★ KISSME Mini Haul & First Impressions ★

Hey lovelies! How have y'all been? I'm happy to announce that I recently passed all of the state competency exams required of teachers! 🎉 To celebrate I finally used some of the gift cards I received throughout Teacher Appreciation Week ✨ I treated myself to the KISSME Smooth Liquid Eyeliner and the Make Long & Curl Mascara Advanced Film from the same brand.

I've been faithful to the ELF Expert Liquid Eyeliner for the past fourteen years, immediately preferring it over the prominent eyeliner pens on the American market at the time. I found eyeliner pens chunky, making it harder to create precise strokes - especially as a makeup newbie. I knew about KISSME from Japanese influencers and their blogs but I couldn't get it for myself since my parents were terribly strict about my online interactions as a teenager. I could be wrong but I also remember these products being exclusive to the region anyway and could only be obtained if you were in Japan or knew someone who was and could send them your way which was another obstacle and over the years I became disinterested even after they became available to everyone later on Amazon. But when I saw these products on the shelf at the store I didn't hesitate to put them in my cart 🤭⭐

Even now I absolutely adore the illustrations on the packaging! 💗

I was impressed but skeptical about the fine tip, previous experiences with eyeliner pens have taught me that the ink only goes to the tip if you add significant pressure on your eyelid which can get messy - making it difficult when you're trying to perfect the wings.

So I don't usually wear mascara, my lashes are aggressively straight and I've been too lazy to figure out how to curl them and maintain the shape. Maybe this mascara will change my mind?

Today's final makeup look! I spent the afternoon and evening hanging out with my friend around the fashion and Art Deco districts. The humidity ranged from 75% to 80% and the temperature stayed in the mid-eighties. I laughed, cried, sweat and the eyeliner didn't budge! I was thoroughly impressed since it usually runs at the outer corners since my eyes water around those areas especially when laughing.

I took this picture four hours into the hangout without retouching my eyeliner and there was no smudging! If you look closely you can tell my eyeshadow was affected by the heat, especially around my crease yet the eyeliner still didn't budge!! With the ELF eyeliner I usually have to redo both the outer and inner corners at this point - and sometimes the wing, even during cooler days. Needless to say, I'm over the moon with these results ✌

I came home later than expected and was eager to shower so I forgot to take another selfie to demonstrate how the eyeliner and mascara held up for seven and a half hours and it was no different from what it looked like in the previous update.

My final impression is that the eyeliner is that it's totally reliable for hot summer days - I'm only hesitant in stating it truly is waterproof since I didn't test it out on a beach day but I can't say I'll be the one to do so. I have to admit I cheated a little by refining the wings with the ELF liquid eyeliner but only because I'm still not confident with eyeliner pens at the moment - but that's more a skill issue on my part. I don't have any concrete thoughts about the mascara, not only because I only have a little experience with them overall to compare, but I also didn't curl my lashes before leaving and I only applied one layer. 

Like always, thanks for reading! 💘 Please let me know if you have any makeup recommendations!! I'll see y'all later