Makeup on the Cheap; Test Drives

Okay, lady friends, as some of you know, I am searching for a cheaper alternative to my beloved MAC for a few high frequency use products (namely liner, brow pencil, and mascara). I asked my girlfriends via FB for their favorite cheapie brand suggestions, and then went to the store and made a few purchases. I then wore a different brow pencil and eyeliner on each eye and worked a busy 11hr cocktail serving shift to see which products wore best, and had the best longevity.

Last night's trial products were ELF cream liner ($3), Revlon ColorStay liquid liner ($7), the Maybelline brow pencil in dark brown ($3), and the Rimmel brow pencil in dark brown ($3).
Despite recommendations from some of my most respected makeup artist friends, I found that the ELF liner..well, frankly, kinda sucked, especially when compared to my daily go-to of Blacktrack gel liner from MAC. It wasn't as rich or opaque as I like, and it had a funny flow that made it harder to apply. Also, by the end of my shift, most of it was gone. Not so for the Revlon ColorStay-it went on easily, and stayed put with zero smudging all day. I daresay it outperformed MAC Bootblack, and is $10 cheaper. I will say, I will probably spring for Blacktrack from MAC for my gel liner until my dying day, but I'm definitely a liquid liner convert to the Revlon.

The winner of the brow pencil contest wasn't quite as cut and dry. They both went on well and easily, though they both had a slight tint of auburn-ness that was probably only really noticeable to my anal self......In terms of longevity, they both actually held up pretty well (as in I still had eyebrows at 3am), but the Maybelline appeared to have turned more reddish as the night wore on, so I'm giving this round to the Rimmel.

This little test isn't over yet. Today I am trying out Rimmel's black waterproof pencil (their version of Graphblack for you MACphiles), and the Wet n Wild brow pencil. I also plan on going by Ulta today to see what all the NYX hype is about. Stay tuned!!!!