Two Hits and a Miss

Since I'll be a student soon, I've been trying some drugstore brand make-up this summer in an effort to conserve funds. After the LashBlast success, I decided to give a few more CoverGirl products a shot.

I tried CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain Lip Color in Sassy Mauve, CoverGirl Exact EyeLights Mascara in Black Gold for Hazel Eyes, and CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Eyeshadow in Shimmering Onyx.

The black eyeshadow was by far the best thing I have bought in the last few months (high or low-end brand). It has excellent color payoff and I have used it wet and dry. Used wet, it is a great liner. Used dry, you can get a smudgy liner look or smoke it out for a more dramatic look. It's also great for crease color to create depth. It really opened up a lot of looks for me and for around three bucks, it's more than worth it. I was thinking of trying this first and then buying a Nars black eyeshadow, but I'm so happy this the CoverGirl shadow, that I'm going to put my money elsewhere. The only drawback, of course, is the packaging. It's plastic and reminds me of high school. But I'm willing to overlook that since the product works so well.

The second thing I tried was the Lash Exact Eyelights. I wanted a mascara with the rubber brush and I thought it looked intriguing. It goes on nicely and you can put on about 6 or 7 coats without clumping problems if you use the wiggle and blink application technique. As far as the color, it's pretty much black. There are a couple gold flecks, but nothing really noticeable. I haven't tried the formulas for other eye colors. I just chose the one for hazel eyes because I like gold in eye make-up. I didn't notice that it made my eyes pop more than regular mascara, but it did lengthen and volumize and looked like maybe I had put in a couple clumps of false eyelashes. It's very nice and I plan to use it until it dries out, but I think I will go back to LashBlast next time.

Lastly, I tried the CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain lip color. This stuff was a disappointment. I think part of the problem is that I'm not a lipstain girl. I like thick gloss or dark, opaque berry colors. So this was a bit tame for me. Color tastes aside, it felt weird going on - kind of like a Magic Marker and was very watery in consistency. The color didn't last long, was dry and if you put too much on, it starts to peel and ball up on your lips. I will stick with my MAC lipstick and MAC lipglass, thank you.

But if you want a cheap thrill - try the black eyeshadow! I promise if you apply it with a light hand, you won't look like all emo.