as a teenager, I did my share of experimenting with various (and sometimes downright horrific) shades of lipstick. I also hungrily depleted myriad MAC kohl eyeliners, thanks to my tendency to heavily line my lids to create a dark, smoky look. up until several months ago, however, I'd had no interest in wearing or buying cosmetics for several years. five, to be more precise. however, after viewing several tutorials on YouTube, my curiosity was piqued. now, eight months later, I'm the proud owner of a small, manageable collection of lip glosses, drugstore eye shadows, and hand-me-down blush compacts.
I won't claim to be well-versed in the realm of cosmetics, but I was spoiled as a teenager by MAC's amazing line of products, so when I recently purchased an eyeshadow quad and a pot of gel eyeliner from Avon in an attempt to save some money, I wasn't surprised that my purchases couldn't live up to my expectations. (sound snooty enough for ya, yet?)
the eyeshadow quad comes in a medium-sized black compact, comparable in size, shape and appearance to a Chanel compact. the compact is quite difficult to open, however, and requires a bit of a struggle to pop open.
the color pay-off for all four of the shadows is minimal. the lightest shade, a kind of ultra-light beige, is terribly chalky. the bronze shadow that is meant to line the upper (or lower, I suppose) lid is very muted. many layers are needed to make it noticeable at all, which is extremely disappointing, because really, how hard is it to botch the formulation of a shimmery eye shadow?
the gel liner - all of Avon's gel liners, actually - contain small bits of glitter. not really sure what the point of it is, since a plain black liner would be preferable, but hey. in any case, Avon's gel liner is the first I've used. it glides on smooth enough, even if the bits of glitter do sometimes clump together on my liner brush and create problems during application.
which reminds me: the Sonia Kashuk bent eyeliner brush is definitely handy. if my hand is feeling steady, I can usually sweep the brush along the length of my lid without having to stop to adjust the position of my hand; which is great, since I'm a n00b when it comes to applying liquid and gel liners to my eyes.
the one other product I purchased - possibly the most disappointing of all - is an Avon retractable eyeliner. the description in the Avon catalog was definitely enticing and convinced me that it might be better than something I could buy at Walgreen's or Target. the liner has an angled edge rather than a pointed tip, allowing the user to create three possible lines: a very thick line, a very thin line, and a mid-sized line. this feature would be great, if it didn't take several swipes to create a line that is satisfyingly dark. I haven't used it since it came in the mail about three weeks ago.
the final verdict: unless I'm really strapped for cash, I probably won't be making any eye shadow purchases from Avon anytime soon. has anyone had different results with other Avon products (lipsticks, glosses, cream shadows)? I realize I don't have any regular readers at the moment, but if anyone has a different (or even a similar) perspective on Avon products, please do not hesitate to add to the discussion.
p.s. - I'll add product photos in a few days.
