Product Review: Rimmel London Eye Pencils and Shadow Sticks

August 02, 2013

Product Review: Rimmel London Eye Pencils and Shadow Sticks

A must have staple product that every woman should have in their makeup collection are good eyeliner pencils. Every once and a while, the working class woman can invest in high-end products such as Estee Lauder, Channel, MAC or Lancome; but if you are like me, you want to find budget friendlier options that actually work. Rimmel London has a line of eye pencils that are extremely pigmented, waterproof, smudge proof and long wearing. What's the Rimmel's saying, "Get the London Look!" Get it when you read more inside!

Quick Overview

Essentially, there are three variations of eyeliner products: the pencil, gel and liquid. This post focuses on the pencil eyeliner only. Pencils also come in many variations. You have the old fashioned pencil that requires sharpening and non sharpening eyeliners that twist up, like lipstick, right? Yes. Ok so, of these two forms, there are two different formulas on the market. Eyeliner has a kohl / kajal formula and a "regular" non-kohl formula. So what's the difference? Basically, the ingredients, which dictates the staying power and where the liner should be used on the eye. A penciled eyeliner of regular formula consists of film formers, thickeners and pigments (Goins, 2012; Edmonds, N.D.). What the heck are those? One source that is quoted several times on other blogs, says that, "Film formers deposit a thin layer on your skin. Thickeners -- such as waxes, natural gums, and clays -- help stabilize the formula so it will stick to your lids. Pigments include iron oxides to create blacks and browns, ultramarine for blue, chromium oxide for green, and titanium dioxide for white" (Goins, 2012). But what I also found was that this formula of eyeliner is best used when applied on the lash lines of the eye - not the water or tight lines which is the moist fleshy part of the eye that is either below the top lash line or above the bottom lash line. This formula also is not a soft pencil product; you know that old trick where you add a little touch of fire flame to the pencil to soften it to make it easier to glide onto the eye? Well, that's why the trick was necessary.

Kohl / kajal eyeliner is made up of metals such as galena and antimony is is a form of lead sulfide These metals were used in South Asia, India, the Middle East, North Africa and some parts of West Africa since ancient times as eye makeup and to protect eyes from the glare of the sun. The Kohl formula has different binding properties which allows the product to smudge, but then set and it has the ability to bind well to moist surfaces of the skin. This makes the eyeliner work very well in the water and tight lines of the eye. There are waterproof versions of both formulas. Waterproof means that the product contains less water than non waterproof products and that allows the product to stand up to moisture while wearing. So what is the point of all this? What does it have to do with Rimmel? I believe knowledge is power and the choices we make are rooted in that body of knowledge that we posses. Rimmel carries an excellent quality line of kohl/kajal and regular formula eyeliner pencils of which are offered in both the sharpening and twist up form and are either waterproof or not.

The Featured Product

Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal

Rimmel offers a wide range of color selections. I have this product in 005 Nude. It glides on the eye with such ease, it's incredibly soft, pigmented and the consistency is rich. It is very much so waterproof, smudge proof and contains 0.042 oz of product. I always set my eyeliner with a powder not matter what. It will further contribute to the long lasting power of the eyeliner pencil. I bought this product with the idea of wearing it in the waterline for desired looks. Wearing a white or nude pencil in the waterline helps to create the illusion of an open eye. Retails for about $5.

Soft Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Pencil

This product also is extremely soft, creamy, rich and pigmented. It is NOT waterproof, but is long wearing. Set this with a powder as well to help it last. It is ideal for the waterline, but can be used on any portion of the eye, face and body. This shade is 071 Pure White and contains 0.04 oz of product. Retails for about $4.

ScandalEyes Waterproof Shadow Sticks
Jumbo eyeshadow sticks that also can be worn as eyeliner and must therefore have a regular eyeliner formula. So this product is designed to be used on the lid and lash lines. It can be used on water and tight lines, but my recommendation is to not use it there. It is like the rest of the product line, soft, creamy, rich, pigmented and long wearing. You can actually compare these to Makeup Forever's Aqua line of products. Retails for about $5.