1P2L: Pencil Eyeliner with Glossier Colorslide + Glossier Play Mini-Reviews

Like most beauty bloggers, I assumed Glossier was about due for a "more full-on" makeup range, and I figured Glossier Play would be it. When they launched a range that prompted some excitement and a slew of criticisms, my initial feelings toward the four new cosmetics and two new tools were relatively mild. Yes, I was excited for the highlighters, but my reaction to highlighters is as instinctual and simple as my two-year-old niece's response to french fries. The lack of professional swatches on multiple skintones--something Glossier has been relatively good about for the past few years--leads me to believe that the launch was a little rushed.

All of this said, I received a slew of Instagram messages and emails when this line was announced, so clearly there's been some hype and interest surrounding the range. And frankly, a fun, colorful cache of products I could buy with the store credit you lovely people have earned me (thanks!) couldn't have at come at a better time. Between Kirby fighting a nasty bout of shingles and me being whacked with the depression hammer, the first half of March reminded me just how important fun and relaxation are.

Now, a lot of people have complained that this launch doesn't suit the "Glossier look." I can't entirely agree. For starters, there's a reason why they're launching these products under a sub-brand: they know it's not their usual no-makeup-makeup. But more importantly, this strikes me as "cool girl" party makeup, the kind of stuff naturally pretty people slap on their faces when they go out and want to try something a little different. None of it is designed for precise cut creases or stage-worthy Instaglam looks, and in my opinion, that's very Glossier.

There's also been a lot of debate about the design and environmental impact of these products. This delightful post from Auxiliary Beauty sums up most of my feelings about this. I'll add that I thought the 1970s-as-seen-by-Y2K-teenagers fonts and boxes were very cute. They hit me right in the "oh fuck that was middle school" nostalgia. However, like most people, I think wrapping each product in an extra piece of foil, then putting in to a box, is a wee bit excessive. It's also suspicious to me that Glossier claims they spent two years preparing this brand, yet they didn't think to use biodegradable glitter. Their consumer base is almost all Gen Z and Millenials, and we're groups that tend to worry about climate change and plastic consumption. To their credit, Glossier has listened to the criticisms; they will phase out the foil packets and plan on reformulating their products with biodegradable glitter.

Since I'm ranting, may I also point out that Glossier is STILL doing that "this is so unique and there's nothing like it" marketing, and it just doesn't work for them? Colorful pencil eyeliners and glitter gel have been around for decades, but they're releasing ad copy like this:

For the millionth time: there are more marketing tactics than the appeal to novelty. Customers like me are drawn to how easy and effortless Glossier's range is, and some are drawn to the "cool factor." But I'm not seeing a single, not-a-Glossier-rep person gushing over how "new" and "original" these products are. Play to your strengths, Glossier.

Enough complaining; let's get on to the swatches, looks, and reviews!

As mentioned, Glossier Play was launched with four new makeup products and two tools. The first makeup product is Colorslide, a range of colorful eyeliners. I got five shades: Adult Swim and Disaster Class for day-to-day wear, and Early Girl, Nectar, and Jumbo for experimentation and fun. All of these shades are matte, but there are metallic colors in the range, if that's more your gig. The Colorslide pencils are $15 each.

I've also sharpened them with the Blade sharpener. I get that a sharpener isn't something most people are going to lose their shit over, but this is a pretty nice one at an agreeable $4. It comes with a purple "cleaning stick" that you can twist in the sharpener to clean out the blade.

Next, we have those not-yet-biodegradable Glitter Gelees. I have three of the four shades: Glass Bonsai, Phantasm, and Firewalk. They're all technically suspended in a clear base and are, therefore, meant to be layered or used as sparkle rather than as full-on eyeshadows. But you can see that some of the shades contain a bit more of the fine shimmer, which makes the base seem less clear; this is most obvious with Firewalk. Phantasm, meanwhile, contains no fine shimmer and is all larger, more obvious holographic glitter shapes. Glass Bonsai is somewhere in the middle as far as opacity goes.

The product I was least excited for, shocker of shockers, was the Vinylic Lip. Yes, a liquid lip product in a click pen with a spongey applicator takes me right back to my first order from ELF, I'm not gonna lie. But I'm not a huge gloss person, and I find clicky pens a bit of a pain to use. It took me 41 clicks to get product out of Pony, and a whopping 71 clicks with Baby. I also find Glossier's color descriptions a little weird: Pony is less "taupe" to me and more mauve, and "Baby" reads more like a strawberry pink than a saturated, blue-based red.

By contrast, I was beyond hyped to see that they were releasing more full-on highlighters, because...highlighters. I purchased the two lightest Niteshine shades, the yellow-based Pale Pearl and the pink-based Platinum Rose.

Here are two looks I created with my Glossier Play products. (The only one not shown here is the Glitter Gelee in Glass Bonsai.) On the left, we have my attempt at something a little more full-on. I used the Jumbo and Disaster Class liners as bases, then added Glossier Lidstar in Cub to the center of my eye and topped it with two layers of Firewalk Glitter Gelee. I lined my lower lashline with Nectar. On the whole, I enjoy the eye look:

Interestingly, neither the Colorslide pencils nor the Glitter Gelee applied the way I expected. Glossier describes Colorslide as a "technogel eye pencil," implying it has a smooth gel formula. I actually found these pencils very waxy, and they tugged at my lids a little as I applied them. Disaster Class was especially difficult to use and applied patchy when I tried to use it as a base. Also, while I was able to get some intense color out of the Colorslide pencils, it took at least two layers to reach full saturation, sometimes three. And using these all over your eyelid when they're a waxy formula that catches? This can happen:

Yeah, that's frustrating.

In short, you can use these as eyeshadow bases, but it's a real pain in the ass, and some of the shades work better than others. These also take a little more effort to transfer to your waterline as compared to a true gel or khol-type pencil. If you're going to get these, go for the more pastel, interesting shades, like Nectar and Easy Girl, which are perfectly serviceable and can be tough to get in a decent formula. As a whole, though, I don't think these eyeliners are particularly special.

