Okay, I'm cheating here. I technically won't be writing about five eyeliners only, because that's not as fun as, say, a dozen ones! I will however be talking about five brands that make crazy amazing eyeliners. These are the ones that smudge minimally, if at all, and never fade even if you wear them until the sun sets (or rises if you roll that way). These are the eyeliners I always pick up simply because they're reliable. 

I have also included some eyeliners worth an honorable mention. ;) Let's get cracking!

K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliners. My current HG eyeliner is the K-Palette liquid eyeliner - the waterproof one. This is the best in terms of staying power and ease of application! I've worn it for 15 hours and it has never, ever fallen apart. It's what I wear when I know I'm going to have a long day and have zero time to fuss with smudgy eyes.

The K-Palette pencils have amazing pigmentation and staying power as well, but they do smudge if they're not applied on some sort of powdered/primed surface. They're great just as long as I am wearing something underneath 'em.

MAC Fluidline, Technakohl, and Powerpoint eye liners. The MAC Fluidline was my HG eyeliner before K-Palette. K-Palette beats it only because the gel eyeliner requires a clean brush everytime I use it; I simply don't always have the time to rummage for a brush and then wash it.

The most useful advice that I've ever received in my life is Don't Panic. It is so difficult to remember that, you know, when everything is converging towards you in a massive wave and it is impossible to turn anywhere without being swallowed up like a piece of melting chocolate. Well. Grace under pressure is a skill. We can't learn it if we do not truly feel the heat.

The best way to deal with pressure is to take things one at a time. Sounds simple enough. So I'll do that. :)

Today I want to finally talk about the Etude House Color Pop Collection! This collection is all about bright, show-stopping colors in hues of orange, pink, blue, and green. Now it doesn't seem to be available in the Philippines just yet, but I will definitely update this space when it is! For the meantime here are some swatches and quick thoughts about each of the products I received from Korea.

I'll start with the Etude House Color Pop Shine Tint in Sunny Pop. First swatch and I thought I wouldn't like this, for it is such a fiery orange! I tried using a generous amount on my lips and it looked so patchy that I removed it immediately. However, the trick is to use only a couple of dots to get a sheer wash of reddy peach color on the cheeks and lips. It's one of those tints that you can't layer over, as it is meant to be sheer.

Today is a busy day! I have to do an ocular for a possible event venue, maybe check out the Luxasia Sale, pick an outfit for the Preview Ball, then go to the said ball. Somewhere in between I must write a proposal. Buuut I love you guys so I'll quickly tell you all about the latest collection from Etude House - Color Pop!

This isn't a full review post since I have yet to complete the swatches of the items I have. I actually just want to answer a question that many of you have asked recently: what is the pink eyeliner I used in this look? It's so cute no?

It's an Etude House Drawing Show Creamy Pencil from the Color Pop Collection!

My blogging backlog is alarming. I probably have over a hundred reviews and features filed away by now but I have stopped knowing where to begin! :( I can probably just quickly mention things here, but then I'd be wasting space. I don't want Project Vanity to be a repository of random beauty/fashion features - whatever I put out here should count. Be valuable. There are a lot of good brands and products out there but the point should be curation - what is worth writing and reading about?

So I figured, I will just write about the things I really, really like at the moment while I am organizing everything. It happens that the Eye of Horus Natural Smoky Eye Pencil (P960 at Glamourbox) has caught my eye!

I've had this for maybe three months now but honestly thought it wasn't anything special. I've seen some rave reviews, sure, but I was still incredulous. I've swatched it a few times in the past but I assumed that the consistency was too soft to be reliable when it comes to long hours and oiliness around the eye area. Wrong! This is an awesome pencil for that smudged smoky eye, or for something simpler like a soft natural line. It is buttery but most importanttly, it stays in place!

Can't believe I'm saying that of a pencil this ridiculously soft, but it's true.

