Time for another round of Quick Reviews, and this time it’s all about eyes: this time I’ve got an eye cream, an eyeshadow primer and a mascara for you. Here we go…
Juliette Armand Opsis Therapy Eye Brightening Gel*
I am not a huge fan of eye creams, mainly because I’ve never found one that does exactly what I want it to do, namely: provide just the right amount of hydration so that the under-eye area is plumped up and moisturised, thereby providing the perfect base for concealer. All previous eye creams have either been too rich and greasy, not moisturising enough, or simply didn’t agree with my skin and broke me out. Enter, Juliette Armand Opsis Therapy Eye Brightening Gel. The texture won me over straight away – it’s has a thicker, more balm-like consistency and it melts into the skin and feels incredibly soothing and comforting. It somehow makes me look more awake, and it smoothes out the under-eye area to create a flawless canvas for my make-up. This is the first eye cream I have used which also seems to completely stop concealer from settling into fine lines – if that doesn’t convince you then I don’t know what will!
Available to order from Poise Brands. Retails for R725.00.
Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer
This may be a big call to make, but I think this is the best eyeshadow primer I have ever used. I have long been loyal to the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion and NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, but this offering from Smashbox has blown me away. How so, you ask? Well, it’s all down to the formulation! It has a silicon feel to it which means it glides over the lids with ease and feels as light as a feather. Urban Decay, by comparison, is more of a paste so it’s not quite as easy to apply, and I also find that with Urban Decay, it sets your shadows so quickly that you have almost no time to blend. Smashbox allows an extra bit of playtime, but once it sets, it ain’t going nowhere. This gets a big thumbs up from me.
Available from selected Woolworths and Edgars Red Square Stores.
Woolworths WBeauty Double Ended Mascara*
I must confess I’ve never understood the appeal of the double-ended mascara, mainly because the whole procedure seems like a bit of a faff. First prime, then apply mascara – who has the time? Well, I may be forced to eat my words because I recently tried this mascara from Woolies and it’s actually pretty good. First, you apply the white primer onto your lashes to thicken them up a bit, and then you follow on with lashings of the mascara to lengthen them. I would say that in terms of lengthening, it does a fantastic job – if you’ve got short lashes and you want a mascara to boost the length, then this is a great option. As far a volumising goes though, this mascara falls a little bit flat for me. I like my mascara to give the illusion of a thick, full lashline and this mascara doesn’t do that – it separates, defines and lengthens the lashes, but it doesn’t make them look any thicker.
Available at selected Woolworth stores or online here. Retails for R160.00.
*PR samples