I had much better luck with the Glitter Gelees. Now, some people have complained these glitter gels made a huge mess on their face and left a ton of fallout all over their cheeks. In video reviews that stated this, I noticed that the person would apply the glitter to their eyelid, then immediately start blinking and moving their eyes all over the place. A product like this needs a minute to dry, so just be patient and keep your eye as still as you can right after application. I had absolutely zero glitter fallout or movement from all three Glitter Gelee shades after they'd dried, which sort of stunned me.

For the second, more natural look, I used Easy Girl and Adult Swim on my upper lashline to create a simple, slightly winged eyeliner, then lined my upper waterline with Adult Swim and tapped a bit of Phantasm Glitter Gelee at the corner of my eye. Phantasm is the glitter most people are excited about, and I can see why; it's just really fun and pretty.

For both looks, I used their Detailer to apply the glitter. A silicone applicator is definitely the best way to apply these, since it gives you more control and limits the mess, but you don't have to buy this one. Plenty of other brands make cheap silicone applicators.

Both the Colorslides and Glitter Gelees had great staying power; there was no fallout and minimal fading/smearing throughout the day. I use baby oil and cottons to remove them. The glitter is especially tenacious and should be kept out of your plumbing as much as possible, so you'll probably want to hold the oil-soaked cotton on your skin for a while to loosen it up.

For the more dramatic look, I wanted a super-shiny, very bold, definitely red lip, but I didn't get that with the Vinylic Lip in Baby. In fact, when I tried to layer it, I got only slightly more color, but I also noticed flakes on my lips that I didn't see before--see above. And it still never became "high shine" like Glossier promised. It's a thin, lightweight, decently comfortable formula with a faint strawberry smell. Nothing terrible, nothing to write home about. Frankly, I think Glossier should have produced colored versions of their regular gloss instead, since it is far shinier and more full-on than this formula.

I'll definitely get more use out of Pony, which I used for the softer look. One layer gave me that wearable, work-appropriate mauve shade that's perfect for work.

Last, but not least, we have the Niteshine Highlighter Concentrate. In terms of payoff and shine, I'd say these are like Glossier Haloscopes and Becca Shimmering Skin Perfectors had a baby: they're shinier and more obvious than the Haloscope, but they manage to do it without being sparkly a la the SSP. It's a nice product with a thin, liquid formula that can be built up. Just make sure you blend them out fast, because they dry within seconds. I'm wearing Platinum Rose on my cheekbones in the full-on look, Pale Pearl on my cheekbones and under my brows in the more natural look.

While I really enjoy these and will get good use out of them, I have two quibbles. First, the shade range is just plain dumb. Platinum Rose and Pale Pearl are almost identical on your skin, and the two darker shades look similarly close. If you're releasing glitter gel and colorful eyeliner, and if your ads are full of disco and rave-inspired shots, you should probably come out with some more interesting colors. A lavender, for instance, would've been an on-trend option. Second, these suffer from the same packaging problems as the Lidstars: the lids are small, smooth, and difficult to turn. Anybody with limited hand mobility is going to have a rough time opening these highlighters.

When it's all said and done, I don't think this launch is as terrible as some people are making it out to be, but I also don't think it's full of products you have to rush out and buy. True, I really love the Glitter Gelees, and I'll use the Niteshine Highlighters regularly. But one of each, tops, will probably be more than enough for most people. And while the Colorslide pencils and Vinylic lips aren't dreadful, they certainly aren't worth it when you have brands like Colourpop producing better stuff at a lower price. If Glossier wants to improve this range, I suggest that they:

• Fulfill their promise to use biodegradable glitter in the Glitter Gelee,
• Improve the shade ranges for several of the products, and
• Focus on creating what their fans have actually been asking for, like a cream bronzer or a tinted moisturizer/foundation with a bit more coverage. 

PS: I'll be taking a very short break from writing this blog to focus on work. I should be back by the end of March!

PPS: WHERE IS THAT GODDAMN CANDLE YOU PROMISED, GLOSSIER?!

Note: All of these products were purchased with Glossier store credit earned via an affiliate link. I have not been paid to test, photograph, or write about anything in this post. My reviews are always honest. Actually, Glossier is probably a bit sick of sending me so much free shit, given how poorly I've rated some of their releases. Sorry, guys.

Lipstick Diaries, Round Three: Besame Tango Red and Glossier Cake

I have enough red lipstick to coat my entire body a million times over, but damn if I didn't finally buy Besame Tango Red in a snap during Black Friday 2018. While this product's description and swatch photos I'd seen made me think this wouldn't be my most flattering red, I still wanted it. And I can now confirm that yeah, other Besame reds are much better suited to my coloring, but this is still a gorgeous shade. Tango Red seems very similar to Carmine in the tube, but on my lips, it reads more pink and less orange, and it has a more muted quality to it. It's a relatively unique shade among my slew of reds. I agree with Besame: this would be truly stunning on people with olive undertones or a deeper skintone.

Oh, and yes, I bought a new tube of Glossier Cake to test out the Generation G lipstick's freaking third formulation in the last five years. I've gotta say, I agree with most of the reviews that have come in: the new formula builds better, but is more drying and accentuates the lines in my lips like woah. Just look at how parched my mouth looks in this photo, and I'd JUST applied the lipstick fifteen minutes before! I like the shade and the sheerness, but the new formula isn't comfortable in the slightest and definitely isn't worth the money.

Best of 2018

The mere five products I selected for this post boosts my confidence for No Buy 2019: I'm less interested in purchasing slews of stuff and more interested in using what I love, and I've become a lot more particular about what I love. I didn't just enjoy these products in 2018; they became actual staples, items I use almost daily and repurchase without hesitation. Without further ado, here's the five best of 2018!

