What It Is:

BECCA Balearic Love Line & Define Pencil in Cabrera

Why This Should Be in Your Bag:

BECCA is an Australian brand that we haven’t seen on CC in a while! They’re latest collection, Balearic Love, “invites you to dream of distant shores and unguarded temptation with the Balearic Love Collection.” The promotional photos are gorgeous, and I was so excited to try and recreate the look myself. Fun fact: Cabrera refers to an islet of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It’s a National Park and renowned for its beautiful landscapes.

A double-ended eyeliner is always a real treat! BECCA says this is a “combination liner and brightener in one [and] this convenient dual-ended pencil has a soft, smooth texture that glides on easily to line, define and brighten the eyes, while blending easily.” Let’s see how it performs!

How To Use It:
First, I was a bit confused by the use instructions. Apparently, the “dark side of BECCA’s Line & Define Pencil lavishly lines while the light side helps brighten and awaken tired eyes,” which is nice, however my pencil features a deep violet on one end and a metallic bronze on the other, neither of which are particularly light. I decided that the bronze must be the “light” side and used it accordingly. I lined my upper lids with the violet and my lower lashline with the bronze.

CC Rating: A

If the BECCA Balearic Love Line & Define Pencil in Cabrera was was simply marketed as a double-ended eyeliner, it would be receiving an A+ from me! The other shade in this collection, Santorini, is navy blue and buff, which seems a lot more like a defining and brightening duo to me. I really didn’t find either of the sides to brighten my eyes, though the deep violet and metallic bronze both complimented my green/grey eyes spectacularly. The violet is so multi-dimensional and shifts from a deep plum to a warm-toned brown. It’s a nice alternative to black liner and has certainly won a place in my eyeliner heart. The bronze is also brilliantly pigmented, and I like utilizing it to add definition to my lower lashline.

As for application, that was a dreamy experience. BECCA’s pencil glided on effortlessly and didn’t tug at my eyelids at all. As a result of being so soft, it didn’t have unreal staying power, but did turn into a subtle, smokey look that I didn’t entirely mind. I found it stayed solid for about 3 hours and then required a touch-up, which is easy when the product is so portable.

I’m blown away by BECCA’s Balearic Love Line & Define Pencil in Cabrera and am tempted to go back and pick up Santorini. If you’re on the hunt for a stunning, summertime liner or want to add some variety to your eyeliner collection, check out Cabrera for $23. It’s available on BECCA’s website, along with the entire Balearic Love collection.

[Need some new makeup but not sure what to buy? Check out Alex's other beauty reviews here.]

I am currently staring at four W2′s, which are piled neatly on my desk next to my laptop. My dad has informed me that two more are at my parent’s house, and I need to call the restaurant I worked at last spring because I’m pretty sure they don’t have my current address. Oh, and I’m expecting at least three 1099′s for freelance work.

It’s not that I change jobs like I change my underwear. Last spring, I waited tables and worked for a travel website on my days “off.” I also had one week in January where I was paid for work study from the Fall ’07 semester. Over the summer, I worked Summerstock at a theater. Last semester, I had a paid internship, and I did marketing work for a parent company, so each of the branches I marketed for are considered a separate entity.

What the hell am I going to do? You might be asking yourself the same thing, even if you’ve only held a normal number of jobs (one, two… three?) in the past year. I mean, all the pointless Gen Eds they make us take, and none of them are “Filing Your Taxes 101.” Don’t worry. If the IRS expected everyone to file their taxes on their own, well… it would be like George W. getting reelected.

Here are a few resources I’ve come across as I’ve begun my slow descent into the Hell that is my personal tax season. Feel free to share any other links that you’ve come across. We all want to make it out of college without being arrested for tax fraud. Read More »