Review - Mosha Katani Cosmetics - Kohl Eyeliner Pigment Collection

I'm a total fangirl of Mosha Katani Cosmetics.  I have all of her kohls, and TWO tubes of sealer. 

Mosha's kohls completely transformed how I apply my makeup.  Even going back a year, I can see the transformation from a hard rimmed eye to a soft smoky eye; and the difference it makes is astounding.  Staying in eye-pencil-land really landed me in the biggest mistake women make with their makeup, which is (in my opinion) hard-rimmed eyes.

Using kohls around the eye forces you build your color.  Being forced to build your color shows you all the different looks you can get from "layer one" to "layer ok-I'm-done-now".  Seeing all those different stages encourages you to play around with the look.

Additionally, one of the big mistakes I see with eyeliner is ladies stop the color before they reach the tips of their lower lashes.  If you smudge your lower lid color to where the tips of your lower lashes end, it makes your eyes look much bigger.  Being able to control that color because it is an eyeliner pigment rather than an eyeliner pencil means that you can gently dip your toes into this new territory by gently shading the area while you get used to the idea.  As you become more confident in this new technique, you can darken the shading with ease.

The first color I bought was black.  This black is the color of charcoal; real charcoal, not those charcoal briquettes.  Sooty, rich, grab-on color awaited me in that little package; and I have been hooked ever since.

In recent months, Mosha has added some new colors to her line.  I thought it would be a good time to show you all of them!  Here we go!

Black Sea - True, charcoal black.  This is the black that is rock-star glam.  One layer is easy to wear for daytime, and you can layer to your heart's content for a smoking-hot night time look.  When you get it wet, it goes jet black.

Dream G-Ni - A cool, ashy grey.  This grey darkens when wet, and then lightens again when dry.  It gives a unique look when used to both line the waterline and darken the lash base.  I also love this as a crease color, as it blends smoothly and doesn't go chalky.

Kleopatra - She is the chameleon.  A navy blue in the pot, Kleo goes catty as an inky blue-black in swatches.  On the eye, she leans back towards navy.  This is not a bright blue, and is not obviously navy.  I love this color because the blue makes my eyes look whiter without looking like I have on blue eyeliner.

Persian Queen -This rich, warm brown turns a dark brown when wet.  I like to use this on my waterline when wearing nude eyeshadows.  It darkens the line without moving towards black or grey.  This gets heavy usage with all of my nude palettes.  It also works well as an eyeshadow.

Pharaohs - Pharaohs is a cross between Black Sea and Dream G-Ni.  It is a dark ash, like pencil lead without any shimmer.  If you are scared of black, go with Pharaohs.  It is nearly impossible to apply too much and end up with eye makeup that careened into the dramatic.  Otherwise, this shade is wonderful for smoking out the inner part of the eye, and then finishing the outer part of the eye with Black Sea for a lovely mulio-dimensional smoky eye.

Princess - Ahhhh, the workhorse.  Princess is wonderful for use on the waterline to brighten up your eyes.  If you usually skip eyeshadow, you can still use Princess to help get rid of the red tones on the waterline.  It'll make your eyes look brighter, whiter, and bigger.  Princess also works as a highlighter at the tear duct and at the brow bone.  I've even used it to set my under-eye concealer as a brightening powder.  Princess does not darken when wet. 

 To apply, you can use an angled brush, or a smudger brush.  Just apply a little bit at a time and go slowly while you are learning.  Back away from your mirror often to check the affect.  What looks sheer up close often looks a lot darker as you back away.

I find that the kohl stays in place for most of the day.  It does tend to start fading from the waterline after a few hours, but everywhere else remains as initially applied.  On me, the waterline fades uniformly, so I don't worry about touch-ups.  If you prefer to touch up your makeup, the containers are small and transportable.

The only exception to the above paragraph concerns Princess.  Princess is like a concealer for the waterline, so when it fades, I do like to touch it up.  I can go about 3 hours without a touch-up; and when I do touch it up, it hasn't faded enough to allow redness through, so it is preventative maintenance.

Have you tried Mosha Katani's Kohls?  What do you think of them?

Review! Mosha Katani Sormeh Natural Eye Kohl Sealer AND Mosha Katani Sormeh Natural Eye Kohl in Charcoal Brown

I recently ordered Mosha Katani's Sormeh Natural Eye Kohl Sealer, and as a special promotion she was including a Sormeh Natural Eye Kohl in my choice of color.  I've had my eye on the Charcoal Brown for a while now, so it was a great time (and a great deal!) to purchase.

The set came with the Sormeh, the sealer, and a little angle brush for application.

