I’m so gratisfied: THANK YOU Sephora, Clean, Glow Recipe, Marc Jacobs, Olaplex, Skinfix, and Velour!

[WinglessOne]

First, lemme say: while I’m thrilled that @TeamBIC , @CleanFragrances ,  @GlowRecipe , @marcjacobs , @Olaplex , Skinfix, and @VelourLashes  chose to gift me so many goodies, I’m even happier to see other BIC members receive these and other gratis lately. I love that so many folks are getting the chance to test products and give the rest of us feedback. 

Now then, on to my gratis box of happiness! Here’s what I tested tonight: 

SEPHORA COLLECTION Hot Line Brush Tip Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner 01 Black: I have a love-hate relationship with black liquid liners. They’re either too soft/floppy tipped, not dark enough, or determined to bleed/feather a lot. Not this liner! It has the perfect-for-me brush tip, precise enough that I can draw a VERY fine line, or lay down a crisp wing outline and then fill it in. It’s definitely dark enough on my skin tone: it actually looks black, not brown or graphite gray. It passed my “will a swatch feather on my hand” test. And it’s very easy for me to control. 

Here are photos taken with my phone’s higher resolution rear-facing camera. I drew 2 baby wings on one lid: one from the bottom and one from the top. I went very lighthanded with the bottom wing. Then I set the liner with a tiny bit of my favorite undereye setting powder (By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder). 

In front of beauty mirror; higher res camera.In front of beauty mirror; higher res camera.

Then I decided to add some color—so why not throw on my Pat McGrath Eyedols? I also tightlined the bottom with a black MUFE Artist Color Pencil. I’ll give this liner an all-day test soon, and see if it’s really waterproof (even when applied over sunscreen). 

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Ultra-Fine Mist 2.53 oz/ 75 mL: I sprayed this on the eyeliner side of my face. It didn’t disrupt my cream blush, brow pencil, or Hot Tip liner. I didn’t use an eyeshadow primer, so I’m not surprised some of that blue transferred below my eye post-mist. Everyone who says this mist smells like a watermelon Jolly Rancher is correct, and that’s not a bad thing at all. It did make my skin a bit dewy (can’t really tell in my photos above), but nowhere near as glowy as a face oil. Still, I kinda like it! 

CLEAN RESERVE Reserve - Solar Bloom 3.4oz/100mL: I spritzed this in the crook of one arm. It starts off very tangy citrusy, almost like an underripe orange would taste. Then a floral scent creeps in... smells like freesia to me, with some jasmine. But Solar Bloom never becomes a full-on floral; it’s always blended with warm citrus, vetiver, and something sweetly mineral-earthy. Since I know this fragrance includes coconut water and charcoal, the more I sniff for those, the more I realize they’re the “sweetly mineral-earthy” scent. The longer this fragrance sits on my skin, the warmer it gets, and the more that mineral scent comes through on me—but not enough to overpower other scents. They all work in an interesting balance. I’ll wear Solar Bloom again this weekend for a longer test. 

Skinfix Eczema+ Hand Repair Cream 3 oz/ 89 mL: rubbed this on both hands and it instantly softened my skin. I love the finish of this stuff. It’s not greasy or oily at all, but it leaves my hands—especially my fingers—feeling very moisturized and velvety soft. I will absolutely buy a tube when this one’s empty. Heck, I might buy one this weekend to keep on my nightstand. 

I haven’t tried my other 3 gifts yet: 

Marc Jacobs Fragrances Daisy Love Eau So Sweet 1.6 oz/ 50 mL: I spritzed this on a tissue but not my skin. It’s very sweet smelling. Possibly too sweet for me. I’ll have to try it on my wrist to be sure. 

OLAPLEX - No. 6 Bond Smoother Reparative Styling Creme: I’ve never used any Olaplex products or had a salon treatment. I’ll use this after my next wash. I’m interested to see if it plays nice with my 4a/3c/“whatever dude, I’m just kinky-coiling up a storm over here” hair. 

Velour Lashes Effortless - No Trim - Natural Lash Collection Mini Me: I never wear falsies, so I have no lash glue. Once I get some, I’ll give these lashes a go! EDIT: These lashes are the style No Drama. 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @lmaster ! 

