Smoky ShadowBlast: On fire, or up in smoke?

Hillary and Bill, Tia and Tamera, Shadow and Liner… some things were just destined to stick together. Eye makeup is one of the easiest (and most fun) ways to mix up your beauty routine. My collection of shadows, liners, brushes and mascaras has gotten a bit out of control lately. When I found out we'd be reviewing CoverGirl's smoky shadowblast, my baby blues brightened and I cleared a little space in my makeup bag, eagerly awaiting this cute little two-in-one's arrival.

Photo source: www.runwaydaily.com

With six color combination to choose from, I chose the Onyx Smoke (800) for versatility. Purple Plume was a close second. I had high hopes for this product, as I'd consider myself a loyal CoverGirl girl, but sadly, smoky shadowblast has not earned a permanent (space-saving) space in my makeup bag. I wanted to love it for the convenience of having a shadow and liner in one place, but I found myself having to use two separate brushes to achieve a classic, smoky eye. The pearl white base color was effortless to apply; it rolled on smoothly and evenly. This side of the applicator was designed to give more control, allowing CoverGirls to easily define their crease and lashlines, but I found it to be awkward and unwieldy. I had much more luck swiping the color with a small, defined liner brush to line my eyes. I am hoping some of my fellow Gurus had more luck. Perhaps it was just operator failure?

Speaking of failure, after using the product only once (and never adjusting or turning the applicator), I found that both the shadow and liner had detached from the applicator, resulting in a giant finger-like tube of liner plummeting directly onto my white bathroom rug. Serves me right for having a white rug in the bathroom, you say? Touché. I was able to gently press both tubes back into their clear applicator, but needless to say, all thoughts of convenience had gone out the window at this point.

Have no fear, though. It's not all doom and gloom. I found the pearl white base color to be an excellent highlighter for the corners of my eyes and brow bones. It rolls on smoothly, with no tugging, and provides an excellent base if you want to turn your ordinary shadow into a bold liner. I've been applying a thin line of the shadow close to my lash line, and then following up with a dusting of turquoise, navy or sapphire shadow. While CoverGIrl's smoky shadow blast didn't work exactly as intended for me, it did provide an opportunity to think out of the box-or quite literally, out of the applicator, in this case-and have a bit of fun with my makeup. After all, that's what it's all about, isn't it?

How do you mix up your beauty routine? What's your favorite makeup experiment?