I’ve never worn a lot of makeup, but it seems like I’ve always worn eyeliner. When I first started using it, and up until probably three years ago, I only used black. That’s it!

And the only criteria that I had was that it go on smoothly, and that it not run down my face and look like somebody had beat the living shit out of me. And when I first started using it, it seemed that any brand I picked up, worked that way.

So what happened three years ago?

Well a friend and mentor of mine mentioned that it was time for her to start lightening up her makeup routine and move towards a little more feminine and a little less scary, for lack of a better way to put it. 🙂

What Color Should I Change To?

So I took a look at the kind of makeup, more specifically the color of eyeliner that I was using, and started doing some research for my own makeup. I probably wouldn’t have even started looking, but when she posted her pictures, I noticed that less black made her look years younger. And as you all know I don’t age gracefully. I fight it tooth and nail as I go! So the thought that make just a makeup color change could make me look younger? It was something I was going to have to at least attempt!

So I went to Google to see what color to start with. When I was growing up, my eyes were brown. Then, during my senior year in high school, they started changing to hazel.

My mom said my grandma’s eyes were the same color of green and brown.

What’s cool for me and what I like about them, is that they’re not a mixed brown and green. There’s a distinct ring of brown and then green. That makes them look more of one or the other, depending on the amount of light I’m in. And since I live in an area where the sun is out almost all year, I figured I’d start with what colors to use for green or hazel eyes.

What’s odd is that a lot of makeup sites suggested purple. And since deep purple is my favorite color, I started there. I also bought the recommended green. There were other recommendations for golds and browns, but gold seemed to be lighter than I wanted, and browns just weren’t far enough away from black that I thought it would make enough difference to bother.

I call it makeup madness… mostly because figuring out makeup just plain makes me mad!

The Purples

I loved the dark purple initially, but like everything else, the brand I was using stopped making it (or the stores just stopped selling it). Either way, I went from a very dark purple I was using, to a much lighter one. I thought it might work as well… and then I sent a friend a picture of me one day outside in the sun. The lighter purple made my eyes look like someone had beat me! That’s it… no more purple until I can find the darker shade again!

The Greens

Initially, the only darker green I could find in pencil form was an Almay one in Teal. I bought one. I loved it!! It went on smooth. It stayed on all day without smudging all under my eyes. And it lasted forever!! Even with sharpening it, it was filled to nearly the bottom of the stick!! The only down side to it was that it had sparkles in it… and I’m not a big sparkles gal… especially at work!

But as usual when I find something that I like, it disappears. Am I the only one this happens to?!?

Needless to say, I went back on the search for a different brand. I don’t use liquids or gels because I can’t ever get it to go on right and I end up making a mess and having to redo it all the time. More than that, I don’t have the patience to put it on right the first time, so I most certainly don’t have the patience to have to put it on MORE than once!!

I found pastel green, army green, and even what I call “Oz” green. But I still couldn’t find one the same color as the Almay I’d fallen in love with… so I went to a gray for a while… yuck!! That’s not a good color for my eyes at all!! So I went back to black and kept my eyes open for a green I might like.

I bought several brands as you can see in the photo. Different shades of green by Jordana, ELF, and Flower brands. I got the ELF at Walmart, the Flower one at the 99 Cent Store I believe, and I have no idea where the Jordana came from. What I DO know is that they go on super smooth and easy… and they smudge just as fast! I keep them for last minute emergencies in case I forget the ones I use that don’t smudge.

Yes, better smudgy ones than none at all… eyeliner is THAT important!

Then one day I found a darker green. It’s by Revlon. I had high hopes for it because it was a brand I at least knew. The first day I went to put it on, I rolled a little out and started to apply it and it broke! Not the pencil itself, but the makeup end that I needed to glide this awesome color smoothly along my eyelids. Wasn’t gonna happen. I figured I’d pressed to hard so I rolled more up and took another shot at it. It broke again.

Really!! Because makeup isn’t expensive enough when we actually get to wear it!?!

I miserably failed for a second time to shove the crayon-like green stuff back into the top of the tiny eyeliner tube. Not willing to give up that easy, I rolled a teeny bit out so that it had only two options… go onto my lid or stay in the fricking container!! It worked. It took me way longer to line my eyes than ever, but it worked.

And it stayed…

I liked the color. It was dark but not too dark. There weren’t any sparkles involved so I didn’t go to work shining like a glamour doll. And it didn’t smudge!!

Of course then the issue was how long it was going to take to apply each day, given that it kept breaking off. Needless to say, I went through the first one in less than a week since the trash can was seeing more of it than my eyes!

Should I buy another one? No, keep looking for a different brand! I’m not gonna keep throwing away half the damn thing!

I found a Covergirl Perfect Point PLUS in khaki gray… that was the only shade of green they had. It worked great! Not quite the same as the Revlon, but better than anything else I’d found and it wasn’t breaking off every time I used it! But I still wasn’t happy with the color.

So I gave the Revlon Colorstay another shot. And this time it didn’t break!!

At this point, I’m thinking maybe the first one I got was maybe an old one or one from a bad batch? I don’t know. But I’ve since bought two more… one for work and one in case I run out. None of them have broken off like the first one did, so I’m hoping that they don’t discontinue this one!!

If they do, I guess I’ll try out a shade of brown. I think I read somewhere that an auburn shade or rust color type of shade will also bring out the green.

In the meantime, I’ve gotta do some research on how to handle hooded eyes because well… there’s that now at my age too!!

Do you have trouble finding the colors you want in the makeup aisle or is it just me? Let me know in the comments! And be sure to sign up for updates so you can join in on the conversations over here!!

Take care,
Debi aka @GenXBrat