Product of the week - January 8th, 2009

It is the first POTW for the new year and once again here at BGND we are focusing on the best bang for your buck/the most you can get for your dollar/something worth the cash in these financially stressed times.....

Maybelline New York Cool Effect Cooling Shadow/Liner - $4.69 (Drugstores and online nationwide)

This lovely "liner" has been a weapon in my arsenal ever since I moved to NYC after college and needed something that was 1) cheap, 2) easy to apply anywhere/everywhere and 3) a multi-tasker. Today's POTW I bought on a whim to try to fulfill all three of those things... and boy did it ever! Today, long gone from NYC, I have it in many many colors (it comes in twenty) and I love it even more than the day I discovered it at a Duane Reade drug store. It is always there for me whether I need a quick sweep of shadow on a day I am running late, a thick sultry eyeliner for night or perhaps just something I can smudge and make messy. It really is a multi-purpose make-up utensil. I DEMAND you go out and get at least one of the colors so you can see what I am talking about. You will fall in love like I did so many years ago!

Keep looking fabulous,

BGND

Tubs of creamy goodness....

I don't know if all of you out there in BGND land have hopped on the smudge pot aka cream liner movement, but I am ALL on board. I have experimented many times with these pots of eyeliner fabulousness and I am always happy and willing to drop another chunk of change on the latest color or brand that I have found, tried and loved.

These smudge pots are a good bang for the buck, totally versatile and a fun mix up tool when it comes to the smokey eye. This fall, the smokey eye has veered more towards grey than black and a smudgeable line is really the only way to go to get this look the way it should be.

There are many of these eyeliner creams on the market but today I am going to simply list the ones I prefer that come in "tub" version. The following is a list of the best of the best, all of which come in a variety of colors and textures and any of them will do a good job for any BGND reader out there.

So have fun, mix and match these colors/pots and you will never go back to a pencil eyeliner whether you are looking for a deep line or a perfect smudge.

1 - Stila Smudge Pots - $18 (Sephora and department stores nationwide)
2 - Smashbox Cream Eyeliner - $22 (Sephora nationwide)
3 - Makeup ForEver Cream Liner - $20 (Sephora nationwide)

4 - Clinique Brush On Cream Liner - $14.50 (Sephora and Clinique counters nationwide)

A side note on the cream tubs....you will need a small liner brush to pull of this look the way it should be....any eyeliner brush should do the trick but my personal pick?

Stila's #28 Smudge and Line brush - $32 (Sephora and Stila nationwide)

Pricey for sure, but this brush has a flexible tip for applying the smudge liner as well as a fatter "brush" like tip to smudge - SO GREAT!

Keep looking fabulous - smokey eyes and all!

BGND