[Loretta55]

Congratulations to receiving this gratis box of happiness @WinglessOne! I also look forward to reading your eyeliner tips that @skcfan asked about.

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Loretta55 ! 

[skcfan]

Congrats @WinglessOne! 

I love your eyeliner here. Do you have any tips? I’m very intimidated by eyeliner in general, but I definitely want to try it out. Thanks!

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @skcfan ! You got this gratis too, right? I saw you mention it in another thread. 🙂 Hooray! 

A few tips for liquid liner: 

Practice on your hand: I still do this with every new-to-me liquid liner, so I can see how it behaves before I try it on my face. Try drawing straight lines, wavy lines, loops, zigzags, etc. At first, hold your hand palm down while drawing. Then hold your hand up to eye level, so the back is facing your face, and practice drawing that way. 

Your thumb is a wrinkly/crepey skin simulator:  If you have wrinkled or crepey skin around your eyes like I do, practice drawing a wing on your thumb—over the joint below your thumbnail, where your skin’s wrinkly. Keep your thumb straight at first and practice drawing a clean wing that way. Then bend your thumb slightly; you’ll see gaps in your wing. You can practice filling them in. You can also try bending your thumb to stretch the skin a bit before drawing a wing, then straightening your thumb; this will show you what’d happen if you did the same with the skin on your face. 

Steady your hand if necessary: My left eye is weaker than my right eye, so I often have trouble applying makeup to my left eye. While facing a magnifying mirror, I use my free hand to steady my drawing hand, giving it something to rest against. That way, there’s less chance of an accidental slip caused by blurry vision + nervous hand. I’m ambidextrous for many things, including eyeliner, so I can use my left hand on my left eye—but I still steady my left hand. Here’s how I do it, allowing my wrist enough flexibility to bend. 

Chopstick as a prop. 😄 Had to use earbuds to remotely control camera shutter.

Try using tape: There are several tutorials on using tape as a wing guide. Tape also helps hold your skin in place, so your eyeliner doesn’t tug and skip. I don’t use tape, but plenty of folks do and it works great for them. There are “beauty tapes” designed for this purpose, but I suppose you could use plain ol’ scotch tape or medical tape. 

Connect the dots: With the liner, draw a dotted outline of your wing. The connect the dots and fill in your outline. This is another method that works well for many people. 

Set your liner: I do this with liquid and pencil liners to extend weartime. I pat a teeny tiny bit of translucent setting powder over my wing, then brush off any visible excess. 

I bet others have more tips! Hopefully they’ll chime in. 🙂

[skcfan]

@WinglessOne Thank you so much for this! These tips are incredibly helpful. I’ll definitely be practicing a lot this weekend.

[Loretta55]

Thank you for the eyeliner tips @WinglessOne . On my day off from work I am going to try some of your techniques.

[faeriegirl]

Congratulations @WinglessOne! 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @faeriegirl ! 

[darkiceis]

@WinglessOne  Congratulations! Gratisfied?? I love it! 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @darkiceis ! 🙂 

[Ispend2much6]

@WinglessOne   Congratulations!  That eyeliner looks fantastic!

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Ispend2much6 ! 

[SportyGirly125]

@WinglessOne Congratulations on receiving this gratis. Can’t wait for the full review. 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @SportyGirly125 ! 

[itsfi]

Congratulations @WinglessOne! I'm so happy you received this awesome gratis! Hurrah!! 🙂 Thank you for the mini reviews on a few of the goodies! That Sephora liner and Skinfix hand cream sound right up my alley and I do love how fine the mist is on the Glow Recipe Mist (it doesn't hurt that it smells sooo good, either!) Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the other products!

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @itsfi ! The Skinfix hand cream is seriously great. It’s the first Skinfix product I’ve ever tried, and I’m very impressed. 🙂 If you try it and the Sephora Hot Liner, I hope they work well for you! 

And I keep spraying the Glow Recipe watermelon mist on my arms and chest. 😄 I have a soft glow and I smell delicious—but now I have a major Jolly Rancher craving.