Review| PIXI Endless Silky Eye Pen

All hail PIXI for creating the BEST eyeliner at any price point. 

The PIXI Endless Silky Eye Pens are pencil eyeliners that behave like liquid liners, and they're only $12 each. I picked up four to try online, thanks to $25 minimum shipping, but I may have to visit a local Target and buy THE REST OF THE COLLECTION for instant gratification.

They GLIDE on like a dream without creasing, fading, or running for the entire day once set. If I slightly close my eyes and count to 5 after application, there's absolutely no transfer on my hooded lids for the rest of the day until I take it off with an oil-based remover. 

My favorite color for pencil eyeliners is bronze or a shimmery variation of brown to define my smaller hooded eyes without closing them up. I picked Oyster Glow to replace my Rimmel ScandalEyes in Nude, Bronze Beam to eventually replace my MAC Eye Kohl in Teddy, and the golden green and plum to experiment with color.

The colors: 

Oyster Glow (light creamy glow) 
Bronze Beam (true bronze) 

Deep Plum (rich plum) 
Sage Gold (Deep golden green)

 One pass, no primer:

Under flash photography: 

Fun fact, these swatches on my inner wrist lasted through an entire day of chores around the house, repeated hand washing, and liberally rubbing with tissues to see if the color would fade. Endless indeed...

Some contact lens wearer have complained that the formulation is so soft that, combined with an iron grip, it gets all over their lenses. GURL, why are you applying makeup after you put your contacts in? So I kid...because I do the exact same thing, even placing the liner onto the waterline, with no horrendous transfer resulting in blindness. 

Yes, the soft formula also means that you will have to sharpen every 3-4 uses or so. They don't break inside of my Lancome sharpener for which I am eternally grateful. 

In comparison to some other well known pencils with a wide color range that I've tried...

• Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayon Eyeliners are stiffer (not as nice to the waterline), just as long lasting, but can never truly be sharpened to a point. The colors stay vibrant with these. 
• NARS Larger Than Life Long wearing Eyeliners irritate my eyes, can smudge down my lower lashes, cannot be sharpened to a point without wasting product, and slightly less creamy. 
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils fade throughout the day and can transfer everywhere when they have not set. They almost always smudge on my hooded lids. 
• Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liners are one of my favorites. These are drier, just as long lasting, and great for "smudging" or waterline work rather than creating precise lines on the eyelids.
• MAC Eye Kohls are easily sharpened, stiffer without being dry, and don't transfer at all. However, they're not my favorite for tight-lining. 
• Rimmel London ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliners are soft, easy on the waterline, but terrible for lid work. They get everywhere on me and never set. 

Besides the fact that they're the best formula of pencil eyeliners I've ever used, they may be LESS affordable if you run through eyeliner on an every day basis, since sharpening is frequent if you prefer a precise point every time. 

No, I regret nothing. I will buy more. I need more. More colors. 

xo Be

First Look| Marc Jacobs The Skyliner Seven Piece Petite Highliner Collection

The Marc Jacobs Skyliner Seven Piece Petite Highliner Collection ($45) is a limited edition set from Sephora that's an excellent deal for gift giving or collecting.

I knew from the moment the word "sale" was announced that I needed a set. After all, I own two full sized Highliners in Blacquer and Ro(cocoa) and they are both excellent staples in my stash.

Inside a classy plastic packaging there are 7 x 0.01 oz Highliner gel crayons in O(vert) (forest green), Brown(out) (bronze with shimmer), Th(ink) (deep navy), (Plum)age (vivid purple), Blacquer (black), Sunset (golden bronze shimmer), Midnight in Paris (inky indigo blue). 

Keep in mind that all of the colors are muted (read: not garish) and may not appeal to you if you want a true pop of color on the lids. I've tried every shade as a liner on the top and bottom lash line, with or without another eyeshadow underneath, and they are all muted with varying degrees of shimmer. I personally enjoy this as I never want my office makeup to be too OTT.

My favorites are Sunset and (Plum)age, both of which are very excellent alone or as a true liner. Yes, you can wear these all over the lid!

