Nailing It! Avon in Luxe Lavender

I haven't been able to do a nice manicure in ages, because I want to have the time to sit down and do a proper nail session (otherwise my nails get lines and chips very quickly!) I saw this polish on my friend and I knew it was a perfect, although early, transition colour to ease into spring! Introducing Avon's Luxe Lavender from their Nailwear Pro collection!

What I love about this colour is that it appears drastically different under different kinds of lighting. In natural lighting, it appears to be a creamy, grey-tinged lavender, while in fluorescent lights, the polish turns blue or even slate grey. Here are two pictures to show you exactly what I mean! The second one I used a filter to show the true-to-bottle colour. I love the cornflower blue and cloudy sky nuances this colour has!

I received many compliments about this colour today, and considering I only painted them last night, I consider this polish a stellar, all-around winner! The formula and brush are amazingly easy to work with, and I prefer using one thick coat as opposed to layering thin coats with it. I will definitely be using this again the future!

Battle of the Gel Eyeliners: Avon SuperSHOCK vs. essence Gel Eyeliner

So with the hot weather on the rise (these are the dog days of summer, after all!) I've found that minimal makeup is DEFINITELY the way to go. If I really were to choose the most essential items to use to complete my makeup look, eyeliner would definitely rank high on that list! I've recently begun trying gel liners in lieu of my beloved pencils, simply because of their rich pigmentation, ease of use (as opposed to liquid liners) and promise to not fade or smudge.

In this post, I will show you a comparison between the two gel liners I have: Avon's SuperSHOCK gel liner in Blackened Metal versus essence's gel liner in London Baby. For some weird reason or another, I am not a fan of black liners, even though it's such a classic beauty must-have item! Instead, I use a lot of dark browns and taupes that are dark, but not as strong as a black liner would be. As you can see in the pot, it comes out a strong brown with a hint of taupe, which is just right for me!

essence gel liner in London Baby

As you can see, the packaging is definitely similar, with the tubs differing only slightly in shape and height. However, I have to note that the essence packaging is definitely lighter, as the glass bottom on the Avon liner is really dense and heavy. That being said, the most important part is really the formulation! To make a long story short, essence wins in all aspects, HANDS DOWN. I've read other reviews about it being a really creamy liner that's soft to the touch, and this makes it really easy to pick up product onto the brush, which is so true! It made application a dream, although you do have to wait 5-10 seconds afterwards for it to dry. If you open your eyelid before that, as with any gel or liquid liner, it will smudge your lovely lid makeup! With the Avon liner, I had to scratch into the product and I've created several ruts on the surface...it reminds me of a farmer's field, to be honest! Pigmentation on London Baby was also superior to that of Blackened Metal, and with both being advertised at a price of $3.99, I'd strongly recommend the essence gel liner!