Skin Laundry Daily Moisturizer SPF35

I can't remember what, exactly, prompted me to buy this moisturizer. It promised more than SPF15 and great hydration while containing none of no-no ingredients, sure, but so has every other day cream that's absolutely wrecked my face. Whatever the reason, I'm beyond glad that I took the chance. As far as day creams go, this thick lotion is rich and hydrating without feeling heavy or looking greasy on my skin. It works wonderfully under makeup and never seems to break me out or irritate me. And it's proven its worth as a day-to-day sunscreen: the only time I burned during our Toronto vacation was when I forgot to apply this moisturizer in the morning. I'm actually at the end of this tube and am therefore rationing it until it's back in stock at Sephora, but when it does come back, I might get two tubes so I don't run out again. Thanks, Skin Laundry, for creating a day cream I love.

Glossier Lash Slick

"Another year, another Glossier favorite" seems to be a running theme on this blog, and 2018 was no different: I fell in love with Lash Slick mascara. I was a little surprised when they launched this product, actually, because it's not the barely-there lash tint I expected, but rather a fiber mascara that lengthens and separate. While the effect is nice, what really made me fall in love with this mascara is that it doesn't smudge or flake as horribly as almost every other mascara I've tried. I can swipe it on at 8:30am, work all day, and come home at 6:00pm with next to no black specks or racoon-y smears. As an added bonus, the stopper inside the tube works perfectly, getting off every extra bit of product so you can go straight from the tube to your lashes. Glossier has produced some questionable products, but Lash Slick is a definite winner.

Jordan Samuel Hydrate Serum

Objectively, most people shouldn't spend a lot for hyaluronic acid: it's a cheap ingredient that's easy to use in a range of formulations. Unfortunately, most of the cheap, readily available hyaluronic acid serums and essences seem to break me out or irritate my skin--I'm thinking there's a common carrier ingredient that my face doesn't like. I'm willing to shell out $29 a bottle for Jordan Samuel's serum because it gives my dry, dehydrated skin the help it needs without any irritation, and it never pills under my other skincare products. I'm about to start my third bottle, which, based on how frequently I use it, suggests that each ounce of serum would last about 3 months with daily use. My favorite way to apply this? I mist my skin with a little distilled water, pat 2-3 drops of serum in to my damp skin, then top with moisturizer. Magic.

Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar Skin Tint

While this jar packaging continues to be the bane of my existence, I've loved the tinted sunscreen inside. It's weightless, it looks like skin, and it's easy to slap on when I'm half awake and still glugging coffee. And despite containing SPF, this skin tint never turns white in flash photography, making it great for outdoor special events; I've worn it to several weddings, for instance.

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand

It wasn't so much the hype that made me buy this highlight as it was the absolutely stunning photos of glossy-cheeked YouTubers and Instagrammers. That mixture of dewy and high-shine can be tough to achieve, but the Beauty Light Wand makes it a breeze. It's fairly flexible as well: you can use the tiniest dot for a more natural glow, or you can layer it on thicker for cheeks that look outright wet in pictures. My only qualm? Last I checked, there was just one shade, a light champagne gold. Expanding the shade range would make this an absolute Holy Grail for me.

Honorable Mention: That Sequin Fabric

Remember when I always had a television or some other janky nonsense in the background of my pictures? That finally stopped when I got a yard of sequin fabric on sale and JoAnne Fabrics. I know it's not to everybody's taste, but I finally brought that fabric back with me to our new apartment, and I couldn't be happier. In my opinion, it helped my photographs look more professional and more consistent in 2018. I'm hoping for more of the same in 2019.

Lipstick Diaries, Round Three: Glossier Like and Fenty Freckle Fiesta

Glossier recently reformulated and repackaged their Generation G lipsticks. I want to be less wasteful, so I'm holding off on replacing the shades I already own, including Glossier Like. This color is, no joke, just about the exact same shade as my natural lips, perhaps a hair darker and more mauve. On the one hand, wearing it makes me feel a bit silly because there's so little impact, but on the other hand, it's easy to apply without a mirror and it makes me feel put together. This is my second and likely last tube of Like, just because I prefer other shades that actually change the color of my lips.

The quality of that second picture is far below my usual standard, I know, but I won't be retaking it because I've decided to purge Fenty Freckle Fiesta. As beautiful as the color is, it just doesn't flatter me much, and I never reach for it of my own volition. It doesn't help that the round bullets are not my favorite; I'm sloppy and find it difficult to get a smooth, straight lipline with them. At the end of the day, if I can't see myself eventually finishing a tube of lipstick, I shouldn't keep that tube around, no matter how pretty the color is.

Summer 2018 Favorites

It's been a summer full of changes. I've moved across the country, I've completed training for one job and jumped headfirst in to a second job, and I've cut in half the number of personal belongings I own. Despite the downsizing and the chaos, I've still tried a number of new things, and I've found a few more beauty products to love.

At the top of my list is Glossier Lash Slick. It doesn't give me the oodles of volume I usually prefer, but it's shockingly flake-free and non-smudging on even the longest days. I also love the stopper on the tube, as doofy as it sounds: I don't have to waste time wiping excess product off of the wand. Lash Slick has become my go-to mascara for humid summer days and 8+ hour work shifts.

Speaking of my lashes, I have to admit that I've recently replaced my Shu Uemura lash curlers with the Surratt curlers. The Surratt curlers are more readily available in the US, yes, but they also seem to be a bit better at catching all of my lashes. If you have deepset eyes like I do, give these curlers a shot.

Last, but most certainly not least, I replaced the Kat Von D Lock It Concealer with the Sephora Make No Mistake High Coverage Concealer. I'd already decided to stop purchasing Kat Von D products because of her many brushes with antisemitism, but her scoffing at people for pointing out her dangerous anti-vaccination position prompted me to toss what I still owned from her range. Swatching products against the KvD concealer in L3, I noticed that the Sephora concealer in 04 Ginger was spot on in terms of color and was half the price. Well...I actually like it even better than the Kat Von D concealer. A little of that Sephora concealer goes an extremely long way--I use a pin head side amount for the reddest blemish--and it blends out more easily.

