Physicians Formula Glam Collection Shimmer Strips Gel Eyeliner Review, Swatches, Photos
Physicians Formula has a new Glam Collection Shimmer Strips Gel Eyeliner available for the Holidays. The collection features three new strips of Shimmer Eyeliner and three new mascaras. They break these up into eye color groups as in “select this color to flatter blue eyes”, “select this color to flatter brown eyes” and so on and so forth. I’m personally not keen on anyone telling me what flatters my eyes most as I’m of the mentality that anyone can wear any shade of color they choose. Granted some shades simply don’t work for me but most are a-ok and I don’t limit what I wear because I have brown eyes…..Just because I have brown eyes doesn’t mean I have to stick to wearing golds, browns, and black because Physicians Formula told me so.
Get my rant?
Aside from that the idea behind the product is interesting since it gives you not one, not two, but three gel eyeliners in stackable jars.
Good stuff?
Let’s see.
Three shades of gel eyeliner to flatter brown eyes!
In theory this is a great idea! Three gel eyeliners plus a brush for as little as eight bucks, where can you get that kinda deal eh? Here’s the thing, I can’t use these as eyeliners at all without a bit of a struggle, tell you about that in a bit, however as a cream eyeshadow and/or base, these are ace.
You get three shades of color which are black, bronze-y brown, and gold. Rather fabulous shades for the Holidays and yes, I admit, they do flatter my brown eyes. They have a super creamy formula that runs a bit on the thinner side but they blend dreamy across the entire lid and leave behind a touch of color. If you’re using as a cream shadow the colors are a tad on the subtle side but you can build up slowly for better color pay off. I didn’t use the black as a base or a shadow however I did use both the brown and the gold and they work fab as both.
As a base they create a nice layer for topping with shadow or pigment and as a cream shadow they leave behind a nice glisten of color.
Sadly, as a gel liner I think they don’t do the job. The liners run a bit thinner and softer than your normal gel liner so they smudge really easy during application and you’re left to line and re-line your eye since they end up applying streaky. The formula remains “wet” to the touch for several minutes after application as well which makes it difficult to go over your line or just to head out with this in place since it does smudge up rather badly.
The entire gel liner concept is lost on these and they are more of a cream shadow in my opinion.
I love and hate the packaging. The gels stack up on top of each other however if you’re wanting to travel with say one liner you can’t because it won’t have a topper without the other three. Speaking of which the lids don’t quite screw on tight enough for me so I fear they’ll dry out quickly but that remains to be seen.
I don’t really love the marketing behind these where Physicians Formula proceeds to tell me which shades are most suited to my eye shade.
- Anyone who likes prepping and priming with liners (I’ve known readers who enjoy using MAC Gel Eyeliner as a base and these fit right in perfectly).
- Anyone wanting a subtle wash of color on lids (these create a very flattering eye look).
- Anyone wanting three gel liners in one place (lining with these is not a great experience and these are best used as a cream shadow or base).
These do miss the point of gel liner however at least they double up as a cream eyeshadow at the very least. It is somewhat disappointing they turned out so bad as a liner considering the colors are rather stunning. Oh well, multitasking is always in style.
Have you tried Shimmer Strips before?
What do you think of them?
Do share!