While researching popular Australian beauty products, I found that most Aussie beauty bloggers and YouTubers love Face of Australia's Liquid Eyeliners. I first purchased the Black Liquid Eyeliner (because one can never have too much black eyeliner!) to see if I liked the formula, and after I wore it a couple of times, I went back and bought the remaining three colours.

Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliners front

Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner Swatches in direct sunlight. L-R Navy, Brown, Charcoal & Black

Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner Swatches under indirect sunlight. L-R Navy, Brown, Charcoal & Black

The Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner comes with a small brush, which I found relatively easy to use. It's faster and easier to use than a gel eyeliner with a brush, however I think felt-tip liquid eyeliners are a bit easier to use than ones with brushes. Since my eyes are bit hooded, it took me a bit of practise to find the best way to draw the most flattering line. For me I find it easiest to lie the brush flat, running parallel to my lash line and drag it across my upper eyelid so the sides of the bristles keep the line straight. I start in the middle of my eyelid, then drag the line to the outer corner, do a flick/wing and then try and get a thinner line connecting from the inner corner to the middle of my eye. As with any liquid eyeliner, I wouldn't recommend this for the waterline as it can cause irritation.

Wearing Face of Australia's Liquid Eyeliner in brown

Wearing FOA Liquid Eyeliner (top to bottom): Charcoal, Black & Navy

It goes on wet and glossy but dries to a matte finish. I found Brown, Navy, and Black to be opaque in one swipe but Charcoal took a bit of re-applying to achieve full opacity. I haven't had any problems with smudging or fading, it lasts all day and washes off easily with water (it's not waterproof). I love how it comes in colours other than black which is great for days when I don't want something as harsh and severe as black eyeliner.

You can purchase these for $8.95 from Priceline, BigW, Kmart and selected pharmacies. Priceline currently has a 3 for 2 offer on Face of Australia products.

Face of Australia is cruelty-free :)

Dupey, Dupey, Dupe. Something tells me Face of Australia might reconsider selling these babies as a limited edition release. I first spotted FOA's Sheer Gloss Lip Crayons (set of three) at my local Priceline last week; I was really there to check out Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain, alas, they haven't been shipped to Australia yet. However, I had stars in my eyes when I fixed my gaze on these. And the price isn't too shabby either.

Always on the pursuit for the next best thing while maintaining some sort of grasp on my purse strings, dupes are definitely a good thing in my book. Imitation is considered to be the sincerest form of flattery - for lip crayons it started with Clinique's Chubby Stick, then Tarte came a'knocking with Lipsurgence lip tint and now Revlon's coming to the party too. The four of these options are wind up, goof-proof and super easy to use - but, there's always a but, they vary in price. Chubby Sticks sell for a whopping $35 AUS / $16 USD, Tarte sells their version for $24 USD (I'm guessing they'd hover around the same price as Clinique's if they were to be sold here in Aus.) and Revlon's latest release goes for $8ish USD.

How did Face of Australia's stack up? While I can only compare based on my personal experience and after reading plenty of other bloggers' reviews for the rest - pretty darn well. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the sickly sweet scent of vanilla they gave off; the scent is superficial, as it faded away after a minute or so.

Sundae is a warm caramel brown, but makes me think of raisins too. I'm getting hungry!
Cupcake is a light, warm-hued pink; the colour resembles that of Bazooka bubble gum.
Macaron reminds me of maraschino cherry juice; drats, your brother left the empty jar in the fridge again!

Face of Australia's Sheer Gloss Lip Crayons last for about two hours or so; when the sheen disappeared I was left with a wash of colour. You don't need a mirror and they can even be applied on the go (which I've been known to do).

Last, I can't stress this enough, apply chapstick first - my lips have resembled the Arctic Tundra as of late, not v. cute. Hey, it's "winter".

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Face of Australia's Sheer Gloss Lip Crayons: