Clarins 3-Dot Liner vs. E.L.F. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen

Aloha!

Apologies for this unannounced hiatus from the blog scene- the past month has been full of birthdays, family vacations (my family going on vacations, not me sadly) and loads of business. I am preparing a few entires for release in the next few weeks so stay posted!

Today we're going to be looking at (one of) my favourite liquid liners and its budget-friendly sister. Clarins 3-Dot Liner and E.L.F. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen are the cosmetic's world answer to the trouble of tightlining - the process of lining only the eyelash line to create the appearance of thicker lashes. The purpose of the triple tip is to apply pigment in between the lashes on the lash line, as opposed to dragging your super sharp pencil as close to the lash's edge as possible.

The Clarins 3-Dot Liner is a limited edition eyeliner that was recently released with its Fall 2012 collection, that retails at $27 CAD (I purchased this at The Bay). The ELF Waterproof Eyeliner Pen is a recent addition to their Essentials collection, and retails at $3 CAD/USD, available on eyeslipsface.com.

The Clarins tip is longer with the tips more spaced apart compared to its ELF sister. Clarins' tip is also much more flexible, which makes gliding it along the lash line a more comfortable experience (I.E.: When you would use it as a liquid liner to create a bolder solid line). Being further spaced apart, I find the Clarins liner easier to use; I'm not petrified of poking my eyes out or accidentally punching myself in the face trying to apply eyeliner. The flexible tip also makes applying a solid liquid liner line on the bottom lashes very easy, it's actually a bit painful using the firmer tip of the E.L.F. liner. On MUA, a lot of reviewers agree that using the E.L.F. pen to create a solid liquid line is really uncomfortable.

Here the two pens are going head-to-head in the pigmentation and lining division. The Clarins liner is much more pigmented than the ELF counterpart, and creates cleaner, more uniform dots. The solid line is much more smooth and even in colour. I actually had to drag the ELF liner across the skin of my hand. One thing I've also noticed (that you can't really tell in this picture) is that the ELF formula is a bit runny and has the tendency to bleed on the skin and get really messy if you aren't careful. The Clarins formula seems thicker, almost like a gel-like consistency. I wouldn't say that the ELF formula is water proof, but it is certainly water resistant, as is the Clarins formula.

Looking at Before (sans eyeliner) and After photos, you can see the effect of tightlining on the eye- it does make the lash line appear thicker.  Comparing ELF and Clarins liners, there is very little difference between either eye (my apologies for the blurry after photo, I'm still trying to figure out how to use this new camera I got for my birthday!)

 The triple tip really gets into the skin between each lash, which is totally awesome.

Here's the finished product- ELF on the left (your left) and Clarins on the right, along with 1 coat of Lancome lash primer and Elizabeth Arden's Ceramide mascara.

The verdict: The Clarins liner is a superior product in its packaging, tip form, pigmentation and formula. When we look at the end result however, there really is very little difference in the finished product- both make tightlining a breeze and achieve the look of a fuller lash line. The Clarins eyeliner does carry a hefty price tag- you could actually purchase 9 E.L.F. eyeliner pens for the same price! Considering that eye cosmetics should be tossed after 3-6 months, the E.L.F. eyeliner is certainly a much better value, and when applied carefully, achieves the exact same look at its Clarins counterpart. If you really can't stand the firmer tip of the E.L.F. pen and have the extra dough to spend, then treat yourself to the Clarins pen, it is certainly a very luxurious eyeliner!

TooFaced released a 3-Way Liner similar to these that I've yet to try, I haven't seen it in any Sephoras in Canada. Once this Clarins liner runs out, perhaps I'll make a trip to the States and pick one up :)

That's all from me folks! Keep checking back for more updates and reviews!

What's your favourite way to tightline your lashes, with a pencil or with a liquid liner? Have you used a triple-tipped eyeliner before? I'd love to hear from you! Don't forget to subscribe and comment below!

xox,
ysobel

Make-Up Repair Tutorial

Good morning all!

Here is the long awaited broken makeup tutorial! Here's a reminder of what happened last week....

So I dropped my entire makeup bag on the ground and my bronzer basically died. Fear not! Here is a simple tutorial on how to go about fixing your broken makeup while keeping the colours as separate as possible!