You've read the raves I'm sure. The K-Palette 1-Day Tatto Real Lasting Eye Pencil (P795) is the reformulated version of the old pencils and comes in Super Black and Deep Brown. These are heavily pigmented, creamy, and very easy to work with once you get the hang of the flat tip. They stay on the whole day - well, as long as you have primer or powder on top of your lids. If you don't, the eyeliner is golden for about 5-6 hours, which is a good amount of time anyway.

I find that this migrates to my upper lids and smudges on the outer corner of the eyes if I use it on bare skin for more than five hours. I wore this to a shoot where I was out for a solid twelve hours (7am to 7pm). By noon, the eyeliner was starting to smudge. By 3pm, I have two queer lines on my crease, as the pigment has transferred. Well, it was a pretty hectic and stressful day as I was the one directing the shoot. Most of my makeup has gone to the dogs come 3pm. 

I know I sound cranky, because by all intents and purposes the K-Palette pencil liners are awesome. It's just that, they pale in comparison to the liquid version.

This week's theme will be all about drugstore products. I'm pretty excited about my line-up because I adore all of them! I'm going to feature one drugstore item for the face, hair, nail, and body this week. Today, we're all about eyes!

I picked up these Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencils (P149.75) last month. I found them inside the MOA SM Department Store, where a huge-ass rack of Essence products are just hanging around with their crazy affordable price tags. I thought the texture, colors, and staying power of these pencils were impressive, so I purchased them even if (truth be told) I rarely buy cosmetics these days.

I swatched these pencils last February when Essence first arrived here. I was pleasantly surprised that the swatches remained intact even though it's been hours, and I've washed my hands several times already! For a P150 product, that's quite a feat. But how does this pencil fare on my eyes?

I hereby declare the next five days as Bobbi Brown Week at Project Vanity. Seriously, I have quite a few Bobbi products piling up (they're all fantastic) so I want to release the reviews in one themed week. I'll be featuring one Bobbi product everyday for the next five days, so stay tuned for those posts. ;)

To start off the series, here's an FOTD-slash-review of the Bobbi Brown Twilight Night Shimmer Ink. This is unfortunately limited edition from the Desert Twilight collection last year. However, I think that the brand has something similar in the cream eyeshadow line. I'm sure you can also find dupes in other brands if you're on a budget. ;)

Now Twilight Night is actually a gel eyeliner, but the twinkly dusky color is so pretty that it deserves to be used as a cream eyeshadow.

A dark cream base can make eyeshadows really pop up, plus the uber fine shimmer in this particular product adds more dimension and light to the eyes. I dabbed a layer of it on my lids using just my fingers.

Whimsical and ethereal, the new Artdeco Butterfly Dreams Collection is sure to appeal to girls with a soft spot for pastels. There's a beautiful selection of nail polishes and lipsticks that flatter Asian skin, as well as new eye definition products such as a felt tip eyeliner and a volumizing mascara.

Pretty eh? I'll be reviewing a couple of products fully in the future (that blush definitely deserves a whole post of its own), but for now I'll be sharing quick reviews and a look I did using the collection. 

Feeling under fire today! Work has been non-stop since I woke up but I'm taking a break to write about an awesome eyeliner I got acquainted with recently. Now I've seen a lot of raves about the Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner (P449), but I didn't jump into the bandwagon because I already have the MAC Fluidline. That's the best gel eyeliner for me! Can the Maybelline one compare?

It's a nice, more affordable alternative, but it's not quite like the Fluidline in terms of pigmentation and texture. As for the lasting power - whoa! The Maybelline one will not smudge, smear, or fade even if you wear it all day. You can rely on it to look fantastic from the time you leave your house up to the second you wash it off.

You might be wondering why the packaging is different. Well, it's because this is the reformulated version that was just recently released. :) Here's a quick rundown!

What I love the product 

• It's incredibly long-lasting. I will not attempt to wear it for 36 hours but I've worn it 10 ten hours at most and it stayed fresh. It didn't smudge, smear, fade, or slip on my upper lids.
• Decent pigmentation. It's solid in one line as long as the brush is properly loaded with a generous amount of product.

