Mmm… how do you go about being contrary when the world is going gaga after something? I quite often feel like a salmon swimming upstream when this happens, beating fruitlessly against the mainstream of raves and rah-rahs coming my way.
But swim upstream I shall 🙂
The Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Kajal Liner was launched late last year in 6 new shades, 2 of which are shown here in that useful Noir (black) and Jade (blackened green). Like most kajal liners, they are soft and very easy to draw a line and smoke out. The sponge smudger at the back of the pencil helps too!
I like how a sharpener comes packaged with every pencil. I loved it when Guerlain did it and I love that Bobbi Brown is doing it. It just makes it so much easier to not have to hunt down a sharpener when your eyeliner is getting dull and best of all, you know it’ll fit and reduce wastage. But what’s this swimming upstream business then?
Well, these last all of 2 seconds on me. Ok, I lie. They last a little more than 2 seconds.
2 minutes maybe.
Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Kajal Liner Left: Noir Right: Jade
If they lasted longer on me, I’d tell you that these are very lovely eyeliners. Noir is a deep rich black that applies so easily on skin, almost as if like it was charcoal. Jade is a very interesting silver-green shade that is quite dark and very interesting. The texture is soft like a kohl pencil and it is about as deep and dark as a kohl pencil.
I tried them to line my eyes, tightline, line on my waterline and as a base for a smokey eye. They are great for lining and especially for tightlining, which I do a lot of. But for some reason, they smudge right off my eyes almost immediately. I can’t do anything with them! This is unusual for me which is why it bears mention.
As a base for a smokey eye like this tutorial here, it is nice. It gives that depth of colour to eyeshadow and eyeshadow helps it stay on better. However, for some reason, this really moves on my skin so I’m left with a lot of creasing. Again, unusual for me.
I like the colours and the depth of blackness Noir gives but I just can’t deal with it slipping and sliding and creasing so I’d have to be that salmon that swims upstream against the tide of raves and say that these Bobbi Brown Kajal Liners, lovely texture as they are, just may not cut it for some.
And by some, I mean me.
In a nutshell
The Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Kajal Liners are very lovely and soft and line the eyes without tugging on skin. Noir is a very presentable black that is very deep and a true black. They all come with a sponge smudger at one end and a sharpener which makes it very useful. I however find that they smudge and run too much on my eyes. They don’t stay on which it a pity as I like the soft texture and the depth of colour.
Pros: Lovely soft texture does not tug nor pull at the skin, Easy to use, Comes packaged with its own sharpener, Easy to smudge for a smokey eye look
Cons: Does not stay on my eyes, Smudges for me when used as a liner, Creases for me when used as a base
Who will like this: Anyone who is looking for a dark, soft, easy to blend eyeliner
Have you tried these Kajal Liners? Did you like them?
Instead of using a pencil liner, I’ve been using a dark/black eyeshadow to tightline a lot in recent times, and it’s been working very well for me. I’ll show you soon. As for these, I’m afraid that salmon you see is me swimming against the tide of mainstream opinion that says that these are longlasting, dark, easy to use liners that give you a beautiful line and a soft smokey eye 🙂
Paris B
Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Kajal Liners come in 6 shades Price: RM90 Availability: Bobbi Brown counters and stores
liyeun says
Smudges and creases? *gulp*
No go then. The Jade doesn’t look very jade-ish, eh?
Paris B says
Only on me Liyeun 🙂 Most people don’t report a similar problem. As for the shade name, that was my thought too. Jade wasn’t very jade at all but a pretty colour nonetheless!
Tracy@Beauty Reflections says
HAHA Salmon! I think it’s FUN to be a salmon. PLUS all that swimming upstream makes us STRONGER! 😉 This sounds horrible, but it doesn’t surprise me as I am just not a BB fan at all.
Paris B says
LOL You’re so right Tracy. We’re stronger for being Salmon! 😀 There’s a new liner coming out from BB that I tried recently and I’m in love with it. Keep a look out for it!
Ting says
Oh dear… I was intrigued to find out what’s the salmon part was about. I guess sliding, coming from BB shouldn’t even happen, when they have done so well with their gel liner.
Paris B says
Haha intriguing right? 😛 Apparently this is a problem unique to me so I’d rather not pan this altogether since so many other people love it! There’s one coming out in a couple of months that I saw recently and that one I love A LOT! So keep a lookout for it 😉
Ting says
Paris, after reading this post, I dug out my BB eyeliner in Noir (same one as you have) and tried using it again. Without a primer, it even transferred to my crease (not a pretty sight). By afternoon, the black colour was looking not so black anymore. I wore it to do a 1 hour shopping in the super market (yes been in air conditioned place the whole time) and it’s faded by the time I arrived home. 🙁
Cheh! Can’t believe I paid for this eyeliner. Perhaps layering would help?
