Sorry I've not posted for a while. I've been pretty busy with life and the blog took a back seat but I shall endeavour to post more regularly from now on.
Today's review is Barry M's Bold Waterproof Eyeliner. We all know that many eyeliners profess to be waterproof, smudgeproof and wonderful but rarely is that the case in my experience. My one bugbear is finding eyeliners soft enough to use around the delicate eye area and ones that are pigmented enough to use on the waterline (your lower eyelid). I don't feel my makeup is finished until I have eyeliner on my waterline, it's just a habit of mine. Many many eyeliners have passed through my hands and most of them have disappointed me. I am glad to say that Barry M's Bold Waterproof Eyeliner is not one of them :-).
Colour swatch of the Barry M Waterproof Eyeliner.
Left to Right:
Bold Gunmetal, Bold Bronze, Bold Blue, Bold Gold, Bold Purple, Bold Black and Bold Silver.
This is an accurate swatch of the colours and once the pencil had set on my hand, I attempted to smudge them. I had to apply a lot of pressure, enough to stretch the skin on the back of my hand and as you can see, the colour has barely moved.
Photo showing the coloured text on the barrels and the coloured caps on the bottom of the pencils.
Product: Barry M Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil.
Price Range: Budget/Low priced range. Barry M Bold Waterproof eyeliner pencils retail at £3.99 per pencil. For me, this is a very good price for the quality of the product.
Shade Range: These eyeliner pencils come in seven shades, Gunmetal (dark iron grey), Bronze, Blue, Gold, Purple, Black and Silver. All shades are metallic except the black.
Appearance: A black barrel with a clear cap and coloured ends matching the colours of the pencil. I really like that these have clear caps, coloured ends and the text and print on the barrel of the pencil matches the colour. Royal blue text on the blue pencil, purple text on the purple pencil and so on. The only text colour that doesn't match the pencil colour is the black, for obvious reasons. Black text and a black barrel do not mix well ;-). Instead the text and print is a pale powder blue so stands out really well.
The coloured ends and clear caps make it easy to find the colour you want in your makeup bag or pencil pot. We all have those times where we are in a rush and have spent a precious five minutes looking for the pencil we need at that time. The clear caps and coloured ends solve this problem for me :-).
Application: I never thought I'd say this but it is possible for a pencil to be too easy to apply. The only drawback with these is that in warm weather, the pencil becomes too soft and needs five minutes in the fridge to cool and harden.
These are incredibly easy to apply, silky smooth and pigment rich so you only need to apply one line rather than going over and over the same area to build up the colour. In fact I would say they were equal to, if not better than Urban Decay's 24/7 pencils and that is some standard to beat!
Performance: As I've said before, pencils often claim to be waterproof, smudgeproof and everything-else-proof! I've lost count of the amount of times I've worn a 'smudgeproof' eyeliner only to be confronted with eyes reminiscent of a member of Kiss an hour later!
These go above and beyond their claims. They really are smudgeproof and waterproof, a test on my hand revealed that a good rub with my fingertip achieved little more than a slight smudge and considering I rubbed my fingertip over the pencil line quite firmly, this was a good result! We've had wet but humid weather and a heatwave here the past week or so and these pencils have stood up to the wet and the heat without any smudging, running or fading. A four hour trip in to town and grocery shopping the other day revealed that my eyeliner was still as fresh and bright as when I left the house, it hadn't smudged, run or faded. An extra bonus is that when used on my waterline, the colours are just as strong as they are on my skin and also, they do not make my eyes sting or water. I have sensitive skin and eyes and this is a big plus point for me. All this and super easy to remove with a makeup remover wipe. Some eyeliners can stand the wear and tear but can be really hard to remove and when it comes to the delicate eye area, the last thing you want to be doing is rubbing and scrubbing at the skin to remove stubborn makeup.
Positive Points: Long lasting and hard wearing eyeliner that is as pigment rich on the skin as it is in the barrel. You can't actually see it in the pencil itself but once on the skin, the purple shade and the royal blue shade have a very slight glitter effect that when on the skin, gives a metallic/foiled finish but in a very subtle and pretty way.
Negative Points: None! The only one I can think of is that I'd like a slightly wider shade range, a emerald green and a brown would be lovely but as this is a new product, I am hoping the shade range will expand in time. The only thing that may disappoint some is the metallic finish of the shades, some people will prefer a matte finish so as I said above, I hope the shade range expands once the product has settled in to the market and been out a while.
Would I recommend this product? Absolutely yes! I've tried many eyeliners, some of which have been high-end brands and these beat those hands down. The silky smooth application coupled with the pigment rich texture and hard wearing results even in testing weather conditions is a all round winner for me. The fact they are fine on sensitive skin is a huge plus. I actually can't think of anything seriously negatively wrong with this product.
