surprisingly easily, despite the longevity of it. It will not come off with an oil-based remover, but using a wipe or a water based remover will cause the liner to flake off and it removes quickly without much hassle. 

I think this liner is a lot like the NYX Studio Liquid Liner in terms of pigmentation and longevity, but I like the thin, fast drying formula of this, not to mention the much more manageable packaging. If you're on a budget, the $4.50 NYX offering is definitely worth a shot. It contains more than double the product for less than a quarter of the price, but you have the weigh the other factors. All in all, I'm a little annoyed that I love this liner so much - I do not like the idea of dishing out $19 for an eyeliner. That being said, I do think it's worth the rather high price tag. I highly recommend.