Brown Pencil Liner Comparison

Along with my interest in taupe eyeshadows and MLBB lipsticks, I seem to have a fairly healthy collection of brown pencil liners. I've never swatched them all side by side, probably for fear of spotting dupes. Thankfully there doesn't seem to be too much overlap but I'm sure I could probably get away with two or three, rather than five.

The pencils that I have are: MAC Teddy Eye Kohl, Rouge Bunny Rouge Lola Long-lasting Eye Pencil, BECCA Goa Automatic Eye Liner*, GOSH Truly Brown Velvet Touch Eyeliner and Ben Nye Espresso Eye Liner Pencil.

I have mixed feelings about the automatic pencil liners. The formulas are very long lasting, the RBR Lola swatch in particular lasted more than 24 hours on my arm, but it can be tricky to apply a thin line with this type of pencil. The BECCA liner comes with a little sharpener but the RBR does not.

Both the Ben Nye and MAC pencils do not set particular and it's easy to smudge them if you prefer a diffuse line. Although I like the dark colour of the Ben Nye Espresso, I do find it will migrate around the outer corners of my eye as the day wears on. I tend to favour waterproof formulas for this reason. The BECCA, RBR and GOSH pencils all set quite quickly once they are applied. There is a very (very) small window of time in which you can smudge the RBR and BECCA pencils, you have a little more time with the GOSH formula.

Truly Brown and Espresso are both dark browns with no shimmer. I would say that Espresso is the darkest and most cool toned of all my brown pencils. Goa is the lightest, it does have some bronze shimmer that isn't obvious in this swatch but you can see it in my previous review here.

Teddy and Lola are the most similar of all these pencils, both are rich chocolatey browns packed with bronze shimmer. In terms of colour, I think I prefer Lola but I find the MAC pencil a bit easier to apply. It's why I have wondered if I might get on better with Lola in the Eye Kohl formula but I'm pretty sure a girl can have too many brown pencils. I might invest if and when I finish one of the pencils I already have.

Do you have a favourite brown liner? Are you a fan of pencils or do you prefer gel liners for longevity?

* PR Sample

My Week in Makeup

I woke up this morning, rejoiced because I have a day off and then duly set my mind to what to write today. Unfortunately, my mind was a total blank. This isn't especially unusual for me as I'm not really a morning person and my mind has been similarly blank as I've been getting ready each day this week. Makeup wise, I've relied on tried and tested items that I know will make me look human and prevent me from frightening the already anxious students.

Foundation - I used Max Factor Second Skin foundation* this week. It offers a bit more coverage than my usual Rouge Bunny Rouge tinted moisturiser but it's still quite a light foundation.

Concealers - BECCA Compact Concealer* in praline on blemishes and redness. YSL Touche Eclat* on the undereye area.

Cheek Products - NARS Laguna bronzer, BECCA Turkish Rose, Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicata and Laura Mercier in Petal Pink. I used various combinations of these depending on how drained I looked. My favourite combination at the moment is Delicata all over the cheek area with a tiny sweep of the Laura Mercier on the apples.

Brown Liners - I've used both the GOSH Truly Brown and Ben Nye liner in Espresso this week. I prefer the GOSH, I have to admit, as it is easier to apply and lasts longer without smudging.

Eyeshadows - I'm sure you won't be surprised by this taupe fest! I used Solstice Halcyon, Gracious Arasari, the mid brown from Guerlain Les Bois de Rose and various colours from Les Fumes. I also used the highlighter from the Dior Smoky Nude palette on a couple of occasions.

Yesterday I went for a bit of a smoky eye layering the darker colours from Les Fumes over MAC Dirty Greasepaint stick at the lash line then blending out using the pinky tan shade. I was really pleased with the end result and it still felt work appropriate.

Shu Uemura H9 Seal Brown brow pencil and Too Faced Shadow Insurance are both daily staples.

Mascara - No.7 Lash Adapt mascara*. I rather like this for everyday but the formula is a little on the dry side so I think that there's a limit to the number of layers you can apply.

Lipsticks - I wore Rouge Bunny Rouge Murmurings and Ilia Arabian Knights interchangeably almost everyday. Arabian Knights stays at home and whilst Murmurings lives in my handbag. I wore my old favourite Rouge Bunny Rouge Irreverence with the smoky eye yesterday.

Hopefully next week I can get myself organised and pack a makeup bag that I can grab for the early morning starts. I'm hoping to fit Edward Bess Dusk and Olive Violeteare in there for some more work appropriate smoky eyes.

Do you have a selection of products that you know won't let you down? Are you quite adventurous with your makeup at work or do you favour neutrals day-to-day?

* Items labelled with an asterisk were received as PR samples.