And I know I mentioned it in the previous post, but I have to give another shout out to the beautiful card catalogue my fiance refurbished for me. I've wanted a card catalogue for over a decade, and this is more than I could have hoped for. It's now a permanent reminder of just how much he does for me, and I'll treasure it forever.

I don't have much in the way of music to talk about because...well, I've been busy with moving and starting new jobs. But even though my reading has slowed down lately, I've still found a few gems. At the top of my list is Madeline Miller's sophomore novel "Circe," which creates a compelling backstory for the mythological witch Circe. One of the things I really appreciated about this book was that it didn't shy away from showing just how nasty and selfish Greek gods were, even to their own children. By contrast, this version of Circe is often benevolent, sometimes self-centered, yet always understandable. Remember when Circe turned Odysseus's crew in to pigs, an act that seems needlessly malicious, in The Odyssey? Miller builds up Circe's motivation for that act. "Circe" may be one of the best books I've ever read, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Product List:

Glossier Lash Slick, $16

Surratt Relevee Lash Curlers, $30

Sephora Make No Mistake High Coverage Concealer, $14

Madeline Miller, "Circe," $13.50

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Hiatus for the New Glossier Cloud Paint Shades

I no sooner go on hiatus than Glossier does something I've wanted them to do for the past year: they release more dark skin friendly shades of their *Cloud Paints. There's still no true red, but there is finally a warm shade for deeper skintones, a bright coral named Dawn. The other new shade is a slightly muted, rich plum named Storm.

One of the best things about these blushes is that they mix together so well, giving you extra shade options. I often add a dab of Dusk to Beam or Puff for a more natural, less pastel shade. Here are a few other color mixes I tested; I'm especially fond of how Storm and Puff make a sort of lavender color:

As per usual, these new Cloud Paints were purchased using store credit earned via affiliate link clicks. A special thank you to everyone who uses the affiliate links I post. You help this blog thrive!

* NOTE: This is an affiliate link. It is not mine; it is for the YouTuber Jacquelyn Lovene. I have more than enough store credit, so I'm passing on the love. If you don't want to use an affiliate link, just head to Glossier.com. 

I purchased these two tubes of Cloud Paint using store credit earned via affiliate link purchases. I am not a Glossier Rep and my reviews are always honest.

REVIEW: Glossier Lash Slick

Like many people, I've been waiting for Glossier to release the barely-there mascara of my dreams. Given that they registered a trademark for Lash Slick quite a while ago, I expected it to release much sooner. The company insists that it took so long because they went through 248 formulations before settling on this fiber mascara version; that might be true, but holding off was also savvy marketing that ensured consumers would be ecstatic when a mascara inevitably dropped. Now Glossier can post advertisements rhapsodizing that your eye makeup is "finally complete."

Lash Slick is described as "the perfect everyday mascara." It promises to curl, lengthen, and define your lashes with a smudge-proof, flake-free fiber formula that's water-resistant, all for the reasonable price of $16 a tube. Founder Emily Weiss said that she basically wanted to remake the Kevyn Aucoin tubing mascara without "the tubes" (girl, what?), but really, this reminds me of Japanese mascaras like Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl. Fibers are designed to cling to the tips of your lashes and provide the fluttery, feathery, lengthened look so favored in Japan; the intent seems to be the same with Lash Slick, which will supposedly give you a "lash extension effect."

To give you that effect, Glossier chose a rubber wand with stubby bristles that comb through the lashes and deposit the tiniest amount of product at a time. Frankly, I hate most rubber bristle wands because they tend to be so pokey and never give me the effect I want. This one doesn't bother me, though, in large part because the bristles aren't sharp at all. Also, they put a damn good stopper in the tube; it pulls off every bit of excess product barring the teeniest dab on the tip. I hate having to spend 30 seconds wiping my wand off on the lip of the tube, so I appreciate a good stopper.

My mom also likes being able to go straight from the tube to her lashes, but beyond that, we have rather different preferences for our lashes. My mom has very short and straight lashes that are decently thick. Because she likes a quick, barely-there makeup look, she usually goes for a defining mascara in a brown-black shade that's easy to remove. My lashes are the complete opposite: long and curly yet fine. Hence, I tend to go for a rich, creamy formula that will plump them up and provide tons of volume. I like an easy-to-remove mascara, but I'm more concerned with flaking and smudging, which is something almost every mascara does on me. That's a lot to take in, I know, so here's a handy dandy Me vs. Mom chart:

Why do I mention my mom? Well, friends, she also wanted a tube of Glossier Lash Slick. And since I love overly detailed reviews almost as much as my mother, I had to get her some and ask her to test it, too.

The above photos show my lashes before and after two layers of Glossier Lash Slick; I apply by wiggling the wand at the roots of my lashes, then working my way up. The formula is very thin, but it's not watery or messy, so I don't make quite as much of a mess on my lids during application. As you can see, Lash Slick definitely makes a difference, providing a bit of length and a rich black color. I don't think you get actual volume from this mascara, per se, but if you press the wand in to the roots like I did, it does give the illusion of slightly thicker lashes.

This seemed to hold my curl just fine as well, but to be fair, my lashes hold their curl most of the time. (Is that because the hair on my head is curly? Can anyone with a better grasp on genetics weigh in there?)

To further test Lash Slick, I did something I normally avoid: I put mascara on my lower lashes. Guys, I have very dark undereyes--see the above concealer-free photo for proof. And everything freaking smears on me! The last thing I want to do is draw attention to the area or make it darker. But I know most people don't have those hang ups, so I gave it a shot, and it actually looks pretty damn good. I'm too lazy to do it on the regular, but if I want a bottom lash mascara, I'll reach for Lash Slick now.

 Holy macro fine lines, Batman!

