MAXFACTOR MASTERPIECE MAX MASCARA & HIGH PRECISION LIQUID EYELINER - REVIEW

I have always been known amongst friend and foes for my love for eye make up. Even in a normal day, you will not find me out without my thickly lined eyes and layers and layers of mascara. I could be in my Yoga pants but I would need my eye liner and mascara. for me, they are my Beauty Must Haves, even if I am stranded on a desert island.

Influenster sent me MaxFactor MasterPiece High Precision Liquid Eye Liner and MaxFactor Masterpiece Max Mascara to try out. It was a part of their Endless Summer VoxBox . If you want to read about the other contents of the box , then click Here . I got to work in no time. The best way to try out any new make up is to do a full face and see how they fare through out a day. Sweat, humidity, long hours, oils are all factors which make or break a make up .

REVIEW :
MAXFACTOR MASTERPIECE MAX MASCARA: 
The color that was sent to me was Velvet Black. Its a great shade of Black and I have a thing of pigmented black mascaras. The wand is pretty easy to use. I know some brands have mascara wands which take me quite some time to get a decent application. The black and gold packaging was pretty luxe for a drug store brand. Its priced at   $9.99 . Its available in both the normal and waterproof version. It claims to be a Volume Mascara. I have fairly large eye lashes, so for me it gave me an' Everyday Look,' with a couple of coats. Not Mega Volume.  It did not clump my lashes, and there was so smearing or transferring . Overall a fairly decent drug store mascara.

MAXFACTOR MASTERPIECE HIGH PRECISION LIQUID EYE LINER :
To be honest,  I am not a fan of liquid eye liners. I dont regularly use one. The last time I bought one , was probably a decade or so back. I am gel eye liner or a pencil eye liner person on a day to day basis. So I was a bit iffy about trying out this new product , I must say.

The Paddle shaped brush head was unique. I haven't seen a brush similar to it. It was like the tip of a felt pen for the uninitited . I know many brands have ey liners with such felt tips. This particular eye liner claims to make the Cat Eye simpler. You can draw a broader line along your lashline, by laying the tip of the pen flat, and then pulling along. You can do a thinner line or a flick of the Cat Eye, by using the narrower end of the pen. Some practice and you should be good. The color that was sent tome was again Velvet Black. Like the Mascara, the eyeliner was also pigmented. Nothing looks worse than a chalky black eyeliner.

WEEKEND EYES :
I used the new products along with a  few favorite oldies of mine, to create an easy Weekend Makeup. As the theme of the VoxBox was 'Endless Summer(#ESVoxBox)' so I played with Golds and Browns for the Eyes. For the cheeks I opted for a peachy orange blush to complement.This can be an easy Transition Makeup from Summer to Fall. 

Eyes :
Maxfactor Masterpiece Max Regular Mascara - Velvet Black
Maxfactor Masterpiece High Precision Liquid Eyeliner- Velvet Black
Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette (Original )
L'Oreal Paris Magic De-Crease Eyelid Primer
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz- Granite
Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel

Face :
MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation 123
Maybelline New York Fit Me Concealer - Sand
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural - Medium
Milani Baked Powder Blush - Luminoso
Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick - Kate Moss Collection 102
Rimmel Exaggerate Automatic Lip Liner Eastend Snob

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MAC BLACKTRACK FLUIDLINE : BEAUTY REVIEW

I have been a MAC Blacktrack loyalist for years now. I cant even imagine the  years before I knew what gel eyeliner was . It has become a part of my signature look and a Beauty item which is always in stock in my make up storage, if ever I run out of it . I had earlier done a detailed Post on 'How to apply Gel Eye Liner(Read about it Here),' I realized that I had not done a detailed Beauty Review of the product in question. Since I always get requested as to how my eye liner is always smudge proof and such long lasting, I thought, why not do the long delayed post. Recently a famous celebrity make up artist, who also has her own Youtube channel, misspelt this iconic product in her video. For those of you confused, its called BLACKTRACK and not Blacktrax !

To begin with, Blacktrack is the Black gel eye liner from the Fluidline range of MAC. I have owned and used Fluidline, in a few shades, but for me, Blacktrack is the biggest winner. If you have never used gel liners, then its a waxy eye liner,which needs to be used with a fine liner brush, or an angled brush. It comes in a glass pot with a plastic lid. Make sure that the lid is tightly closed when you are not using it, as it prevents the product from drying out. Blacktrack retails at $17 without taxes. Its worth every penny that you will spend on it.

MAC describes it as,"Solid Flat Black." Its a Matte black eye liner . Every stroke of a fine liner brush with this product, always yields an intense black line every time. Black liquid eyeliners can sometimes dry to a shiny finish, which looks pretty tacky. While every make up brand has its version of gel eyeliners, MAC Blacktrack is one of the smoothest and silkiest in the market. Its won numerous Beauty Awards over the years, and has been on the list of favorites of far too many people Its not patchy and does not flake off. There's a reason why its called Best of the Best Eye Liner .

Its Smudgeproof. I have used this eye liner and worked out in a gym. Been to a sea beach and spent the day frolicking in the waves. But this eye liner does not smudge. Its Long Wearing.When you are putting this eye liner on, its not runny like a liquid eye liner and dries fast. I remember hating putting on liquid eye liner only having it transfer to my eye lids, as it used to take so long to dry.