What's worse than a beauty blogger over-plucking her eyebrows? Nothing! It's an embarrasment to the community! Lol just kidding. But it is true that I recently became tweezer-happy. My brows are like 30% less than what they should be. I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I did this to myself but there's nothing more to do than wait for the hair to grow out.

What over-plucked eyebrows? 

Anyway. I want to show a super simple technique I've been doing on my brows lately. It involves using a - drumroll please - cream eyeliner! A brown eye liner to be specific. I like doing this because it offers more definition to my now-thin eyebrows, plus the shade I have is just perfect for my hair color. I encourage you guys to try using your brown gel liners the same way, and maybe you'll discover that you have a fantastic brow color all along!

Here's how I do it.

Step 1: Dip a synthetic, angled eyeliner brush into your brown eyeliner pot. Remove most of it by swiping the brush on the back of your hand.

If you love Japanese cosmetics then you might have heard of Dolly Wink. I believe that the brand is well-known for its pen eyeliners, with about the same level of popularity as Majolica Majorca and K-Palette. Interesting but I haven't seen any Dolly Wink resellers here! That is, until Wicked Drops contacted me. Now you know where to go if you want to try or restock this intriguing Japanese eyeliner.

Anyhoo, the Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner in Deep Black (P800) is pretty good if you ask me. It has a sharp, bendy tip that delivers precise lines. It's pigmented enough (but you have to go over a couple of times if you want a super black line) and has a bit of a glossy finish. It also doesn't smudge once it sets!

I also love that this eyeliner is easy to remove with just a bit of soapy water. It's water-resistant just as long as you don't rub it.

Hey folks! I have some new products from Maybelline that I'm excited to finally talk about. I've had them for a few weeks now and, well, color me impressed! It's been a while since I used anything from the brand so I'm surprised by how nice their stuff are now. 

Here are capsule reviews of Maybelline's latest: The Jewels by Colorsensational Lipsticks, Master Liner 24-Hr Cream Pencil, and Eye Studio Lumineyes Eyeshadow.

The Jewels by Colorsensational Lipstick (P399) is a collection of six jewel-toned lip colors in uber creamy, pigmented formulas. They're not waxy and they stay on for a loooong time given that the colors are on the dark, brilliant spectrum. They leave a nice stain too without feeling too drying!

When I first heard that Katie Holmes is the first and (so far) only celebrity endorser of Bobbi Brown cosmetics, I gave a big internal whoop. The pairing is perfect! Katie has always been polished, elegant, and discreet, much like the trademark Bobbi Brown look. I honestly am looking forward to their upcoming campaign together, see what these two pretty powerful girls can come up with!

Anyway today I want to review some things that I've been using for a couple of months now: the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Collection. It features a mascara, eyeliner, and cream shadow that is guaranteed to last from coffee to cocktails. I love the concept, and I'm sure you would too if you hate touching up your eye makeup! 

Here's what I think of each product in the collection.

The Bobbi brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Shore (P1,450) is my favorite out of the bunch. The formula and shade is absolutely amazing! It's super creamy yet thin, then dries into a velvety, budge and smear-proof layer on my lids. This doesn't crease at all.

At first I was all "meh" about Shore, a boring-looking matte neutral beige, but when I got to know it better it's now one of my favorite eyeshadows.

You know that feeling of going back to an old love, then finding out (with the utmost delight) that it's even better than you remember it? That's what I felt when I dipped into the MAC Fluidline in Dipdown (P1,100). The Fluidline was my first ever high-end eyeliner and I loved it so much that I used it for almost two years. I kept it for three years just for the nostalgia, and believe it or not, it was still creamy and usable until the day I threw it away. 

I received a fluidline in a MAC event that I attended a couple of months ago. I didn't want to use it since I have got quite a few brown eyeliners on rotation already, but I was curious to see if this gel eyeliner is as good as I thought it was. It is!

This is the best gel eyeliner I've tried, hands down. If you thought your drugstore gel eyeliner was creamy, the Fluidline is waaaaay creamier than you'd think possible.

