Chocolate Cats: eyes

Looking for something to add that bit of drama to your eyes? Well Clinique's New Quickliner for Eyes Intense might just be the one for you. I'm well impressed with it and here's why.

The Quickliner for Eyes Intense is the ultimate tool to intensify and amplify your eyes all day or night long. Best part it is, it promises non-fading, long-wearing and provides a smooth, liquid liner like payoff that sets for 12hours. It's created to be so versatile that you can easily change your look with just one liner. I'm not making this up, I have photos below to prove it. Scroll down in a bit but read first okay. ;)

It is a double ended pencil. One end is the retractable pencil and the other one holds the smudger tip. I find this so convenient because I don't have to rummage around for a separate smudger. The texture is ultra soft creamy that it glides on smoothly without any tugging or pulling on the lid. It creates a nice even line and it takes a quick few seconds to set.

The colour I have is Intense Midnight, which is how a dark blue liner is suppose to look like. The colour is highly pigmented, appears vibrant and amplifies the eyes amazingly well. What really impressed me was its ability to withstand my very oily lids and stayed on for about 4 hours before I noticed slight smudging. This is the longest a pencil liner has lasted on my lids without an eye primer. I also tried it with a primer on and that lasted 10 hours only because I had to remove my makeup. I normally apply a primer anyway as oily lids just don't look attractive. The colour stays amazingly vibrant throughout.

3 ways to wear Quickliner for Eyes Intense, according to Clinique Global Color Artist, Jenna Menard:

1. Layer and smudge the eye liner under eye shadow to create a strong look.

2. Turn the eye liner into a bold shadow by smudging it over the lid and blending it using your finger tip. Re-apply the eye liner close to the lash line for added definition.

3. Wear the eye liner alone for a natural look by applying it close to the lash line with little to no smudging. Use a pointed or extra fine cotton bud tip to perfect the line.

Look 1

I attempted two out of three. I used the liner as I normally do, on it's own without eyeshadow with a coat of mascara for a natural look. I smudged the line to ensure it stays longer. I couldn't help but smudge the outer corner of the lower lash line as well. The colour looked beautiful. It just opened up my eyes.

Look 2

Then I tried using it as a shadow. Thing about this is you have about a few seconds to quickly smudge it, which is so easy to do, before it sets. I smudged it on the outer corner of my lids and then applied a natural shadow over it. Blend quickly and there you have it. I think it turned out pretty good. Instant sexy eyes. :)

Clinique's New Quickliner for Eyes Intense is availbale in six intense shades, Intense Black, Intense Plum, Intense Chocolate, Intense Charcoal, Intense Ivy and Intense Midnight. If there's one other colour I would love to try is the Intense Ivy. From swatches online, it looks gorgeous. Plus I always had a thing for green liners!

Image courtesy of Clinique Malaysia

As all Clinique products, it is Allergy Tested, 100% Fragrance Free, Water Resistant, Ophthamologits Tested, Suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lense wearers.

This launches in June and will be available at all Clinique counters nationwide at RM68.

*Note: Product courtesy of Clinique Malaysia.

A new addition to Lancome's selection of mascaras, the long awaited Hypnose Doll Eyes. Inspired by every young girl's dream to have separated, think, long, "nylon-shine" lashes, true doll lashes! It's innovative wand and all-new formula promise to make eyes look wide open up to 35% to achieve that "doll-lash look".

What really gives you that "doll-lash look" is the i-conical brush that took 7 years to perfect and is protected by a trio of patents. The brush tip is very different from the usual masacara brushes. Made from nylon with a conical brush tip enables it to capture every lash even the shortest corner-of-the-eyes ones. The idea is to sculpt and lengthen, creating a defined and perfectly separated lash fringe. It volumises without weighing down lashes, accompanied by uniform spinning and smooth, luxurious application, for a genuine “false doll-lash effect”.

The latest "Fiber Shine" formula is enriched with nylon powders to adorn lashes with a subtle sheen. It combines supple wax to build volume and hard wax to fix lash curvature. The "lash extension" effect comes from the "Ultrastretch" complex formulated around lengthening polymers. This mascara is smudge proof.

The review

Oh the brush! The 7 years Lancome spent on coming up with the conical brush shape hasn't gone to waste. It fits into my tiny eye space like a dream and I didn't even have to strain to widen my eyes. The bristles are short and dense making it so easy to coat each lash from root to tip. It captures the lashes at the corner with such ease. I finally found a mascara brush that can reach those lashes at the corner of my eyes! Yayy! The formula is smooth and glides onto the lashes without clumping. You might find that some product ends up at the tip but that can be easily swiped off at the rim of the tube.

Before I go on telling you guys what happens after I apply it, just to let you know I didn't curl my lashes nor did I use a mascara base before application. So here we go, with the first coat I noticed that my lashes looked visibly longer and fuller. My eyes instantly looked more open.

Naked Lashes

1 coat of Doll Eyes

Upon applying the second coat my lashes look even longer, fuller and the curl is more defined. I'm amazed at how big my eyes look. It really opens up my eyes. It's as if have falsies on. The best part is even after two coats my lashes don't feel stiff and heavy, they still feel natural and looks naturally long and thick. I also noticed a slight sheen.

2 coats of Doll Eyes

To complete the Dolly Look, I applied mascara to my bottom lashes (as photo above) which was also a breeze. When applying to the bottom lashes, hold the wand vertically and apply with the tip. That gives you that dolly 'V' look which looks so pretty.

The longest I had Doll Eyes Mascara on was for 10 hours. Apart from my eyes looking tired which I only have myself to blame, I did not experience any product fall out or smudging. It looked like it did when I applied it in the morning. Removing it is really easy. I use my usual eye makeup remover and it slides off almost instantly. However this depends on how many coats you put on. I experienced no lash fall out while removing.