(A) Gather your materials. You'll need:
Your broken makeup, rubbing alcohol, a skewer, an eye shadow brush and a medicine dropper (not pictured here but seen in later shots). Also grab a piece of paper and a small flat object (Similar to a USB-wall adapter).
(B) Here's a photo of the broken compact once again.
(C) Fill your dropper with rubbing alcohol. Targetting the top right section (The broken one that's still the most intact), drop the alcohol on the cracks and gently push the pieces together using your skewer. Continue to shape the section until it returns to its original shape (or as close as you can).
(D) With your first section entirely intact, continue to crush the next segment into smaller, more manageable segments with your skewer, until it reaches a consistency close to the one above.
(E) Using your medicine dropper, add a few drops of alcohol and mix with the pigment until it forms a paste. Try not to add too much alcohol, you don't want it to be too liquidy because it'll be difficult to work with.
(F) Using an eye shadow brush, gently sweep any loose pigment into your big pile of pigment goop. Proceed to spread the goop with your skewer. Try to get right to the edge of the pan.
You can also place a few drops of alcohol wherever the makeup has separated from the pan. Use your skewer to push these pieces back into place. Allow to dry for 1 HR.
(G) Using a piece of paper and a small, flat object, flatten the makeup to create an even surface. Place a piece of paper on top and gently maneuver it under an object with a flat side. I picked the adapter because it was small enough to fit my pan and had the curved corners to match the edges of the pan. For some reason I picked a receipt I had on the table from a coffee I bought earlier that day... Don't worry! None of the ink transfered!
(H) Allow your pressed makeup to dry for a full 24-48 hours until you use it again.

VOILA! Your makeup has been restored. When doing this, keep a few things in mind:

(i) Don't douse your makeup in alcohol. If you put too much alcohol on it, your makeup will have cracks in it as the alcohol evaporates. If you accidentally added too much alcohol, gently press your makeup further into the pan using the paper/adapter method every 4 hours or so.
(ii) If you didn't use alcohol on the entire thing (like me), the "water mark" (from the alcohol between a wet and dry segment) may not completely disappear when the makeup dries. Not to worry, it won't affect the pigmentation of your makeup.
(iii) If you're really in a pinch and you don't have rubbing alcohol, try a toner! My friend actually did this with one of her bronzers that broke because she didn't have rubbing alcohol on hand and it worked!

I'm so happy because my favourite bronzer's back in my makeup bag and I don't have to keep using another gross ashy coloured one anymore haha.

Have you tried this method before? I'd love to hear your makeup rescue stories!

xox,
ysobel

Fixing Broken Makeup - Tutorial Teaser!

Good afternoon y'all!

I woke up several hours earlier than usual this morning because I had a dental consultation at 7:30 (ugh). I don't even wake up at 7:30AM normally. I found out that I have to get all four of my wisdom teeth removed (BOO) because they're overcrowding my mouth like crazy. On my way home, I dropped my makeup bag on the concrete in front of my house.

Have you ever dropped your makeup bag/some other palette on a hard surface before? Every time it happens to me, or every time I see it happen, I gasp and my heart literally skips a beat. Nothing sucks mroe than opening up your makeup bag only to find your precious pressed makeup crumbled, smothered all over everything else in your bag that (hopefully) didn't break.

To my surprise, the majority of my makeup survived the fall. The only exception was my E.L.F. Studio Bronzer in Warm (As featured in my very first post, here).

The only casualty from this morning's dreadful makeup bag drop.

I'm lucky it didn't spread everywhere and that the rest of my make up remained in tact. This is however my current go-to bronzer. Despite the fact that it's only $3 and I could replace it in a jiffy (well a little longer than that because I still have to order it off of ELF's website and wait for it to ship to Canada), I wanted to save it. I hate seeing makeup go to waste because it's broken. Pressed makeup- eye shadows, pressed powders, blushes, etc. are actually relatively easy to fix; so easy that you likely have the products sitting in your own house right now.

My bronzer is currently in repair. One it has returned to it's usable state I'll finish this post and show you how to fix your broken makeup without having to destroy and crumble the entire thing (Which would be detrimental in this case because this bronzer is segmented into four lovely separate colours). I actually managed to save the two that were broken and press everything else back into position. It's a little lumpy looking... hopefully I'll be able to rectify that before I post it up here.

Stay tuned! I'll be posting a great tutorial for all of you in the next 48 hours, complete with step by step instructions on how to repair your shattered but prized pieces in your makeup collection.

xox,
Ysobel