My initial application looked a bit more "made up" and obvious than what I've come to expect from Glossier products. So the next time I applied it, I did just one coat. As you can see in the photo above, this will give you more of a "tinted lash" sort of effect. You get slightly less length and "oomph" in exchange for a more defined, natural look. Overall, two coats works well, but I think I prefer this one coat look.

Now, my eyes are deep set, and macro shots make the clear tips of my naked lashes more visible than they really are. Photos shot from beneath my eye do a slightly better job of demonstrating the effect, as you can see how close my lashes are to my brows. So here's one of those:

Broadly speaking, I'm not getting my usual look here: there's some length and decent definition, but very little volume. That said, it's a look I like, especially for light makeup days, and I appreciate that I can slap this mascara on in less than a minute.

My mom also did one coat of this mascara, but unlike me, she avoids wiggling the wand in to the roots of her lashes and instead just swipes the brush up as quickly as she can. She still got darker, more defined, slightly lengthened lashes, they just don't look any thicker. Again, this isn't really a volumizing mascara, so I'm not shocked.

While my mom liked that Lash Slick wasn't clumpy or goopy, she was sad to see that they didn't release a dark brown shade. That's probably my biggest critique of Lash Slick as well; I never wear brown mascara, but a lot of my blonde friends prefer it over stark black. She also told me that while it didn't make her lashes droop, it didn't make her curl last longer than it normally does. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you want a mascara that will hold your curl, you'll probably want something waterproof, and/or you should check out the Japanese mascara market.

Both my mother and I were impressed by the wear of this mascara. Everything seems to flake and smudge on my watery eyes, and technically speaking, Glossier Lash Slick wasn't all that different. Around the 8 hour mark, I noticed some flakes. In comparison to the usual giant black dots I get, however, these were minute, barely-there flakes and the occasional stray fiber; I boxed them in in the above photo so you could see them better, and you'll still probably have to enlarge the picture. These flakes were easy to remove with a swipe of a brush or a finger. I got even less flaking when I stuck to one coat. I've yet to experience any smudging, and that's pretty impressive given how humid it is in Pennsylvania right now.

So did I get zero flaking or smudging? No. But I'd say this is about as little as I'll ever see with lashes and eyes like mine.

Last, but most certainly not least, there's the removal. Because I deal with black specks on my cheeks and gray smears around my eyes so much, I usually favor waterproof formulas, since their waxier base tends to give them a longer wear time. As a result, I often have to soak my eyes with a bit of oil to remove all of my mascara, which has never really bothered me. I find my skincare routine relaxing. My mom, by contrast, considers skincare a tedious but necessary part of good grooming akin to putting on deodorant. The faster she can get her makeup off at the end of the night, the more she likes it.

Glossier promises that you can remove Lash Slick with warm water, and that held true for us. I tested both a Makeup Eraser and micellar water on this, and they removed the mascara entirely with minimal tugging. My mother just used her usual Cerave face wash with some warm water, spending all of five seconds rubbing at her moistened lashes, and again, it came off easily.

My verdict: Lash Slick was worth the wait. It's a solid mascara that does what it says on the tube: lengthens, defines, doesn't make a mess, and comes off easily. If that's the look you're going for, then Lash Slick could be the mascara for you.

RATING: 5 out of 5

Glossier products are available at their website. If you would like to support small beauty bloggers, consider using their Glossier affiliate link for your first purchase; the affiliate link I used here is from Auxiliary Beauty.

I purchased these two tubes of Glossier Lash Slick using store credit earned via affiliate link purchases. I am not a Glossier Rep and my reviews are always honest.

REVIEW: Glossier Lidstar

I'm weirdly irritated by people who try to do a "full glam" look with makeup that's meant to be sheer and natural, and then they complain about it being sheer and natural. This seems to happen a lot with Glossier: they complain that the Perfecting Skin Tint "has no coverage" (it's not supposed to have any), or that Haloscope "just looks wet" (that's the point). While I'll rag on Glossier for a lot of things, particularly their marketing, I'm not going to complain about them making barely-there products. "Barely There" could actually be the brand's name. The just-released Glossier Lidstars are no different. They aren't advertised as high impact colors; the tagline for the product is actually "less shadow, more glow," and three of the six shades are described as "sheer."

That said, there's a difference between "sheer" and "invisible," and I know that's a legitimate fear some people have regarding these eyeshadows. And while I may not complain about their overarching aesthetic, I will rant about another factor in this review. So, you know...fair warning.

Glossier Lidstars currently cost $18 each or $30 for any two shades. At 0.15oz per tube, they're the same size as most other liquid eyeshadows; you can compare them to the Stila Glitter and Glow Liquid Eyeshadows or the Make Up For Ever Star Lit Liquids. It's a plastic "test tube" sort of packaging with a doe foot applicator. Some people find it cute. I think it looks like a cheap tube of lip gloss from the 1990s, but hey, I'm turning 30 next month. Maybe I'm just an old fuddy duddy.

The real problem with this packaging isn't the appearance, though, it's the function. I'm not ashamed to say I was truly excited about these shadows when they launched, so imagine my frustration when I ripped open my pink bubble mailer and discovered that two of the six shades took a ton of effort to open. Slip took me a minute of twisting with a towel to finally open up, whereas Herb was stuck so tight, I had to enlist my mother to twist the tube one way while I twisted the cap in the opposite direction. After five minutes of wrenching, it eventually opened, but if you were somebody with reduced hand function, this would be a complete nightmare. When I complained about this on Instagram, multiple people messaged me and said they had the exact same issue, and one lovely follower pointed out that makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes (often featured by Glossier) had difficulty opening the tubes on an Instagram Live video. This is not an isolated issue.

