Illamasqua Eye Liner Cake in Mislead
Have you ever heard of "cake liner" before? The first time I ever heard of it was several years ago when I became interested in learning more about theatrical makeup (Ben Nye, Graftobian, Cinema Secrets, etc) and came across Ben Nye Cake Eyeliner - well, I never got around to trying it, but it's a product that's always sat in the back of my memory of products to try one day.Cake Eyeliner is pretty much the only type of liner I haven't tried before. I've for the most part tried all of the liner options out there - pencil, cream, gel, liquid, kajal, powder, you name it. My preferred choices on most days are gel and liquid.
When I stumbled across Illamasqua Eye Liner Cake ($23), I decided I had to try it, despite there not being too many reviews out there.
Illamasqua Eye Liner Cake is a pressed powder formula, that when comes in contact with water/liquid, becomes an intense liquid-liner.
There are three (3) colors in total: Mislead (black), Zeal (pine green) and Danger (navy). I chose Mislead, because one could never own enough black liners, right? haha
You can use water to mix the product with, but when using water, I notice the color isn't as vibrant and the lasting power isn't as good. There are of course other options in order for it to last longer - such as MAC Fix Spray, Illamasqua Sealing Gel, Benefit SheLaq, Visine, etc. I usually use Visine and it works great.
I usually pour a couple drops of Visine on a clean palette, wet the tip of my application brush (usually a thin eyeliner brush or angled brush) and run the brush a few times over the powder to get a good amount of product on the brush. Then, apply it to the lash-line. It does dry fairly quick, so I like to make sure my brush is pretty damp to avoid going back and forth to apply more liquid and product mid-application.
If you aren't satisfied with your line, or if you'd like to deepen you line, you can go over the area again. The liner will dry to a matte finish, and it will not budge.
If you have oily eyelids, I'd highly suggest priming your lids and applying an eyeshadow for a base. On days where I don't want to wear shadow, I'll still prime my lids and apply a matte, flesh-tone eyeshadow, such as MAC Brule as a base and the liner won't budge.
Because this product activates when it comes in contact with water/liquid, it will budge if you come in contact with wetness. I wouldn't recommend wearing this liner on grueling hot days or with vigorous exercise, as sweat will make the liner wear off a bit.
I'd like to mention that this product is meant to use wet. There is absolutely no color payoff when attempting to use it dry. It's not like a typical pigmented eyeshadow that can be used wet or dry for those hoping that you can use this product as a black eyeshadow.
Here is the liner swatched on my hand using Visine as my mixing agent.
And, here it is applied to my primed eyelids.
Like I already mentioned, when the liner dries, it's not going to budge, so if you want more of a "smokey" or smudged look, I'd recommend using a small smudge brush for application and try not to saturate the brush in liquid and product for a slightly drier application. It works pretty well.
I often like having a very deep, smudged, matte black line, but steer away from black shadows because they can get very messy (MAC Carbon is the King of fall-out). This product gives me exactly what I want.
I also really like the compact, and the fact that it has a mirror, and knowing that the product will never dry out! You can literally use this stuff to the very end.
I haven't used the product enough to really state if it's a must-have product for me, but I will continue using it and update you all of my overall thoughts about the product. So far, I'm really liking it.
Price: $23, Sephora.
Have you ever used cake liner? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
