My 5-minute Colorful Half-Liner Eye Look

This is a super quick eye look that I always pop on when I don't have a lot of time to do my face, and want an eye that is subtle but still has a shot of fun color.

I tend to pair this look with a strong blush and bright lips (a coral-pink mostly). 

The best thing is it's super easy and you don't need to be an expert or to have a very steady hand. Plus you have tons of shade options. Any colored liner pencil will work as that accent color on your lid.

You will need:

• A shimmery champagne or beige shadow (I used Sephora Prisma Chrome in MoonBeam)
• A medium brown shadow for the contour (I used The Body Shop's Chocolate Linger)
• A black pencil (I just used a black kajal)
• A colorful pencil of your choice (I used Milani Liquif'Eye in Aqua)
• Mascara or falsies (L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black)

Milani Haute Flash Full Coverage Shimmer Lipglosses (lip swatches and quick review)

I might be a little late to the Haute Flash game, but I found out not too long ago that Milani has come up with a line of full coverage Shimmery Glosses which remind me suspiciously of MAC and Lime Crime ones. 

Of course, I was curious if a drugstore brand could really match up to the higih-end ones, so here's the run-down.

There are 5 shades I believe, but I only got 4; 

102 Flashy: Neon sparkly blue-pink (below)

103 In a Flash: Deep sparky plum-purple (below)

106 Quick Flash:  Soft sparkly baby-pink

101 Hot Flash: Red on red sparkle (below)

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Smell: 

Not discernible

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Texture/Feel: 

Medium-thickness, like a Plushglass, but a lot less sticky. Not as thick as Lime Crime Carousel Glosses, and only moderately buildable in coverage.

Slight minty tingle on the lips, which is quite pleasant and inoffensive even if you dislike minty feeling products.

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Opacity:

If MAC Dazzleglasses are a 3 and Lime Crime Carousels an 8, these are about 6. I wouldn't say they are really full-coverage, but you definitely get pretty good color payoff. All lip swatches shown above were done with just gloss over bare lips, without base or liner. 

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Application:

I really like the flat doe-foot paddle. The wide surface picks up more product than the typical doe-foot applicator shape, and allows you to apply a thicker layer of product without sacrificing control.

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Wear/Tenacity:

These wear like the typical gloss. They aren't sticky, which is a plus for those who hate a gummy texture on the lips, but this also means it does not stay on as long as stickier glosses do. I'd say you can go 3-4 hours without touch-ups. 

It also goes on fairly evenly and does not gunk up in the center of your lips or in cracks. 

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Colors:

The colors are really pretty of course. My favorite shade is 102 Flashy, the hot pink, but then this particular gloss also has the poorest texture out of the 3, as it is slightly gritty and lumpy (see swatch image above), and is bright enough to be noticeable when it shifts out of place.

The one I reach for most is Quick Flash because it's so pretty and wearable for everyone. My least-favorite shade is 103 In a Flash, because it's a deep prune-purple which does not wear as evenly as the other shades, although it does make a pretty statement. You will need to apply a thick layer and keep touching up to keep it looking its best.

If you like really strong color, these are probably not going to have enough of a kick for you. If you want more color than regular glosses but don't want anything too high-maintenance or dramatic, then you should try these.

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Finish:

These are not particularly glossy, even though they are called lip glosses. The texture is more like that of Revlon Lip Butters or MAC Sheen Supremes in fluid form, so while the colors are pretty, you're not going to get dramatic shine. 

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Price:

At $7.25 per tube from Beautyjoint.com, these are not cheap as far as drugstore glosses go, but definitely way cheaper than any department store equivalent. (Use coupon code: MAKEUPBOX for an additional 5% off.)

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Verdict?

These are not full-coverage or opaque, despite the name. If can't bear to shell out for MAC Sheen Supreme lipsticks but find Revlon Lip Butter shades a little too "tame" for you, these combine the good points of both, as they are closer in texture to these than an actual gloss.

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Milani Quick Flash liip swatch

View lip swatches here!

3 Favorite Budget Makeup Shopping Sites (Jul 2011)

This is a quick and dirty run-down of some of the web-stores I tend to get my budget stash from when I'm shopping online. I assess stores based on not just the product range and price, but also the overall service, and the cost of shipping.

1. Beautyjoint

Product range: Makeup, nail color, a little skincare

Makeup brands: NYX, Milani, Jordana, L.A. Girl
PROS:

• They have some of the best prices for brands like NYX, Jordana, Milani, etc. The range of brands is not huge, but I don't shop elsewhere for these brands because you can seldom beat the price (unless there's some special sale going on elsewhere).
• International Shipping by way of USPS is cheaper than most other sellers although I can't vouch for Domestic. I've bought a lot less items on other sites often for about double the freight cost quoted by Beautyjoint.
  I'm also pleased to say they pack your items very well. I've bought so many items from them in the past few months, and I haven't had a single item that was defective or damaged during the shipping. 

CONS:

• Not that many brands. But this is a minor issue if it's a company philosophy to stock only the brands they can give good prices for.

2. Nonpareil Boutique

Product range: Makeup, bath, skincare, basic tools, hair and fragrance

Makeup brands: NYX, Milani, Wet n Wild, ELF, L.A. Color Cosmetics

PROS:

• They ship Wet n Wild internationally, at good prices. That's good enough for me!
• Packaging is done very well. I've had nary a chipped shadow from them, which is no mean feat.  
• Good shade range (I daresay you'll find just about all available shades for the brands they carry)
• Cheaper than retail.

CONS:

• Their NYX and Milani are cheaper than retail but not cheaper than Beautyjoint.
• The overall site layout and product categorization is a little messy, which is a minus.
• I would consider their International Shipping cost to be moderate. When you are buying sub-$5 items, a $15-20 shipping charge can kill any savings.
• I did get one defective Coloricon palette (Petal Pusher) from them, which had a duplicate crease shade. So I ended up with 7 shades instead of 8. But it could have just been Wet n Wild's fault, and I did not want to bother with exchange as it wouldn't have been worth the shipping cost.

3. Coastal Scents:

Products: Makeup, D.I.Y. makeup and bath ingredients and containers, makeup tools, lashes
Brands: private label (Do note a lot of their products are manufactured in China so if you have any objection to that, you might want to take note. Then again, so is NYX and a whole lot of brands today.)

PROS:

• The hot pots are a pro in and of themselves. Most of them are very good quality. If you can get them during occasional 30% sales, they are extremely worth the money. 
• Shipping is fast and International rates are good.
• Huge range of color products.
• Really cheap brushes.
• Great to be able to buy raw ingredients. I have bought silicones, oils, allantoin and zinc oxide from them, aside from makeup and brushes. 
• Site allows for customer reviews, so you can make a more informed decision.

CONS:

• I've had a hot pot arrive shattered previously
• Their palettes are a little more expensive than ebay sources, but do note that you could get faster shipping if you are in US/EU, and more secure payment as well.
• Quality of products can vary because they are not made and QC-ed by the same manufacturer. Coastal Scents is a reseller and their products are sourced from a range of manufacturers. So their foundations, concealers, blushes, brushes and lashes are not going to all be a similar quality. This is not a criticism actually. Just manage your expectations, do your research, and be an informed buyer, and you'll be all the happier for it.

Happy shopping!