Category Archives: Makeup
Too Faced Sketch Markers (Review & Swatches)
Brand new to Too Faced‘s lineup of products are the ever so brightly coloured Sketch Markers!
“Sketch Marker is an advanced liquid eyeliner inspired by Japanese Calligraphy Pens. Its formula acts as an artist’s best drawing ink, created to be exceptionally smooth, vivid, waterproof and ideal for lining eyes. The flexible tip allows you to effortlessly create paintbrush-like strokes for daytime to dramatic cat eyes and everything in between. Available in a kaleidoscope of colors from soft pastels to bold pop art shades. Wear a single color or pair up to create a double eyeliner work of art.”
Since a pen style liquid liner is my preferred way to apply liquid liners, I was pretty darn happy to see that these were not in a “dip pot” style. I do prefer a brush tip, but these have a really flexible felt tip which is probably the closest I’m ever going to get without it actually being a full on brush. I’m also happy to report that they come in a wide variety of COLOURS which I’m finding more and more brands are doing lately. There are 12 shades in total – you’ve got your basic white, black and brown, but there’s a gorgeous papaya shade, a few purples and some stunning greens and blues.
The Sketch Markers taper to a fine point and I can happily report that the ink from the inner cartridge actually flows all the way to the end of the tip. I know this seems like a basic function of a pen-style liquid liner, but I can’t tell you know the number of brands do not deliver on this (MAC’s fluidline pens were my most recent disappointment, for example). It’s worth mentioning that although these are labelled waterproof, I’m afraid that they’re more water resistant than waterproof.
Both the Espresso and Steel Blue shades swatched completely opaque in one swipe. At a glance, the Espresso shade looks like a satin, whereas the Steel Blue is more matte (there’s really not much of a difference on your eyes though).
Final Thoughts
If you like a flexible felt tip pen-style eyeliner that delivers opacity in one swipe, longevity in the formula (these have EASILY lasted me a whole work day and then some), and a fluidity that ensures you’ll get product at the very tip of the brush, then the Too Faced Sketch Markers are 100% for you. You also have the flexibility of choosing one of the usual shades (black or brown) or branching out into something a little bit more fun-loving amongst the vibrant shades. I’m currently eyeballing the Papaya Peach shade for my next Sephora order because I don’t have anything like that colour at all!
(Also, huge thanks to my husband for the adorable cat drawings!)
The Too Faced Sketch Markers can be purchased on sephora.ca for $26 CAD or on sephora.com for $20 USD.
The products featured in this review were sent to me by PR for consideration.
VIDEO: MAC It’s a Strike! Makeup Tutorial
Alright, let’s try this again… here’s my MAC It’s a Strike! makeup tutorial video:
(And in case you missed it, this is a re-upload because there was an encoding error midway through!)
MAC Cosmetics It’s a Strike! (Review, Swatches & Look)
Coming soon to a MAC counter near you: MAC‘s It’s a Strike! limited edition collection!
Head straight to the fast lane and have a ball with M∙A∙C It’s a Strike! A range of Lipstick and Cremesheen Glass is racked in red. Rich eye shadow and Fluidline Pen shades will have everyone begging to join your league, while easy hues of Casual Colour are right up anyone’s alley. Practice a clean follow-through with three creamy colors of M∙A∙C Studio Nail Lacquer. Finally, knock them all down with the luminous allure of new Pearlmatte Face Powder.
My main excitement in this collection was stemmed not only by the new pearlmatte face powder (sadly, not pictured in this post), but also the GORGEOUS new eyeshadow shades!
While you’ve got your usual Carbon in there, there’s also a glorious mid-tone brown-grey in Bowl Out (matte), an incredibly fun yellow-green in Bowlarama (satin) and a to-die-for blackened cherry in 300 Game.
Aside from Carbon (who has long needed help in the pigmentation department), these eyeshadows swatched and wore like a dream. I love that there’s that sort of weird chartreuse colour that’s not quite green enough to be a true chartreuse. It played out so, SO nicely on my lids. Bowl Out – the grey brown – is the kind of shade I wanted Copperplate to be, but never was. And 300 Game is just way too awesome of a dark red to ignore! I’m also really, REALLY happy that this collection has only satin and matte eyeshadows – it’s just a nice change of pace, you know?
