Confession time. Whilst the majority of my make up and beauty products are what I’d call “middle-of-the-road” in terms of price point, I do turn to the odd trusty bargain basement products which I have grown to love to the point that now, I simply couldn’t be without them.
I’m a fan of the gorgeous feline eye-flick. Not in the iconic high-impact style of the marvelous Ms Winehouse with her vivid trademark flicks, but a subtle detailing on the upper lid and corners of the eyes which I feel give the instant impression of bigger, wider eyes with very little effort.
I have literally tried every solution on the market (OK well maybe not EVERY one, but it does feel like it!) to try and achieve this, and shock of shocks, the best products I’ve come across to date have also pretty much been the cheapest. That hardly ever happens does it!?
The first weapon in my fabulous-flick armoury is the Technic Kohl crayon. I simply love how smoothly this glides on to give a soft smoky line that can be left as applied for a more dramatic look when I go out, or more often, softened slightly with an applicator to blend it more into my shadow (or naked eye as may be the case. Simple as that. I haven’t yet found a way of effectively sharpening this when it (eventually) starts to blunt since it’s a lot thicker than the traditional kohl pencil, but it takes a while to start to blunt anyway. And do you know what, for a £1 to £2 product (depending where you shop) I can quite happily live with replacing it when it does start to blunt anyway. Love it, and I’ve only knocked half a point of it with 4.5/5 because of not being able to sharpen it!
Second up is pretty new to me. I have worked for years to find a water-proof long wearing liquid liner with a soft brush versus the more typical “felt tip pen” style applicator that truly does last (the nearest I found is the more expensive but very lovely Stila Stay All Day Waterproof liquid liner, which at a relatively hefty £13-£15 versus Seventeen’s thrifty £4.99 comes a close second). The only slight issue with this is that it sometimes stays a little too well, and even after taking make up off at night and then washing again in the morning, you can still get a little remaining residue. But heck, staying power is what I asked for, and that’s certainly what you get with this. Well worth giving it a go, and gets a solid 5/8 from me.
So you see ladies, you don’t always have to hammer the plastic to get great products – sometimes there are amazing bargains out there if we just remain open to trying them. These two products alone have convinced me to become less of a brand snob and to broaden my horizons when looking for new products… try them out!
To prime, or not to prime, that is the question…?