Accessor-eyes: An Eye Makeup Review

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♫ PLAYLIST ♫
THE THRILLSEEKERS - Synaesthesia
FUEL - Sunburn
WE ARE SCIENTISTS - The Great Escape
GEORGE GERSHWIN - In The Mood

I LOVE MAKEUP.
More specifically, I love eye makeup. Now, I'm not one of those chicks that cakes it on drag queen style, and I don't even come close to how much Kim Kardashian puts on. I do like to enhance my eyes because unlike other Filipinos, I wasn't born with those round, puppy dog eyes with just a touch of "chinkiness" at the outer ends. (I did, however, inherit big old lips.) As the eyes are the "windows to the soul," I wanted to give these peepers a nice window treatment complete with Venetian blinds, customized draperies and valances.

Before I continue, I believe a little backstory is necessary to explain my recent choices in eye makeup.

On May 28, 2010, I was having a belated birthday celebration with my family. Being three months pregnant, I wasn't intent on doing much besides eating copious amounts of Italian food (the only thing that did not trigger any sickness) and sitting down to relax, because I felt tired all the time. So after a heavy meal at Carino's, my parents, sisters, husband and I hung out at The Sugar Land Town Square. My eyes began to itch and water, and by the end of the night, they were so puffed up I couldn't see. Mind you I was wearing 4-inch heels and my balance was beginning to falter. We immediately rushed home and removed the Urban Decay eyeshadow I was wearing and flushed my baby browns out with water. Sticky pus was oozing from my eyes and I was gagging from the sensation. Having been preggo, I couldn't take any allergy medicine to ease the irritation so I just placed a cold compress on my beloved peepers.

Intent on finding out the cause of this sudden breakout of allergy, my husband and I consulted a fabulously flaming gay man at the Sephora in Willowbrook Mall. Truth be told, he said, he's known plenty of pregnant women who undergo such severity in hormonal changes that their body rejects any makeup that they may have used many years before. His twin sister had to throw away her whole collection when she developed an allergy to her beloved cosmetics. "I feel your pain," he sympathized. While we didn't exactly pinpoint the very cause of my makeup allergy, he suggested it may have been the parabens in certain brands that triggered the unexpected and unwelcome itchiness and subsequent oozing of pus. (I really hope you're not eating while you're reading this!)

Parabens are chemicals used in cosmetics as a preservative. According to Wikipedia, it is an ester of para-hydroxybenzoic acid, and a small percentage of a given population can react negatively to the compound by way of skin irritation, dermatitis, and rosacea. (In fact the "benzo" part of the compound might be the culprit in the equation as I developed a rather strange allergy to it as of 2008, via benzoyl peroxide medication. Embarrassing tale for another time.)

Back to the story. We were led to a tiny section in the store housing several "eco-friendly" and allergen-free brands. The selection was unimpressive at best (even my husband noticed) and featured products that a makeup die-hard would hardly die for (boring!!)... until he opened up a purple box and produced a bright violet clutch with a quilted pattern and gold-plated charms of a lock and key.



Tarte's Eye Couture Day-To-Night Eyeshadow Palette (above) features ten shadows (five from the bronze family and five from the charcoal family) that transform the eyes from everyday, work-appropriate look to sexy, smoky cat eyes of the night time variety. It comes with a double ended eyeshadow brush for flawless application, and an eyeliner pencil with brown and charcoal on either ends to complete that impeccable look. It features six "skinvigorating ingredients" that Tarte Cosmetics prides itself in and is so earth-friendly that even the "green" packaging was done in soy ink. For $44.00, I believe this to be beyond just a great value for price-to-product ratio... I mean come on! Your skin gets the benefits of the shadows being paraben free, packed with coconut oil, and has vitamins C and E. It even comes with a two-sided card (for bronze and charcoal) that suggests how to apply the shadows for a daytime look and then transform it into nighttime sexiness. Into the shopping cart it went.