Another complaint I've heard is that for the price, each pencil is not long enough to be "worth" it. I disagree. With daily usage, each pencil should last at least a month. You don't need to apply a lot of pressure with the Highliners to get amazing color payoff. 

However, the most valid complaint is that these cannot be resharpened and will dull to a point once you use them up. (The original full sizes have a sharpener hidden at the bottom.) I've never had a problem with smudging or fat lines from the dull point, but others may prefer a very crisp line when they tight-line. 

Which brings me to the point: they are excellent as tight-lining pencils because of how long they last on the eyes. They are smudge proof once set and... they set fast. These are also the only pencils that don't irritate my eyes or create a cloudy haze on my contact lenses. For the upper lash line, I find that many of the colors in this set are much creamier than my full sized Blacquer and glide on effortlessly. 

If you're in the market for gifts for a beginner in makeup or a huge fan of eyeliner pencils, pick one of these sets up in stores at Sephora!

xo Be

First Look| Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner

 

Benefit They're Real! Push-Up Liner ($24) comes to your local Sephora and Ulta today after much hype, hate, and general drama in the YouTube community.

"It looks like crap, how can you say you love it? SPONSORED!"

"I'm not spending 24 bucks on an eyeliner."

"Did Benefit pay you to say that?"

Giving YouTubers and those who went to the launch party the benefit of doubt, I wanted to try out this so called revolutionary product that would give the effect of a gel liner but in a pen form. After all, I really enjoy the look of gel liners (often very matte, black, and long lasting) but find the song and dance of brushes and little jars exhausting.

 

It's a rubbery slanted tip applicator that dispenses product by twisting/clicking the pen. You'll see that the pen comes with a little orange nib that you can use to stuff up the rubber tip to make sure that the product doesn't dry out.

 

I won't offer a personal opinion just yet, as I've only bought this recently thanks to a Sephora preview sale event online. However, I'd like to point out the pros and cons just so that you're an informed shopper. (Also so you can't scream "Sponsored!" at the sight of a positive review...)

There's definitely a learning curve involved with the Push Up Liner, but by no means is it a horrendous product hyped up by social media marketing. I found it to be very interesting to use and a great product once you get the hang of it. As with any new product there will be user error, so buy with discretion and take your time to learn the slanted tip applicator.

Pros

•  It's indeed a gel liner formula within a pen. The product is very black, matte, and thicker in consistency than a liquid. 
• It takes serious elbow grease and an oily eye makeup remover to get off.
• Speaking of which, the product doesn't flake or smudge at all. 
• The pen form and slanted tip appilcator ensures that you get a clean line and close to the lashline as possible. 
• The slanted nib makes cat eye looks super easy even for my hooded eyes. It's definitely beginner friendly.
• Since the product sets almost instantly, I didn't get any transferring to my top lid. 

Cons

• Do NOT dispense more than a needle sized amount for both eyes. This will be your downfall. 
• If you just did the above, you will notice your liner being clumpy, patchy, hard to drag, flaky, and overall horrendous. 
• Even worse, your fat ball of product will just fall off the nib if you click up too much.
• You cannot go over your line once the product sets. Don't try.
• If you make a horrible mistake, you have .006 seconds to correct it. This stuff sets fast! 

Here's a demo pic (excuse my RBF) of how it looks on the eyes with minimal effort.

 I personally witnessed a bunch of YTers dissing the product but then dispensing way too much at one time and trying to spread it evenly on the lid. No gurl. Learn the product before you offer a hasty opinion.

Does the fancy pen form warrant the price tag? Meh. It's still in the range of liners like KVD's Trooper liner or Stila's Stay All Day liquid liner. If you're already spending that much on quality liners, trying this one out won't hurt. If you prefer your drugstore gel liners and don't mind using a liner brush, you won't need this in your life.

October 6, 2014 UPDATE:

After a few months this liner has not hardened in the tube. However, the staying power has definitely changed for the worst. It has a tendency to smudge, flake, and smear even on my dry lids after a day of work. At first I blamed it on my mascara, but sans mascara I still get the dreaded panda eye bags.

Hm, they were onto something after all. 

xo, Be