On top of that, the lids for these tubes are really quite tiny. I have a tough time fitting my thumb, pointer, and middle fingers on the applicator, and I have relatively small hands. It hasn't been too much of an issue for me because I have full function in my hands and can grip the lid firmly, but it's definitely a bit awkward, and again, people who can't grip as well or as hard will likely find controlling the Lidstar applicator difficult. I think the fix for this is easy: make the lid longer, update the tube or the lid so that it's rubberized or textured, and/or update the packaging so that there's an edge to grip. Oh, and don't screw the damn things on so tight in the factory.

Natural light on top, ring light on the bottom.

Let's move on to the shades and performance of the actual liquid eyeshadow locked away in those obnoxious tubes. First, there are three very sheer shades: Moon, a champagne, Lily, a lilac, and Slip, an oyster pink. Then there are three more pigmented colors: Herb, a golden olive, Fawn, a taupe, and Cub, a rose gold. They all have a refined shimmer to them that thankfully doesn't flake off throughout the day.

Tin foil hat time: I find it very suspicious that, at the time of this review, Glossier's demo photos of the three sheerer shades don't feature anybody with dark skin. They have a video of Mekdes applying every color, but nobody darker than her seems to be featured. Will they actually show up on anybody who isn't as white as I am? I'm not sure. Darker skinned readers, please report back!

Glossier describes their Lidstar as "a wash of soft, glistening color that lasts all day...no need for primer." Now, "soft and glistening" is right up Glossier's natural glowing alley, but "lasts all day without primer" made me tilt my head. Their products are generally known for being easy to apply and barely perceptible on the skin, but not having the best staying power, especially if you have oily skin. I usually wear primer under all of my eyeshadows to prevent creasing, but I was so intrigued (and so lazy) on one particular work day that I decided to skip the primer. They also said that the formula is extremely blendable, even with fingers, so I paid close attention to that as well.

Here are macro shots of every shade except for Herb--feel free to zoom on. On the left, we have two layers of Slip (one layer is almost imperceptible), worn to work with no primer. Shockingly, I found that it did, in fact, stay creaseless for most of the day. There was one big crease in the middle of my eyelid after 12 hours, but you had to be decently close to see it, and the shadow hadn't broken up or smeared otherwise. These definitely stick, so you'll need a strong makeup remover to get them off.

The other two shots show Lily and Fawn, then Cub and Moon, over primer. I do prefer to wear them this way since it takes the creasing from 5% to 0%. Take a look at that middle shot, though, for a very obvious problem: Fawn applies patchy. When I put it on the outer half of my lid and tried to blend it in to Lily, it basically pulled away the shadow that was already there. I had to keep fiddling with it to get it to be visible, let alone decent. I had a similar problem with Herb: it applied very patchy and didn't blend well with other shades.

A post shared by Renee (@reneesanatomy) on Mar 11, 2018 at 10:30am PDT

Here's the full FOTD with Moon and Cub.

By contrast, the sheer shades applied smooth and even, even if I added another layer for more impact. Cub ended up being somewhere in the middle. One layer was very "meh" and slightly patchy, but two layers was smooth and beautiful.

I also tested blending these with a brush. Fingers definitely work best because they set so fast, especially on that first layer, but you can certainly use a fluffy brush to smooth out edges or spread the product evenly. Just be sure to use the lightest touch possible--too much pressure will pull the shadow up and leave you with bald spots.

 I'd love to round my Lidstar score up from a 3.5 to a 4. While Herb and Fawn are letdowns, the other shades are really lovely, and the claims that they will look soft and stay on are totally true. But I'm sticking with a 3 because of that packaging. Ignoring my personal dislike of the actual look of the tubes, they just aren't as functional as they could be. Glossier listened to their customers before when there were complaints about the Generation G tubes; hopefully, they'll listen here, too.

RATING: 3 out of 5

Glossier products are available at their website. Affiliate link: Glossier.

 These products were purchased from Glossier.com using store credit earned through referrals.

Glossier Cotton Rounds vs. Shiseido Facial Cotton

Glossier's new chemical exfoliant earned an immediate "meh" from me, mostly because they won't release the exact percentage of acids in the product. My very dry, dehydrated, reactive skin will respond one way to < 5% acid (yay!) and another way to close-to-10% acid (proceed with caution), and I know I'm not the only one. To be frank, I think hiding the percentage of active ingredients in your product because "it's a secret formula, teehee!" is just an irresponsible marketing ploy. That goes for just about every skincare company and product out there, including the cult classic Biologique Recherche P50: I'm not buying that shit until I know exactly what's going on my face.

But Glossier also released cotton rounds to go with the solution, and you guys...I'm a sucker for cotton. I've been using that stuff to remove my makeup for years now, and my favorites have long been the soft, durable Shiseido Facial Cottons. Since I'm flush with store credit (thanks for the clicks on my affiliate link, by the way!), I decided to test them out.

Let's talk price first. Shiseido Facial Cotton comes in two sizes: a 40 count travel size for $5 and a 165 standard size for $10. (The price has ticked up about $0.50 since I first started using them.) The Glossier Cotton Rounds come in one 60 count size for $4. Mathematically, that means:

You get 8 cottons per $1 in the travel size Shiseido bag.

You get 16.5 cottons per $1 in the standard size Shiseido bag.

You get 15 cottons per $1 in the Glossier bag.

This makes the Glossier cottons cheaper-per-piece than the travel size Shiseido cotton, but slightly more expensive than the full size Shiseido bag.

The Shiseido cottons come packaged in a thin, translucent sheet of plastic. I usually rip mine open and just pull out cottons as is necessary; they're stacked very tightly and therefore don't fall over or make a mess. The Glossier cottons are packaged in a clear plastic bag, sort of like a stack of Pringles, and are shipped in a silver-and-pink zipper bag. The extra packaging for the Glossier product is a bit wasteful to me, but since they're made in China, I'm assuming they're a private label product and therefore arrive at Glossier headquarters in bulk, blandly packaged. The brand has to fancy it up somehow.

(Images desaturated to better show textures and shapes. And because black and white pictures are cool.)