As I was out of the house from 5:45 in the AM till about 6:00 PM (gotta love that one hour commute each way), I needed my shadows to stick on longer and maintain its freshness the whole day. Tarte's Lifted Natural Eyelid Primer (left) not only keeps that eyeshadow in place all day, it also contains Firmitol, an agent that helps tighten eyelids and the surrounding eye area to give the effect of smoother, more youthful looking peepers. Other "skinvigorating ingredients" include centella asiatica, ginseng root, and portulaca oleracea extracts. While I don't know what those benefits can be attributed to off the top of my head, further reading describes them as excellent ways to aid in cell metabolism and collagen synthesis while relaxing muscles and facial nerves. Having been educated about the pros of this product, I knew it was worth the $20.00 price tag and thought it to be rather affordable compared to other brand-name or designer eyelid primers with similar benefits.

Finally, why would I ever deny my allergy-victimized eyes a great tube of earth-loving mascara? Lash Hugger Eco-Friendly Natural Mascara by Tarte (right) contains carnauba wax, rice bran wax and olive esters to condition, moisturize and beautify those lovely lashes. The $18.00 tube is composed of recycled aluminum for those eco-conscious beauties who care about the health and loveliness of our dear planet as much as they do about their own bodies. Cruelty-free and paraben-free, the mascara volumizes and lengthens lashes without the harshness of cheap ingredients.

With the three products in my basket and determination in my heart, I went to the checkout line with a little bit of hesitation. Will these products deliver? Is this makeup line dependable and worth the money? Before I could answer, my husband swiped his debit card for me and told me it was another birthday present and a thanks-for-carrying-my-child gift. Well, that put my mind at ease and made me feel a lot better.

As soon as we arrived home, I made a beeline to the bathroom and tried my new makeup. I left it on the rest of the day and found no trace of irritation. So far so good. The next day, and for the rest of my pregnancy, these were the only things I put on and near my eyes. I was already using an organic mineral powder and bronzer to finish my face, so I was good to go! I was impressed at the longevity that the eyelid primer provided and the gorgeous tone that the eyeshadows had. I was very much pleased with the mascara and even went through three tubes during the rest of my nine month gestation.

After the birth of Baby Boy, I got curious: Was my body still allergic to "regular" makeup? I experimented and found mixed results. Some of the shadows I would have used pre-pregnancy were no longer to be a member of my makeup assembly, while some ignited no ugly reaction or itchy irritation. So depending on the makeup line and its ingredients, it was a guessing game for me. Still, I want to share with you an old favorite of mine that thankfully, doesn't make any allergies flare up and a new product that I've tried twice now and haven't formulated an opinion on just yet.



Wet N Wild's Kohl Brow Eyeliner Pencil in Black has been a favorite of mine since high school (feels like ages ago), primarily for the reason that it is just $1.00! Moreover, the line is available in most drugstores and supermarkets so if you lose the pencil, run out of the liner or want more in other colors, you can get it in a flash and without having to spend more than what you're willing to. The soft kohl makes it so easy to apply and manipulate.



I've recently purchased Sephora's Tricks of the Trade Eyeshadow Transformer (right) for $10.00 at the Sephora website. Normally, I would just get myself separate bottles of different colored liquid eyeliner or buy several colors of eyeliner pencil. Realizing the necessity for my downsizing the amount of items in my makeup bag, I thought it would be really practical for me to just buy a product such as this so I can transform my many shades of eyeshadows into different hues of liquid eyeliner. I've used the product twice now, and so far I can say I am satisfied with its wearability and longevity into the day. It isn't heavy or cakey, but like most liquid liners, it stings my lids a bit upon application. The one thing I did foresee upon my first try of the product was that I should really rinse the sponge applicator thoroughly under running water after dipping it into the eyeshadow and applying it to my eyes. I know that the pigments of the eyeshadow would stick to applicator and stain the solution in the bottle when the applicator is resoaked. And another thing I thought about was if the concept would work just as well with an eyeliner brush and water dipped into the eyeshadow.

**** Anyhow, I have another bottle of the the Sephora Tricks of the Trade Eyeshadow Transformer, and I would really like to have someone try it out and run a commentary on their opinion of the product so everyone else can have another perspective. Would anyone like to give the eyeshadow transformer a go and be a guest-blogger? Just leave me a comment! ****

Do you have a makeup horror story too? What is your favorite line of makeup?

- Arlene H.J.

PS HEY GUYS! My awesome friend Christy is hosting a Cover Girl giveaway on her blog, bloggingextralite.com. Please check it out, follow her, and submit your entry now!

- Arlene H.J.