The Makeup Box

Quick Review of Eye Charm Lash and Lid Adhesive

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This is going to be a super-quick post for false eyelash wearers. You might have heard of this brand of very strong lash adhesive commonly bought from eBay, called Eye Charm.

• Brand: Marie Beauty
• Name: Eye Charm Adhesive
• Price: Varies from US$2 - 6.99 for a 7ml tube from eBay or Lightinthebox.com (If you can get it for under $7-8 including shipping, go for it)
• Appearance: Pale mint green tube with silver cap and black curvy heart stamped on the length.
• Doubles as: Double-lid glue

Note: There are tons of alternatives bearing the same name and very similar packaging but with a different logo. I have not tried any of the alternatives outside of the main brand, Marie Beauty, but I strongly suspect these are like the 88 and 120 palettes. One or two manufacturers make them, everybody else buys them and stamps on their own labels.

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Pros:

• Easy to apply a paint-on lash-glue, so you don’t need to fiddle with a squeeze tube. This means it is super-convenient if you need to touch up in the middle of the day, and you have much lower risk of wasting product by squeezing too much out.
• No drying time. You don’t need to wait and guess if your glue has dried enough. This is ready to stick on pretty much once it’s applied.
• Super strong. This seriously is stronger than DUO glue, and it will really hang on to your lash bands for a longer period of time than conventional glues.
• Cheap and widely available online.
• Works much better than the paint-on adhesive from Ardell.

(Look above using Eye Charm)

Cons:

• Weird chemical smell (it disappears once it dries, but some people might hate it)
• Might be too strong for some. It’s extremely hard to remove from your lid at the end of the day.

• Very long shipping times mostly. This is manufactured in China and sold mostly either from China or Hong Kong, so expect to wait 2-3 weeks or even longer sometimes.

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My Experience:

I don’t need to apply as much of this glue as I do regular DUO adhesive, which means your lash glue won’t look very obvious and thick. It also lasts for hours without the corners of lashes popping up.

It’s so strong that your lid can feel a little uncomfortable at times, and it is extremely hard to remove even with makeup remover, but the product itself has never caused any sensitive reaction, burning or itching.

If you have very oily lids or your lid glue tends not to work for long, this is a very good option to try as long as you can stand the smell at the start!

This holds paper lashes like nothing else. Paper lashes need to point diagonally upwards so that can be tricky with a glue that isn’t strong. This just makes the whole process so much quicker and easier.

[Requested] Simple Glamour: Smoky Brown Evening/Prom Eye (a la Bruno Mars “Just The Way You Are” Music Video)

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Perfect opportunity for me to combine 2 requests; one for a dark brown prom-makeup done using the 88 Matte Palette (the Warm palette has the same shades needed), and one for the smoky eye look worn by the gorgeous model in Bruno Mars’ Just The Way You Are video.

Dissecting the Look

The lighting in the video is extremely orange/yellow and the moving images aren’t crisp and clear (you can click on the images for a closer look at my screen grabs). From what I can tell, she is wearing:

• a matte chocolate brown smoky eye
• an eyeshadow shape that wings straight out, and emphasizes the outer halves of her socket line
• very defined and thick black liner but it’s not a very hard and precise line (i.e. does not look like liquid liner)
• full false lashes that are a “rounded” shape, longer in the center instead of at the outsides

It’s a very straightforward and flattering look as long as you can get the shadow shape correct, and it doesn’t matter if you have mono-lids, hooded eyes or double lids; blue, green brown, hazel or grey eyes. But in real life, it probably works better for an evening out clubbing or at the prom than to school.

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My Paperself Lash Collection (Tips for Care and Wear)

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I have 4 pairs of Paperself lashes in my collection, 1 of which I bought at retail price from Sephora (in Singapore) and 3 of which I bought from a discount beauty store quite recently.

1. Small Deer&Butterfly (above)
2. Peonies
3. Lace Garden
4. Birds

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Butterfly Fields: Fantasy-Green Eyeshadow Look (with Paperself Lashes)

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I got requests for brighter or more dramatic color, and something green, so here’s one that’s kinda all those rolled into one.

Paperself stockists: http://www.paperself.com/ps%20%20all.html

I whipped out my 88 Shimmer palette for this. (I always forget I love this baby. It’s not dusty and the colors are beautiful.) But like most shadows, it’s very important to wear a primer or some kind of base on your lid for the pigments to cling to, if you want to get the most intense effect.

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Jelly Ombre Lip and Big Doll Lashes (feat. Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited)

It’s said two-toned lips are in this season. But I’ve been doing them for so long I wouldn’t know the difference, honestly.

I don’t usually use glosses to do ombre lips, because there usually isn’t enough of a visual contrast. But when I saw a very dark shimmery wine shade in the Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited range, I immediately thought “stained jelly lips!”

@ohporscha: It actually stayed pretty defined using the Shu glosses, because of the gel like texture. In fact I had to use my finger to spread it out when I just applied it, as pressing my lips together didn’t smoosh the glosses together.

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The Lips

In the grand tradition of the great Uemura-san himself, I swopped things around and did my lips before my eyes. Uemura believed a lip color could be applied first and thereafter be the deciding factor for the eye and cheek makeup you choose.)

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Cheater’s stacked “double-liner” eye tutorial

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It looks really nice to stack 2 lines of liquid liner one on top of the other on the lid, but it’s not the easiest thing to do if you’re quite new at it, or if you don’t have a lot of time to fuss with your makeup. It’s also fun and bright, but not too dramatic (if you skip the falsies) to wear in the day because the color is just limited to the lash line.

Here’s how you can get the same effect without having to worry about a steady hand.

You will need just a shadow of your choice, and a gel liner of your choice. Make sure that the 2 colors aren’t too similar or you won’t get that pretty effect.

I chose a pastel turquoise blue from L’oreal Infallible range, and a deep cobalt blue matte cream liner from Laura Mercier (it’s similar to MAC’s Waveline, but with a little less violet in the undertone). I also have a pair of dramatic flared lashes from Sephora called Cabaret.

A few other things you need:

• lid primer and powder or skin-colored matte shadow
• water, eye drops, OR alcohol-free toner
• mascara

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