Pricing and packaging are important, but for me, the mark of a truly great cotton is its texture and durability. The Shiseido cottons have a famously plush, silken texture. They glide across the skin smoothly without pulling or irritating, and they never leave white fuzzies on your face.

The Glossier cottons aren't quite as soft. If I had to compare them to anything, it would be the top of a mattress, both in their texture and their appearance. This doesn't mean they're rough--they're actually decently soft--but they certainly aren't as luxurious feeling as the Shiseido cottons. You also have to be a bit careful of the dotted line around the edge, which I barely notice on most of my face, but can feel a bit pokey if you get it in your eye.

I will give the Glossier cotton rounds the higher score for durability, though. While the Shiseido cottons have never completely torn apart on me, they do start to "fray" a bit after removing an entire face of makeup. By contrast, the Glossier cotton rounds stay together with no fraying or fuzzies. The above cotton round was used to remove this face of makeup (I switched the lipstick to Besame Red Velvet for testing purposes). These are tough little buggers, no doubt.

With that in mind, I'd say that the Shiseido Facial Cottons are still the best choice for makeup removal and serum/toner application. The Glossier Cotton Rounds are also fine for makeup removal, but will work even better for jobs that usually need a little more elbow grease, like taking off your nail polish. In the end, Shiseido remains queen of my cupboard, but Glossier is a fine companion.

GLOSSIER COTTON ROUNDS RATING: 4 out of 5

Glossier products are available at their website. Affiliate link: Glossier.

 These products were purchased from Glossier.com using store credit earned through referrals.

REVIEW: Glossier Wowder + All Shades Swatched

So Glossier tried some sneakier marketing, and I don't know if it worked out the way they expected. Between the name of the product (which has been trademarked for the past year) and the brand's usual font on their "teaser" website, the internet immediately sussed out that "Wowder" was a Glossier product. But while the tactic may not have worked the way the brand expected, it did kick up a lot of interest. The day this product launched, for example, I noticed half a dozen posts on various forums asking if anybody was buying Wowder or had tested it. And on that day, after I'd woken up and settled in with my coffee, I did indeed buy it.

I bought all three shades using my store credit.

And the brush.

And I had them shipped to me via next day air.

I was intrigued by this product and very eager to try it, despite the fact that there's only ever been one powder I've loved on my like-the-deserts-miss-the-rain skin.

Hey, I admit to being a bitch about marketing ploys, but I've never claimed that I'm totally immune to them.

Since I've mentioned the brush twice and I'm not a brush expert by any means, let's just get it out of the way. It wasn't specially designed for Wowder; it was made in China and is a basic, dense powder brush with a "G" on the end, so it's likely a private label product the company liked. The bristles are synthetic and they're very soft. For comparison, I'd say that this brush is similar in shape to the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, but it's a little less dense, and it's not as fluffy or huge as most powder brushes. Basically, it's a perfectly decent brush that's worth it if you don't have a lot of brushes and you're purchasing the Wowder duo. However, if you have a powder brush you like? You probably don't need it.

Let's move on to the powder itself. Wowder is a loose powder that Glossier claims will give you "that glowy, real-skin finish, just without all the drawbacks of other powders." In other words, it'll be mattifying without being cakey or flat, smoothing without looking white in flash photos, and workable on both bare skin and over foundation. It's $22 for 0.25 ounces of product (or $35 for the powder and the brush) housed in a plastic container with a "trampoline mesh" insert and a screwtop lid.

Some people have complained about Wowder's packaging, saying it's not as "clean" or "elegant" as their other products. The jar may look like Benefit's cash poor, hipster cousin, but I don't think it's completely off-brand. Besides, the fact that Glossier sends you stickers to slap all over their products and never seems to use a model over the age of 30 suggests that they aren't striving for that grown up, sleek-and-chic image like NARS or Lancome.

That quarter of an ounce size has raised some eyebrows as well, and justifiably so--it's kind of tiny. When I compared the cost per ounce of Wowder to a slew of other loose powders, however, I noticed that it was middle of the road. Here they are, ranked from most expensive to cheapest:

Kevyn Aucoin Gossamer Loose Setting Powder, $72 for 0.11oz = $654.55/ounce
Makeup Forever Ultra HD Microfinishing Loose Powder, $36 for 0.29oz = $124.14/ounce
RMS Beauty Tinted Un-Powder, $34 for 0.32oz = $106.25/ounce
NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder, $37 for 0.35oz = $105.71/ounce
Besame Brightening Setting Face Powder, $22 for 0.21oz = $104.76/ounce
Koh Gen Do Natural Lighting Powder, $42 for 0.42oz = $100/ounce
CoverFX Perfecting Setting Powder, $35 for 0.35oz = $100/ounce
Glossier Wowder, $22 for 0.25oz = $88/ounce
Armani Micro-Fil Loose Powder, $45 for 0.53oz = $84.91/ounce
Bare Minerals Mineral Veil, $23 for 0.3oz = $76.67/ounce
Kat Von D Lock-It Setting Powder, $30 for 0.67oz = $44.78/ounce
Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder, $38/ounce
Cinema Secrets Ultralucent Setting Powder, $22 for 0.67oz = $32.84/ounce
MAC Studio Finish Face Powder, $28 for 1.4oz = $20/ounce
L'Oreal Hydra Perfecte Powder, $8.97 for 0.5oz = $17.94/ounce
CoverGirl Translucent Professional Loose Powder, $5.85 for 0.7oz = $8.34/ounce
Coty Airspun Translucent Powder, $5.90 for 2.3oz = $2.60/ounce
Obviously, Coty Airspun is cheap as fuck, Laura Mercier Translucent is a better deal than people give it credit for, and Kevyn Aucoin Gossamer will rob you of your next iPhone. Taken as a whole, though, I don't think the price for Wowder is awful. A bit higher than it probably should be? Yes. Exorbitant and completely out of touch with average makeup costs? Eh, not really.