Paris B says
Yikes! I’ve put these away in my to give away bag. Maybe someone else can have better use out of it 😛
Arianne says
Oh that sounds awful! I don’t remember any eyeliner that’s disappeared on me after 2 minutes. I actually wanted to buy this one in Black Coffee, but I think I’ll try it out first before I buy.
Paris B says
I’m actually quite sad this didn’t work for me because the black was just so dark and so lovely! I definitely recommend trying it for yourself first because many people have reported good results from this and I really hope I’m in the minority on this one!
Shari says
The old regular Bobbi eyeliner smudges on me and doesnt last as well. Ive kinda given up on pencil eyeliner anyway cos nothing ever stays on me 🙁 Any suggestions, PB?
Paris B says
Hmm I don’t line my eyes regularly Shari. I only tightline these days and I use the Guerlain Kohl pencil for that. For lining, I’ve found that the BB Gel liner works very well or if you want something longlasting, try a liquid liner from one of the Japanese brands. The Japanese do liquid eyeliner very well and they rarely budge! I think brands like Kiss me and Heroine Make are very popular although I haven’t tried it. I find the Maybeline Hypersharp very good too but it dries out too quickly for my liking. Otherwise, it’s a great eyeliner 🙂
Beauty Box says
This is how I feel about the NARS eyeliner which was highly raved about. I must say that it worked well for me in the first month but after that it just lost its edge – it kept smudging on me and I blame my oily lids. Even the formidable Bobbi Brown gel liner smudged on me a year after I purchased it. These items are not cheap and with a sigh, I might just go back to using Japanese liquid liners which don’t budge at all. There’s no reason to feel reluctant about this but to a beauty junkie, it is sad news because I love trying high end make up lol!
Paris B says
I spoke to a BB makeup artist and he told me that it could be anything from the condition of the skin around our eyes to our eye shapes that determined whether an eyeliner works for us! It’s a pity that yours would change on you after a while because it’s such a pain isn’t it? But you’re right. The Japanese liquid liners are amazing stuff. They just stay on and on! For me, I’ve been tightlining a lot so I’m not so fussed with liner 🙂
Lily says
Hhmmm interesting. These work quite well on me actually. But pencils don’t smudge or disappear in me that easily 🙂
Paris B says
Generally I have little trouble with liners but these were the exception. Good to know they work on you. For the most part these got raves everywhere!
Sunny says
Hey Paris, I have Jade but it doesn’t stay put on me, either. I feel that this formula never sets, and that just won’t work for my normal-to-oily lids. It does stay put for more than 2 minutes on me, but there are so many great formulas out there to settle for this one.
Paris B says
Oh good Sunny, I’m not alone and I’m not dreaming! LOL Thanks for sharing and you’re right. There are so many other options out there that there’s no need to settle. It’s good that we have an alternative view out there for people to be aware 🙂
melanie says
Nothing will stay on my lids without eye primer, regular face primer doesn’t cut it for my eyes. It doesn’t matter how waterproof the makeup says it is, on me it’s not. The worst was the Clinique chubby eye shadow stick and lid smoothie. I got a $5 eye primer from Japanese brand Canmake and nothing budges now. I even use under my eyes and it helps keep concealer from creasing.
Paris B says
That’s great to know Melanie 🙂 I don’t generally use eye primer as I don’t have a problem with oily lids or products staying on generally. So when something budges a lot, I usually take notice! The Canmake eye primer is great! I tried it once many years ago 🙂
gio says
Smudges and creases within minutes? I think I’ll pass then. Thanks for the review.
Paris B says
Haha I may be the exception Gio, there are many other raves online!
Sze Ling says
Hahahaha! The title of the post totally got me intrigued. Salmon?! What the what?!
The same applies to me when it comes to kajal/kohl liners. None of them stay on my lash/water-line. None! I’ve basically given up on them. 😛
Paris B says
LOL! Something fishy right? 😉 Most Kajal liners are so soft anyway which might explain why this one smudged on me but it could also be my eye or the weather or any number of reasons. So many people love these! I felt bad being a wet blanket LOL
Sam Still Reading says
No go for me then, especially with the price of BB here! I’ll stick with my Urban Decay liners – lovely and soft and they last on me.
Paris B says
Ah but UD liners smudge on me too with little to no wear so going by probabilities, the BB ones will likely work for you hehe