Doll Eyes comes in an ever chic black tube designed with curves and adorned with roses which gives it that feminine touch. Lurv how Lancome paid attention to that tiny detail. The pleasant surprise was the scent when I opened the tube. It was a whiff of soft floral which I rather like. But if you are one you doesn't really fancy scented mascaras then you might have a bit of a problem with this one.

Overall I feel Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara delivered the "doll-lash" look on my lashes brilliantly well. Was never really one for falsies because I found it such a bother trying to put it on. Now I'm not even going to try. This one is a definite must have! ♥

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara retails at RM95 and is now available at Lancome counters.

Here's a teaser of what's coming up tomorrow, as though you can't already guess *sniggers*. My review of Lancome's Hypnose Doll Eyes. Not that you guys don't already know how it looks like on my lashes. *winks* It'll be a breakdown on what I think of it. Lurv a challenge when it comes to looking for a mascara that will open up my eyes and make my lashes look seriously lush. À demain!

I have been raving about Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara to no end since January and I have been wondering myself when will we be graced with its presence at Lancome counters here. Well it's finally here and to make it an even more exciting Lancome threw a Bloggers Party at Thimble Boutique over the weekend.

With Sandra (owner of Thimble), Traclyn, Jean, Me, Amanda (of Lancome)

I'm pretty sure you know what the Lancome Doll Eyes look is all about by now. If not let me fill you in, it's all about the "doll-lash" effect without the falsies. Instead, creating it with the touch of a mascara. Your eyes will appear so big all you need to do is bat your lashes to make heads turn. No really that's just my interpretation of it. The first name that came to mind when I saw the promo photos for Doll Eyes was Twiggy. Yeah the 60's fashion icon. Come on, those eyes are unforgettable.

The pairing with Thimble, brainchild of Sandra and Ching, was only natural as they are all about being girly, chic with an elegant sophistication. It's been opened for about 6 months and they already have a following. The idea of the party was for each blogger to create an individual Dolly Look with makeup created by the Lancome team headed by Lancome National Makeup Artist Zamri. After which we had to pick an outfit that went with it. I picked a beautiful gold sequin top ♥, can't seem to run away from shiny things lately, neutral coloured shorts and a leopard print headband to complete the look. Cameras ready, click away.

My Dolly Look

Inside Thimble Boutique

No girly party is complete without a sweet spread. There was homemade poppy seed muffin with cream cheese icing, scones and berry tart, by Sandra's and Ching's moms. How lucky are they to have moms who bake such delicious treats. I should have snuck some of the poppy seed muffins home with me, they were the star of the table filled with goodies.

I had loads of fun getting all dolled up and playing dress up with the girls! We sat around indulging in those yummy treats and catching up for quite a bit. I will also be posting more photos from this party as soon as I get my hands on them. I have more to share with you guys this week. So stay tuned. :)

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara is now available at Lancome counters for RM95. Get the latest updates on Lancome's facebook.

Thimble Boutique | facebook
20-2 Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru, 59100 KL.
Tel: 603 2202 0096
Website: http://thimbleboutique.com/

Lets see.. what can I say about this palette that hasn't already been said. Nothing much really. Lol. This palette has been lurved, raved about, not really fancied and everything in between. Regardless, I was over the moon when I got the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette courtesy of Junipers Journal. *screams*

I can't compare this to the Naked Palette because I don't own one. Which means you'll be getting a virgin Naked opinion with Naked 2. Doesn't that sound cheeky. :p

Naked 2 Palette features 12 pigment rich, taupe and grey beige neutral eyeshadows, including Five New shades. It consists of a stunning range of warm toned neutrals from pale and deep, to matte and sparkly. The shades apply like a dream, it's so smooth. Fall out depended on the shades, it's either minimal or non-existent and despite it being neutrals there are some beautiful bold shades. The tagline "Neutral Is Nothing But Boring" says it all. It also comes with a Lip Junkie Lipgloss and a dual-tipped Good Karma Shadow/Crease Brush. Overall I think the quality of Naked 2 in really good and definitely worth the price.

The Naked 2 Shades

L-R : Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite

Foxy - Cream bisque with matte finish. Requires some layering to get colour to show.
Half Baked - Golden-bronze with shimmering finish
Booty Call (New) - Shimmering cork
Chopper - Copper shimmer with silver microglitter. There was a tiny bit of colour fall out with this shade.
Tease (New) - Creamy pale brown with matte finish. The colour pay off was a tad disappointing. Picking up this shade was a tough one, it required a lot of layering to get the colour to show.
Snake Bite (New) - Dark bronze shimmer with metallic base

L-R: Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

Suspect - Pale golden beige with shimmering finish
Pistol (New) - Light gray-brown with shimmering finish
Verve - Oyster with shimmering finish
YDK - Cool bronze shimmer with metallic base. This shade was fine when I swatched it but experienced a tiny bit of drop out when I was applying it. Also noticed that it's easier to pick up this colour using my finger instead of a brush. Plus the colour shows better.
Busted (New) - Deep brown with shimmering finish
Blackout - Blackest black with matte finish

It comes in a no frills chic taupe tin casing which I like. It looks quite sturdy unless you decide to throw it around which is a big no no. For a size that carries twelve colours it's slim enough to slip it into your bag to carry around or travel with.

Lip Junkie Lipgloss is a sheer shimmery pinky neutral gloss. It's not sticky and applies smoothly with a light mint scent which I don't really mind. This shade of gloss can either be worn alone for a very natural look or layered on top of another colour.

Now lets talk about the double ended brush, the Shadow Brush is quite easy to work with though the Crease Brush was somewhat on the challenging side. There wasn't anything wrong with the brush, it was just on the big side for my tiny eyes. So I ended up using my own brush to blend with.