When you want to remove Blacktrack from your eyelids, I suggest you use a gentle eye make up remover on a cotton pad. Use gentle circular motions to remove the product. Then wash your face with your face wash of choice.

The Cons about this product, is that it has a tendency to dry out. Be very careful when you are using it , to prevent it from drying out.

If you feel you have some leftover Blacktack which is on the drier side, let me share a Beauty Hack. Remove the lid, and microwave it for 10 secs. Use a toothpick to mix in the product and close the lid again. Adjust the timings according to the capacity of your microwave.

If you want to learn How to Use MAC Blacktrack Fluidline , then read about it Here. The post includes details on which Brushes to use, how to apply and master the application process.

SHOP IT :

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MASTERING GEL LINER : STEP BY STEP GUIDE : BEAUTY

If you are like, then you are an eye-liner junkie. I can leave the house in PJs,but I will not leave the house without my eye liner and  mascara. Its a signature part of my look,and I can never do away with it. And my choice of Eye Liner, is clearly the GEL EYE LINERS. Liquid eyeliners are too harsh for me, and pencil eye liners often smudge. I need something which I can put on my eyes, and forget for the rest of the day. I know it might sound a bit intimidating to quite a few whenever they hear of Gel Liners.So many of my friends have told me so many times,as to how do I do my eyes so perfectly every time. Well, the answer is gel eye liner. Recently, I was having a similar conversation with my old school buddy Payel,who wanted details of my eye liner and how I use it. So I thought of penning down this post for her and so many others, who are yet to cross the bridge to Gel Liners. 

I was introduced to Gel Liners when they were first launched in India by MAC Cosmetics. At that time, Kolkata, my hometown, did not even have a MAC Counter or Pro-store of its own. We had to make a trip to Mumbai to pick up all that we loved. And since then MAC FLUIDLINE in BLACKTRACK became a staple of my Make up collection. 

FLUID LINE is MAC's range of Gel Liners and comes in a variety of colors. Currently I have them in BLACK TRACK(Black) and WAVELENGTH(Blue). They usually last for a long time for me, but if you are not careful when you use this product, it might dry out on you. So make sure that you have the lid tightly closed when you are not using the product. 

I have also used Gel Liners from other brands like BOBBI BROWN to WET'N'WILD, but nothing comes close to FLUID LINE. I have put FLUID LINE to a lot of tests over the years and every time, it has come out with flying colors. It has survived the humidity of Kolkattan(Indian) Summers and waves of the Caribbeans Sea(in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Virgin Islands). This color will not fade on you, or will not smudge on you, till you remove it with an eye make up remover. It dries to a matte color and doesn't have that disgusting shinny look which some liquid eye liners might have. 

STEP BY STEP GUIDE HOW TO USE GEL EYE LINER: 

First you need to pick up a Gel Eye Liner of your choice. Then you need to select the BRUSH of your choice.

There are three options when it comes to brushes:
 FINE LINER BRUSH
BENT FINE LINER BRUSH
ANGLED FINE LINER BRUSH 

If you are staring out, you might want to start with an angled brush. Once you feel comfortable of your strokes, then venture off to a fine liner brush. I personally prefer the MAC 266 Angled Liner Brush for starters as its just the right size. The Real  Techniques Angled Liner Brush, which you can see in my picture below, is slightly bigger and broader. The Fine Liner Brush from Real Techniques is pretty good and so is the BENT FINE LINER BRUSH from SONIA KASHUK. I have listed the links of all the products the end of the post, if you wanted to pick up any for yourself.

Dip the brush in the product and pick up product with it. Scrape off the excess on the sides of the container.

If you do not feel confident of drawing a straight line on your eye lids, then with your other hand, gently pull the eye lid towards the side. This will help you to draw a straight line following the curve of the eye. Start from the base of the lashes and then thicken as you go up.

Then open the eye  and adjust the line you have just drawn. It should be thinner on the inner corner and thicken as you go towards the outer corner to give it that almond like shape.

Here, I am holding forth the Fine Liner Brush and angled Brush from Real Techniques. Its one of the best drug store brush brands available.

If you are using the ANGLED LINER BRUSH, then pick up product in the same way and scrape off excess along the sides of the container.

Here is the trick.

While doing the upper eyes, make sure that higher part of the angle is at the inner corner and then use the brush to follow the shape of the eye.

For the lower eyes, or water line, just turn the brush around. Use the lower end of angle, of the brush, to the inner corner and use it to follow the shape of the eye.

For doing the LOWER EYES, with a FINE LINER BRUSH, begin at the outer corner and then go inwards.

Adjust the thickness on both eyes . Make sure there is no  gap between the eye liner you have drawn and the lash line. That bit of skin show is a almost a make up sacrilege. Spend that extra minute to see and inspect properly what you have drawn on both eyes and fill in any gaps.

If you want to do a CAT EYE FLICK then do not do the lower line or water line, but extend the upper line in the form of an imaginary line extending from the eyes to reach the eye brows. Make it as small or big as you feel comfortable.

So go ahead, pick up your gel liner and get practicing. Once you start getting comfortable with this product, you will never get back to any other form of eye liners.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS POST: 

  

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