Welcome to my first cosmetics review! I find that traditional beauty blogs just don't answer all the questions belly dancers have about our makeup, so I'm here to provide opinions by a dancer, for a dancer. As such, it seems appropriate that I start with GLITTER! Specifically, the
Sephora Collection Glitter Eyeliner and Mascara.
I was inspired to try this product after seeing Brandye in Skirt Full of Fire rock some glitter mascara. The brand she was wearing is only available at Wal-Mart (or at a significant mark-up on Amazon), so I decided to give Sephora's version a try. I like the fact that theirs doubles as a liner. I chose the Sunset Copper which is a nice brassy golden color.
You can see that this product has an unusual brush that is part mascara roller and part fine eyeliner brush. This means you have to be careful when applying it as a mascara, or you'll get streaks of liner on your face. I learned this the hard way! But both parts of the brush serve their intended purpose well.
Here's the obligatory beauty blogger hand swatch. Why do bloggers swatch everything on their hand? I'm not going to wear it on my hand, I'm going to wear it on my face. I feel like if a company is send you cosmetics for free, the least you can do is show me how it looks when worn as intended. Now, I spent my own $13 on this product, but I'm still going to show you how it looks on:
Too bad that the poor lighting in my bathroom means you can't actually TELL how it looks! If I'm going to be a beauty blogger, I need to buy some nicer lights. Sheesh. So let me give you my impression of how it wore... The liner is nice and bright! I applied it under some winged-out black for a nice POP, which compliments the gold shadow I'm wearing under my brow-bone. I also applied the gold mascara to my false lashes. It's a subtle effect. I feel like Brandye's Wal-Mart brand gave more glitter, but maybe she applied it heavier or chose a better color. I'm going to experiment some more. Either way, I don't think the mascara shows up well in pics. I wouldn't recommend it for photos or for a big stage. This is definitely one for when you're going to be close enough for the audience to really appreciate your lashes! Great for restaurants and parties where you're mingling with the crowd.
I wore this all night, and while I admittedly didn't get too sweaty because it was a COLD night, it held up well. I didn't get much glitter fall-out and the liner didn't run or smudge. Removal was pretty easy, but I found that it lingered on the false lashes. If you're going to apply it over falsies, either use a cheap pair that you don't mind throwing out, or plan to always wear this shade of glitter with them.
Over all, I'd say this is a good buy at $13 and could be a good staple for a dancer of any style. The pretty wide variety of colors means there's something for everyone (though I am of course highly disappointed by the lack of a true green). And let's face it, we're all always looking for new ways to add glitter to our faces.