Here it is swatched out.  The first swatch it just the Sormeh dry, the second is with a little bit of water added, and the third is with the Sealer.  I only used one brush "dip" for each swatch, and used the brush to smudge the Sormeh onto my hand, like I would if I were applying it to my eyes.

Let's get a close up!

Those swatches are ALL Charcoal Brown.  The only difference is that for the third swatch, I put down a light line of the sealer, and then ran the brush with Sormeh on it over the sealer.  It was stunning.  Literally, I sat there stunned.  I see a lot of makeup, and it takes a lot for me to be shocked at how something turns out, but this is amazing.

I love that I can put the Sormeh on without the sealer and have a soft, smokey look; or I can use the sealer and BAM! I have a glamorous dark line that won't quit.

Sormeh stays put all day (and all night!).  I love to use it on my waterline because it doesn't irritate my eyes, and did I mention it stays put?  I already have this in Black, but I'm loving the Charcoal Brown for some softer, daytime looks.

My verdict?  I love this!  Both the Charcoal Brown Sormeh and the Sormeh sealer are going to be staples in my makeup kit!

Giveaway Sponsor Spotlight – Sormeh by Mosha Katani

One of my awesome sponsors for my first giveaway is Mosha Katani!  Mosha is an amazing makeup artist who has started her own line of eye khols, called Sormeh.  In the Grand Prize, there are TWO full size bottles of Sormeh, in Black and in Charcoal Brown!  

Have you entered the giveaway yet?  If not, it’s easy!  Go here and enter today!  You have until November 30, 2012 to enter.

It takes a lot for me to throw out every other item within a makeup family and stick to just one product, so I want to tell you why it is my Holy Grail eyeliner product.

The problem:

My eyes tend to shed eyeliner as if it was nothing.  Waterproof, stay-put, whatever they claimed, my eyes just giggled and made it magically disappear.  It was to the point that I no longer even wore eyeliner unless it was a very special occasion.  It just wasn't worth it.  It wouldn't stay on my lids, lashline, or waterline.

Failed products:

Everything.  Every eye liner and eye powder I had used before this did not last on my eyes.  I know that is brief, but nothing stayed put all day or all night, let alone both.

The deciding moment:

I was in an online forum, and the ladies were discussing eye kohl.  I had never tried a real kohl, but we hesitant to order one without being able to try it first.  I was following the thread with interest, but nothing made me want to try one until someone mentioned Sormeh by Mosha Katani.  I went to her Etsy store and read up on the product.  I googled, I researched, and I dove in.  I hadn't found any negative reviews, so I figured I'd give it a shot!  After all, I had tried so many other products!

The skeptic:

I didn't expect it to work, plain and simple.  I was hopeful, but I knew I could just be ending up with a black eyeshadow.  When it arrived I tried it on, and took pictures for every hour afterwards, including after my shower, and then in the morning when I woke up.  The results were surprising, and I tried my best to not get excited as each hour passed, but this stuff was staying in place!

The result:
I was stunned that I still had a light amount of shadow still smudged in my upper and lower lashlines the next morning.  I can usually make it through half the day without touching up my waterline application, but even as it fades, the fading tends to happen very evenly.  The only area that fades is my waterline.  My upper and lower lashline and lids remain intact the entire day... and through the night if I don't wash it off very thoroughly.

I think that even fading is a very important quality for any makeup to have.  We don't live on a stage, our makeup is not retouched every 30 minutes.  So as the day wears on and my makeup is slowly wearing off, I need it to do so in a manner that doesn't leave me looking disheveled.

You can find Sormeh at Mosha's Etsy Store, here.  She is also rapidly expanding into other marketplaces, and you can find her at:
Luscious Lashes (all orange county locations)
Mission Ranch Market in Mission Viejo, CA.
Irvine Spectrum in Irvine, CA.
Razi Pharmacy in Mission Viejo, CA. and,
www.Sadaf.com under Health and Beauty

How do you do it?

This stuff is simple to use.  I do all my other makeup before I put on my Sormeh.  I'm not wearing any eyeshadow or eyeliners here:

The first few times you use it, you may want to try it out on a weekend at home so you can get used to applying it.  It comes out of the package as a clumpy powder, which I like.  I separate a little clump away from the others, mash it with my brush (it pulverizes to an ultra-soft powder easily), and gently start pushing it into my lashlines.  Then I line my lower and upper waterlines.  Next, I smudge some more around my lashline until I'm fairly happy with the amount I've put on.  Go slowly.  This is a true black powder.  It takes a lot less than I thought it would when I first started playing with it.

Finally, I blend-blend-blend all over my upper and lower lid.  Pop on some mascara and you are done!

Here is the very package of Sormeh you could win!

And here is the Grand Prize!  What are you waiting for? Go enter!