I'll also point out that the trampoline mesh does, in all fairness, keep you from losing too much powder every time you open the jar or swirl your brush. The one exception is when you open a brand new jar and peel off the sanitary sticker; two of my three Wowder jars blew out little spurts of powder as I peeled back that sticker. But overall, you shouldn't have too much powder waste.

Wowder was produced in three shades, and you're meant to select whatever color corresponds to your Perfecting Skin Tint or Stretch Concealer shade: Light/Medium, Dark/Deep, and Rich. Again, I purchased all three colors and used Light/Medium on my own fair skin. The other two shades were swatched up against some medium-to-deep foundation and concealer samples I've collected.

 For swatching purposes, I applied the tiniest bit of Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream to my arm to get the powder to stick and marked the swatch with some Milani Liquid Eyes eyeliner. As far as I can see, this did not impact the color accuracy of the swatches. I'm very fair, so please don't judge the depth of Dark/Deep and Rich by how dark they look on my arm; use the other shades as markers instead. In all of these swatches, the natural light photo is on top and the flash photo is on the bottom.

Light/Medium

From left to right: NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia; Milk Makeup Sunshine Skin Tint in Sand; Colourpop No Filter Concealer in Fair 5; Glossier Wowder in Light/Medium; Koh Gen Do Moisture Foundation in 001; Deciem The Ordinary Coverage Foundation in 1.0N; Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Light Warm.

Dark/Deep

From left to right: Milk Makeup Sunshine Skin Tint in Medium; YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat in Cool Bisque; Glossier Wowder in Dark/Deep; Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Medium Light; Koh Gen Do Moisture Foundation in 002 and 301.

Rich

From left to right: Milk Makeup Sunshine Skin Tint in Deep; Colourpop No Filter Concealer in Rich 75; Glossier Wowder in Rich; Koh Gen Do Moisture Foundation in 302 and 303; Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Dark Golden.

This is a fairly inclusive shade range. I do wish Rich was a hair deeper, but Jackie Aina (linked above) was able to use it as a sort of natural contour powder on her skin, so perhaps I'm being overly picky. I will say that all of the shades read very neutral to me, though the product is (as I will show in a moment) so sheer that I don't think it'll matter much.

Now the ingredients! Glossier has done their usual "IT'S REVOLUTIONARY!" marketing ploy by claiming that Wowder is "not a powder" and is "unlike any powder you've met before." (Which, if it's NOT a powder, how are you comparing it to powders you've used BEFORE? I'm being a pedant. I'll stop. Sorry.) The truth is that Wowder contains many of the usual loose powder suspects: mica, silica, and kaolin top the list, and titanium dioxide and several iron oxides pull up the rear. Yet again, I wish Glossier would stop pretending their products are fresh, top-of-the-line formulations and instead focus on how easy and no-fuss their range is for the average consumer.

The one ingredient that concerned me, personally, was kaolin, which can suck the moisture from my already parched skin. I've used this product for about a week and haven't had any problems with this drying out my face or making me itchy. Also, it doesn't contain any of my acne triggers, but keep an eye out for your problem ingredients.

Sorry about the fucked up eyebrows. I was testing out a new technique.

 To demonstrate Wowder's texture, I decided to do most of this post's photos on a no-foundation day. I used the Wowder brush to apply a dusting of Light/Medium to my forehead, nose, and chin. The above before-and-after pictures look almost identical, right? You have to click on the picture and expand it to see a difference, don't you?

Yeah, that's not shocking. While Wowder does manage to mattify and smooth the skin a bit, it's a very subtle effect. This is clearly what the company wanted, and I won't deny that I'm happy with how much my skin still looks like skin. But if you're expecting dramatic results, you're not going to get it with this powder. It's very much a Glossier product, designed to be super sheer and natural. Here's a macro shot of my skin with a layer of the powder on top so you can see how seamlessly it applied:

So yeah, it's pretty on bare skin. It also looked nice on top of my staple foundations, MAC Face & Body and Buxom Show Some Skin. Wowder sounds like a wonder product so far.

But I noticed some issues with this powder over other base products. Specifically, it seems to cake up a bit over foundations and concealers that are more matte or have thicker formulations.

In the picture above, I applied MAC Face & Body all over my face, then used my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer wherever necessary, which on this day included my chin. It's a bit tough to see, but take a peek at the section of skin I boxed in: that's Wowder clinging to, and getting flaky on, my NARS concealer. I also tested this on my mother's base products, and while Wowder looked lovely over her Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer (sheer and dewy), it went weirdly ashen over the IT Cosmetics CC Cream (medium coverage and satin).

Another issue with Wowder is the staying power. It's comfortable and satin-y on the dry parts of my face for about 3-4 hours before disappearing, and it only keeps my oily nose matte for about 2 hours before I have to reapply or blot. It does layer beautifully, insofar as reapplying the powder over oil breakthrough gives you the same smooth, soft look, but let's be honest: how many people are going to carry around a loose powder for touch-ups? And even if you're like me and you keep blotting sheets in your purse, shouldn't you get more than 3 hours out of a mattifying product?

Figuring out what to rate this product was a struggle. I do really enjoy it for my skin type and the looks I usually do, and it's a nice finishing touch on my no foundation days. I can see me using up the whole jar. But giving it a high rating just didn't feel right. After mulling it over, I realized the issue: I wouldn't recommend this to a lot of other people. If you have combination or oily skin, I can't imagine Wowder beating out your other loose powders, and it may cake up over your other base products if your taste in formulas is different from mine. If you have dry skin and you want a matte powder, I'm more likely to suggest the Dolce & Gabbana powder foundation I love so much, since it gives a matte finish with more coverage, better staying power, and a consistently smooth texture.

In the end, Glossier has done worse. They've also done better. Wowder is a decent powder, but it certainly doesn't (are you ready for it?) wow me like I hoped it would.

RATING: 3 out of 5

Glossier products are available on their website.