Hi folks! Last week I received my monthly box from Etude House Korea. This month, it's all about eye makeup! This has got to be my favorite month so far because you know I love eyeliners, mascara, and eyeshadow. <3

This month's main feature will be the Etude House Lash Perm 3Step Volumecara. This intriguing mascara has three settings

The rain has been raging non-stop since yesterday. Stuff that I've scheduled for today have been canceled, so I'm just at home! Hope you're staying dry wherever you are. Come to think of it - what's your weapon of choice in this kind of weather? Raincoat? Boots? Or just the plain ol' umbrella?

Don't forget to read my makeup/hair tips for rainy days! Anyway, today I want to review a nice eyeliner I've had for a while: the Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Eye Pencil in Onyx (P1,295). I was initially unsure about this one when I first got it. It felt too soft and creamy to actually "stay-in-place". I'm happy to say that this eyeliner defied my expectations (or lack thereof) - it does stay on, with only minimum smudging as with most pencils.

What I like about the product

• Super creamy texture that makes it easy to line with, with no tugging or pulling. It's soft enough to be used as a cream eyeshadow.
• Pigmented on lids, though you have to go over the line two times to get a really solid black. This is a very deep, slightly bluish eyeliner. It's completely matte.

Waking up to a rainy morning is always a treat. The air is cool, the outside smells like wet loam and green growing things. I would imagine, however, that it's a bitch if you have to commute to work. I'm grateful that I don't have to go out today.

Anyway I want to talk about a fairly novel (at least to me) eyeliner: the MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Blue Stripe. Would you believe, it's my first ever navy blue eyeliner! I read somewhere that navy is recommended if you don't want your line to look as harsh as black or go the typical brown route. Makes sense! Navy blue is a nice choice if you want to try a different eyeliner color in the office without looking too avant garde.

I've been seeing the MAC Powerpoint pencils around since forever. Waaay back when I decided to invest in a good eyeliner, it came down to buying the MAC Fluidline or the Powerpoint.

The best eyeliner I've ever tried is the K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner (P895 at Beauty Bar). There. I said it! It's a lot to claim, I know, but I am totally awed by this Japenese liquid eyeliner. I've used sooo many eyeliners in the past but this is the only one that combines convenience, lasting power, opacity, and ease of application in one small tube.

Lasting power. The "1-day tattoo" eyeliner lasts all day and doesn't smudge even if you're sweaty or oily. Nonetheless, it washes off with water and soap without leaving any nasty smudges. It's not 100% waterproof, meaning if you splash your eyes and rub it will disappear. But who does that anyway?

You don't need a makeup remover to take this off. Not like I'd suggest leaving off the makeup remover, but it's nice to know if this is the only eye makeup you're wearing.

Perfect pointed synthetic-fiber brush. It's no wonder that the Japanese are crazy about this! This received a lot of rave reviews and awards in magazines over there. It's so easy to use that I'm sure that eyeliner newbies can get a perfect line with no fuss.

It's raining pretty hard in Manila right now. It's a welcome respite from the intense heat that we've been experiencing these past two months, of course. Maybe it's time to score some hot boots and new jackets? Game on!

Revlon Colorstay Creme Gel Eye Liner

Anyway, Revlon has new products coming out soon (if they're not already released). I love that they're focusing on eye makeup this time as you know that I'm into crazy eye makeup!

Beauty savings tip: you don't have to spend more than P500 for a crazy good eyeliner. Sure there are exceptions to the rule (I love the Kanebo Kate Gel Eyeliner and Majolica Majorca Automatic Liner) but even then you don't have to go beyond P700, tops! 

A recent crazy good eyeliner find is the NYX Slide On Pencil (P360 at Digital Traincase). I got it in Purple Blaze, a deep yet electric purple shade that has a bit of glimmer. 

Why I love the product

• This eyeliner is extremely creamy and glides like butter on the lids. No tugging or pulling on the delicate skin around the eye area.
• Doesn't smudge or budge during the day. It's water and rub-resistant.