Hi loves!
Lately I have been trying out a bunch of new drugstore items for you! So many new products have hit the shelves and I just can't help myself! :)
I was perusing the makeup aisles of my local CVS and one product that really caught my eye is the new L'Oreal Infallible Smokissme Powder Eyeliner. Smokey, smudged eyes seem to be making a huge comeback lately! Not that they ever really went away completely, but they are back and smudgier than ever! Just a few weeks ago I saw a photo on Instagram featuring a woman with the most beautiful, blackest, smokiest, smudgiest eyeliner ever! It was so gorgeous it actually made me stop in my Instagram "feed" and I really focused on the photo! My initial thoughts were 'Why doesn't mine ever look that good and effortless?". I envied her and her gorgeous, smoked and sultry eyes! Lol! So, of course when I saw this new eyeliner in CVS I thought I had found the answer to my prayers!
The product opens from the center and has a rather large (seriously, its almost the size of my whole eyelind), foam ball on one end that is pressed into the black pigment powder on the other end. The foam applicator has a slight point to the very tip. When you open the "pen" the powder is already on the foam tip and you're ready to start applying it to your lash line.
I found it pretty effortless to apply to upper lash line and was able to get a decent smudged line. However, the foam tip is a little to large to get into some tight corners and spaces. I found that I experienced a lot of fall out and unwanted smudge marks on my bottom lash line and general under-eye area.
Not good! It was a pain in the butt and tedious to have to go back in with a q-tip to try to clean up the unwanted smudges before doing my bottom lash line.
Speaking of my bottom lash line, I didn't find the application quite as effortless here. Again, the foam ball is just way too large for such a tight, small area! I mean, I want a smudged black line, not raccoon eyes! Again there was more fall out than I would have liked and I still had to go back in with concealer and powder to clean the line up a bit. And then, I had a whole other issue of "cakey" under-eyes. Grrr!
I didn't hate the smudged liner look the product gave me, and I'll be honest, once it was in place this stuff didn't budge all day! Great staying power is always a good thing! I decided that maybe there was just a bit of a learning curve with this product and tried to stay hopefully that I would be able to make it work the way I dreamed it would! I decided to give it a try again a few days later to see if I had mastered it after some trial and error. Nope! Same exact experience the second time around. Fall out, smudge marks where I didn't want them, and cakey concealer under my eyes! My hopes were quickly fading. :(
For research purposes (and because I'm stubborn) I thought I would try it one last time before making up my mind completely. I decided to forgo using the applicator it comes with and pulled in one of my all time favorite tools.. my $1 E.l.f. smudge sponge. I dipped the E.l.f. smudger into the powder end of the product and picked up some of the powder. I was able to get into the tighter corners of my eye and closer to my lash line with this tool than I was with the large one that comes with it. I still experienced a bit of fall out, but didn't have huge, awful smudge marks on my under eyes. It was the same situation with my bottom lash line. Much easier to fill the line in and still get a smudged, smokey effect! I like the look I achieved with this method much much more! Not so raccoon-ish!
Over all I don't think that this product is horrible... just not really designed in a way that makes it easy to use or helpful. I certainly wouldn't say that this is a product you need in your makeup arsenal! I think you could just as easily achieve the same look with a smudge sponge (like my $1 E.l.f. one), or a pencil brush and some black eyeshadow. I also think you really have to be careful with a smokey, smudged eye- and the best tool in that case is patience! It's going to be tough to just slap something on and expect perfection, especially with something like a smokey eye! My bottom line is that it's just really not a necessary product, and you probably have everything you already need for a smokey eye in your makeup collection. Not really worth the hassle and cakey under eyes! Lol!
♥ Nichole
Speaking of my bottom lash line, I didn't find the application quite as effortless here. Again, the foam ball is just way too large for such a tight, small area! I mean, I want a smudged black line, not raccoon eyes! Again there was more fall out than I would have liked and I still had to go back in with concealer and powder to clean the line up a bit. And then, I had a whole other issue of "cakey" under-eyes. Grrr!
 |
| Eye look using Smokissme smudger ball |
 |
| Eye look using Smokissme Powder liner with E.l.f. Smudge sponge |
Over all I don't think that this product is horrible... just not really designed in a way that makes it easy to use or helpful. I certainly wouldn't say that this is a product you need in your makeup arsenal! I think you could just as easily achieve the same look with a smudge sponge (like my $1 E.l.f. one), or a pencil brush and some black eyeshadow. I also think you really have to be careful with a smokey, smudged eye- and the best tool in that case is patience! It's going to be tough to just slap something on and expect perfection, especially with something like a smokey eye! My bottom line is that it's just really not a necessary product, and you probably have everything you already need for a smokey eye in your makeup collection. Not really worth the hassle and cakey under eyes! Lol!
♥ Nichole
Instagram: @Coley0702
Twitter: @Coley7286
Thanks for being honest about this product. This is what I thought would happen with this pencil. You saved me $8.99.
ReplyDelete