27 March 2013

Replacements for Discontinued Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners

Urban Decay just announced a line-up of new 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils shades--and, along with it, a number of discontinuations. They list recommended replacements--primarily from their new shades, of course--here; but many of these suggestions are hardly comparable.
Hey. Don't cry. I compared various swatches online to compile this list of better (and cheaper)! replacements for these soon-to-be-gone liners.

1999:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Jewel (compare: UD, #2 from left; vs. NYX, #2 from left)
Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Stiletto (see here - less sparkle than UD)
Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadow in Pomegranate Punk (see here - less sparkle)

Binge:

Avon Glimmersticks Eyeliner in Twilight Sparkle (UD, third from right, vs. Avon)

Covet:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Tropical Green (compare: UD vs. NYX - less sparkle)
Covergirl Queen Collection Vivid Impact Eyeliner in Jade (see here, third from right)
Sleek Eau La La Liner in Tonic (see here)
GOSH Velvet Touch Eye Pencil in Alligator (see here, second from left)
Essence Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in #12 I Have a Green (see here)

Deviant:

Covergirl Liquiline Blast Eyeliner in Blue Boom (see here - CG first from left, UD second from left)

Eldorado:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Glitzy Gold (comparison)
Sleek Twist-Up Eye Pencil in Gold (company site swatch)

Flipside:

Milani Liquid Eye (formerly Liquif'eye) in Aqua (comparison)
e.l.f. Cream Eyeliner in Teal Tease (comparison)
Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in Turquoise (UD vs. Rimmel, sixth from left)

Graffiti:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Papaya (comparison)
GOSH Velvet Touch Eye Pencil in Green Grass (UD, fifth from left; vs. GOSH, leftmost)

Gunmetal:

Covergirl Liquiline Blast in Silver Spark (comparison--UD third from right, CG second from right; CG is darker)
NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Gun Metal (UD, right; vs. NYX, fourth from left)

Lucky:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Golden Bronze (comparison - second pair from right)
GOSH Velvet Touch Eye Pencil in Copper Girl (UD vs. GOSH, second from top - less red-toned than UD)

Lust:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Pretty Violet (UD vs. NYX, second from left)

Ransom:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Purple Blaze (comparison)
GOSH Purple Stain (see here, second from left in top row)
Essence Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in #16 Coolest Chick (see here, rightmost)

What do you think? Feel cheated? I'll be adding to this list as I find more. If you have suggestions, put them in the comments.

02 March 2013

Review & Swatches: Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Shadow & Liner in Warm Nude Eyes (NEW for Spring 2013)

I picked up the new Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips shadow palette in Warm Nude Eyes, from the new Nude Eyes Collection for Spring 2013.

They already have an extremely confusing number of products with unnecessarily long names under the Shimmer Strips line. For the Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner Nude Collection alone, they have this one (Warm Nude Eyes), Classic Nude Eyes, Natural Nude Eyes and Smokey Nude Eyes. There's also the original Nude Eyes palette, under the Universal Looks line. And that's not including the other Universal Looks palettes; nor the four eye colour-specific original palettes and their spin-offs: the Eye Candy, Pop, Smokey and Bronze Collections.

If you're as confused as any person with a life, this palette is from one of Physician's Formula's new lines for spring 2013. As you can probably imagine, 'Warm Nude Eyes' features toned-down bronzes and coppers. Which I'm a total sucker for.

These palettes retail for US$12.49 at CVS (who do mark up prices). When I was there, CVS was having a $7 ExtraBucks with purchase of $10 of Physician's Formula promotion through the end of the weekend. So if you have a CVS near you, these sales are a good time to buy Physician's Formula products, which usually retail for over $10. I also like their Shimmer Strips eyeliner trio in Nude Eyes, so that's a good pick if you've already got enough shadow.


The palettes are very cute, but also a bit smaller than I'd imagined. The palette fits in the palm of my hand, so this wouldn't be a bad palette for travelling, although it flips open with no latching mechanism.
A larger brush might be a little awkward to use on the three thinner strips. The sponge applicator fits better, but is not the best sponge I've used.


There are nine different strips inside, grouped in threes to match the suggestions on the packaging (leftmost three being for the 'dramatic' look; next three, 'playful'; rightmost three, 'natural').



Swatches

Left four strips:

That right-most one may look like the darkest in the pan, but it comes out as a faint plummy brown. I may need to use these wet, as was apparently the case with the original nude palette.

Next four, going right:


Last one--the white:


Part of this palette, when used dry, doesn't have a lot of pigmentation, which was somewhat disappointing. On the other hand, the muted colour payoff is truer to the 'Nude' part of the name--despite the fact that they're all shimmery I would feel comfortable wearing these to school or work.
They don't seem to be very long-lasting, but I'm sure they'd fare well with primer.

Overall, I'm not in love with this palette, but I do like it. I wouldn't buy it at full price, but I'd pick it up during a sale. I'll continue to be on the hunt for the Eye Candy and Bronzed palettes for brown eyes, since those look more pigmented.