The lipsticks are also equally enticing – particularly the dazzle lipstick which I’ve never played with before!
Babes and Balls is a matte deep burgundy, whereas Liquid Lurex is described as a tarnished gold in a dazzle formula.
Although Liquid Lurex got pegged as “tarnished gold”, I personally see a very thin green-gold base with flecks of gold, silver and pink glitter dispersed throughout the formula. I thought it was a lot of fun to wear, even though it really is just a glitter lipstick. Despite the glitter, it’s not uncomfortable to wear. Removal is a bit of a pain however, as the glitter pieces will try their darnedest to stay stuck on your lips!
Babes and Balls is… well… just freaking stunning. Perhaps more suited towards the coming fall months (which I cannot WAIT for btw), Babes and Balls is a gorgeous matte lipstick that I know I’m going to get a ton of use out of. Not only is it a gorgeous shade, but my personal preference for lipsticks is always going to be a matte because they just stay PUT. And this one is no exception!
I’d never tried MAC‘s new(ish) Fluidline Pens, but I was eager to since I do love me a good winged liner on almost all of my makeup looks.
Sadly, I was not a fan of these pens. I found the felt tip pen made it very difficult to deposit the colour onto my lids. It’s like it just wasn’t flowing to the very end of the felt tip, which made it really frustrating to use. 🙁 These were a total pass for me. (I can’t recommend the fluidline gel pots enough though – those are excellent and I’ve been through several of them!)
MAC‘s Casual Color formula is another completely new to me product as I had never previously been drawn in by them. Consider me a convert though, because this was incredible.
It smells like their vanilla lipsticks (and can be used on the lips as well) and blended onto my cheeks easily. When I first stippled the colour on my cheeks I was slightly taken aback by just how much colour it deposited. But with a little blending action, this dark colour faded out to a soft yet vibrant cheek colour.
MAC It’s a Strike! Look
If you’re interested in this It’s a Strike! makeup look, it’ll be coming to my YouTube channel tomorrow! Here it is:
For the full MAC It’s a Strike! colour story, please check out Swatch & Review.
Let me know if you’re interested in this collection. I’ll admit I was on the fence at first since it seemed like a weird place to draw makeup inspiration, but having tried out the products, I’m particularly enamored by the lipsticks and eyeshadows! This collection will be available online on August 18th and in stores August 25th.
The products featured in this post were sent to me by PR for review.
Swatch Sunday: tarte Grav3yard Girl Swamp Queen
I held off buying this palette because I really wasn’t sure I needed *another* palette. (And obviously, I really don’t!) So when the tarte Grav3yard Girl Swamp Queen palette went up on sephora.ca, I just avoided it until it sold out. But then it became available last week and I caved. I mean, I think the colours are gorgeous, and I do watch Bunny (aka Grav3yard Girl) on YouTube, so I justified it to myself that I was helping support a YouTuber that I already watch. (Makeup addicts… we’ll find any possible way to justify a purchase to ourselves, won’t we??)
While I haven’t used the palette on my eyes yet, there’s a few things that REALLY stuck out to me while I was swatching this:
- This palette smells like fake vanilla. This is totally unlike any other tarte palette I own which traditionally had a kind of stinky/earthy scent which I can only presume was from the amazonian clay.
- There’s a LOT of glitter particles in some of these shades and they are CHUNKY. I have no idea how they’ll play out on the lids, but I do expect to see glitter fallout at some point or another because even while swatching some of the glitter particles were swept away from my arm.
tarte Grav3yard Girl Swamp Queen Swatches
The tarte Grav3yard Girl Swamp Queen palette can be purchased on sephora.ca for $59 CAD, annnnnnd… I was going to say it’s also on sephora.com but I can’t actually seem to find it there. Hmmmm. :/ This is limited edition, so get it while you can. (It’s also available in stores!)