Review + Swatches: ELF Shimmer Eyeliner Pencils

Price: $1 each from eyeslipsface.com

What they say:(click to view larger)


What's in it:(click to view larger)

From left to right:
Twinkle Teal, Gunmetal, Iconic Ivory, Plum Passion, Boldly Bronzed, Grassy Green

The good stuff:

• Only $1!
• Handy sharpener built into the cap
• Smooth, creamy texture
• Does not pull or tug
• Bold, pigmented colors with metallic shimmer
• Long lasting as an eyeshadow
• Works great as an eyeshadow base

The low-down:

• Almost TOO soft, tip is easy to smash
• Sharpener works well but takes a lot of product off with it
• Does not work very well as an eyeliner on waterline
• A bit smudgy

My take: I had originally said I wanted to wait on trying out these eyeliners because I wanted to see if other beauty bloggers would review it first... I mean, come on! It's $1 and usually, $1 eyeliners flat-out SUCK. I've had bad experiences with ELF's Brightening eyeliner AND Studio Eyeliner & Shadow Stick (can you say SMUDGE CITY?!), so I wasn't too keen on trying these liners just yet. But inevitably, curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to be the guinea pig. And I'm glad I did!

For $1, these liners are super smooth and pigmented. The colors are just wonderful and metallic and bold. Let the swatches do the talking:

From left to right:
Twinkle Teal, Gunmetal, Iconic Ivory, Plum Passion, Boldly Bronzed, Grassy Green

Pretty gorgeous, right? And pretty accurate to ELF's swatches (for once :P). The only shade that wasn't what I expected was "Grassy Green," which is depicted as a bright, kelly green on ELF's website, but turned out to be more of a dark, forest green. It is still nice though.

Despite all of their uber-pigmented, colorful goodness, these "liners" do not actually function very well as liners (or for me, at least). On my waterline, they don't last over an hour and end up smudging and migrating. However, I do think they work well to add a pop of color below the lower lashline.

Their redeeming factor is that they are FABULOUS as eyeshadows and/or eyeshadow bases. They are easy to apply, no pulling or tugging. The texture is very creamy and smooth. It stays a bit tacky on lids for a few minutes after application, so eyeshadow adheres to it VERY well. I use Boldly Bronzed daily under powder eyeshadow (since my everyday look is consists of browns) and it helps to intensify the color and keeps the shadow down pat, all day :)

Another great thing is that there is a sharpener built right into the cap:

And this ain't no cheapie sharpener. It works really well. The only thing is that it might work too well -- it shaves off a lot of product along with the wood shavings. Probably also because the pencil is SO soft. The tip can easily break or be smashed if you're not careful. The softness is good because it makes application a breeze, but just be careful when you're putting the cap back on!

The Rundown:
Packaging: 5/5
Handy sharpener built into the cap.

Product: 4/5
Not that great as a liner and is very soft, but works wonderfully as an eyeshadow/eyeshadow base!

Price: 5/5
Completely wallet-friendly!

Overall:
[ click here to read about my Review & Rating System ]