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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liners Review & Swatches

L-R:  Hazel, Glam Green, Green, Glam Hazel, Glam Blue
Out of everything I purchased during the CVS Clearance Sale, these Physicians Formula Gel Liners are my absolute favorite!  I didn't realize how dry the gel liners I had been using were until I used these babies.  They are beautiful, pigmented, and have such an unbelievable glide on them that application is a cinch.  Read on for the review and swatches after the jump.

I purchased 5 of these, which come with 3 different liners in each.  They normally cost around $10, but I copped them at 75% off.  So basically I got 15 gel liners for like less than 13 bucks :)  Score!


Within PF's gel liner collections there are liner trios made specifically to enhance the color of your eye, and then there are liner trios called Glam that not only enhance your eye color, but also, well, glam up your eye with extra shimmer and dazzle.  I got 2 of the normal trios, Green Eyes & Hazel Eyes, and 3 of the glam trios, Glam Green Eyes, Glam Hazel Eyes, & Glam Blue Eyes.  Don't feel like you have to stick with whatever trio is meant for your own personal eye color.  I have brown eyes and even though none of the liners I got were intended for brown eyes that hasn't stopped me from loving them or stopped them from looking great on me :)


The only other actual 'gel' liner than I used before was the Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner.  I find the PF liners to be a lot less messy than the Eye Studio Liner.  I think this is because the PF liners are a bit more firm while being a bit more pigmented, so you don't end up having or needing as much product on your brush.  


One of my favorite aspects of this product is it's packaging.  The trios come stacked on each other, like legos, and can stack on other PF gel liner trios.  You can also take the individual pots apart and store them that way, but I find them most storage-friendly for me when 2 or 3 trios are stacked together.


There are only a few minor cons that I can think of.  One, these set to a very dry finish, to the point where if you accidentally rub your eyes while wearing them they may flake a bit.  However, on a good note the fact that they do dry down so much means that they run less of a chance of smearing.  Secondly, I found that with the Glam Trios, some of the more shimmery liners weren't as pigmented and weren't as easy to apply.  They required a few more strokes as they seemed to have a slightly drier texture than the rest.  Finally, in order to tightly close the lids on a couple of the individual liners, some lids didn't line up completely with the container.  And when I say completely, I mean they don't line up at all.  So if the container is lying horizontally, the lid will sit on it vertically.  So far this has only been an inconvenience aesthetically and storage-wise, but I fear that over time the liners may dry out because this.  But out of 15 liners, this only affected 3 of them.


Bottom Line:  Amber LOVES!!! <3<3<3<3<3


I have been using these almost every day since I purchased them.  Even though I normally think Physicians Formula's products are normally overpriced, I think these liners are actually a bargain even at their full retail price since you get 3 for 10 bucks.  Enjoy the swatches!
Hazel
Hazel
Hazel Eyes trio comes with a beautiful dark taupe-brown that's very unique.  Most brown liners get on my nerves as they're normally too warm/red and medium toned instead of dark.  The middle color is another unique opaque shade of matte violet-magenta that I'm just begging for an excuse to use.  The last liner is a black with pink shimmer.
Green
Green
The Green Eyes trio has an awesome true green liner that I've used in my Daytime Mermaid Look and my Mrs. Grinch holiday look.  I like the middle liner because it's a purple shade instead of the normal plum liners that everyone puts out.  Finally, the last liner is a black with green shimmer.
Glam Green
Glam Green
The first shade is a light, metallic lilac shade with the second shade being a light metallic silver-green.  You can see here what I was talking about the more shimmery, metallic shades being a bit less pigmented because of their shimmery nature.  They still pack a decent punch however, just not quite up to par with their other liners.  The last liner is a black with purple (I'm pretty sure it's purple, that is, I can't exactly remember lol) shimmer
Glam Blue
Glam Blue
Glam Blue Eyes trio is chock full of icy shades to perfectly enhance blue eyes. You get a silver, metallic medium blue, and a black with silver shimmer.  Once again, you can see how the metallic liners applied a bit streaky, but you can definitely build them up easily to achieve a good opaque-ness.
Glam Hazel
Glam Hazel
The last trio pictured here is in Glam Hazel Eyes.  I has an antique metallic gold, metallic amethyst (that looks more pink in this pic than it really is), and a black with gold shimmer.  The black in this trio seems to have a bit more shimmer in it than the others, which I really like as I don't have another black with gold shimmer.


I highly recommend picking up one of these.  If you missed them during the CVS sale, I just saw some of them on clearance at Rite Aid too :)


Have you tried these yet (I know they've been out for a while, I'm always late lol)?  Did you like them?

2 comments:

  1. My CVS didn't have the glam shades!
    And only the shimmer green eyes and hazel eyes were on sale- the other shades were full price!
    I'm so jealous! lol
    I LOVE the black from the green eyes trio! They apply so smoothly and last all day!
    I don't really use the brush they came with though.
    The glam hazel trio looks amazing!

    I really want the shimmer (regular) blue set! I don't have a navy/royal blue gel liner!

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    Replies
    1. Ugh, that sucks! I was mad because Rite Aid had the same gel liners on 75% clearance but they also had Blue Eyes on clearance (which was out of stock by the time I got there), and my CVS didn't have include Blue Eyes in the sale. But I'm lucky that they did have the other purchased. If you have a Rite Aid near you, you might want to check them for that blue set on clearance!

      I love that black also. It's usually the black that I choose to use for regular liner!

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