Never underestimate the power of muscle memory.
I’m so used to lining my eyes with regular pencil liners that I was afraid I’d poke my eye out with the Black Matte and White Matte Kajals from The Body Shop ($15 each).
See that long, pointy tip in the pic? Coo’, right?
BUT SO SCARY.
Something about it screams, “Yer gonna poke yer eye out, kid!”
I haven’t yet (poked my eye out, that is), which is good, but the night is young, haha!
Here’s something else that’s good: these liners feel great in my paws. The part you hold is sort of ergonomically curved, and it makes them comfy to hold and pretty easy to control, even with that gigantic, super long tip.
Formula-wise, these matte liners are smooth and creamy and made for smudging. You just line your lash lines with them, and then run a brush or a Q-tip along the edges to feather it out. You have about 10 minutes of playtime before the product sets.
I think these definitely do better on my lash lines than they do on my water lines. On the latter, I can’t get them to stay put! Both the black and the white start out intense, matte and completely opaque, but two hours later they’ve all but disappeared (the fading is already noticeable after 30 minutes).
On my lash lines, though, I can go five or six hours before I feel like I need a touchup.
Of course, if my combination lids happen to be in an extra oily mode that day, the liner will transfer into my crease when I blink.
As far as smudgy liners go, I think these are solidly OK. If I had something like a $16 MAC Eye Kohl in Feline or Smolder around (both are pitch black), or MAC Fascinating (a stark white), I’d probably reach for those first, because of the ability to use them on my lash AND water lines, but these would do well enough in a pinch.
Lulle says
It’s too bad they don’t last on the waterline, because that’s what kajals are made for. The shape doesn’t seem convenient to apply them as regular liner on the lash line, and they won’t stay pointy very long anyway!
tirurit says
I think it’s the first time I see a kajal in white!
Kiss & Make-up says
I was so hoping that they’d stay put on the waterline! I definitely would have picked them up if they did. But alas.
LindaLibraLoca says
I played with them in store recently and they really are super soft. But I don’t wear white and I won so many black liners, I left them there.
jessica says
Ohhh these look cool.
But stuff like this is exactly why I have limited myself to UD only except for … well, exceptions. This is not an exception. But they are cute!
Fancie says
They look pretty cool but the tip is SUPER long sheesh. I’d be worried about poking my eye out lol. The swatches look great but it’s too bad they don’t hold up on the waterline seeing as though that’s exactly what I use kohls for
gio says
It’s a shame that white doesn’t last long on the waterline. That’s where I’d use it. As for the black, pretty, but I have way too many black eyeliners already. I don’t need another one.
Courtney Janak says
I look forward to your blog posts, you are full of so much inspiration. Xoxo
Jennifer says
Kajals are not supposed to be applied like a regular eyeliner. They are supposed to be applied sideways, with the tip of the kajal towards the tear duct. You almost close your eye, and pull the kajal through the length of the top and bottom eyelid margins (a.k.a. “waterline”). To apply it on the lid, as regular eyeliner, do the same sideways method, but on top of the lid.
TL;DR –> Kajals are not supposed to be applied like regular eyeliner – they are supposed to be applied sideways.
Tigerlily says
The white one looks like it could be used as a base to make those lighter eyeshadows pop! The way NYX Milk jumbo pencil is rumored to do…but since it’s not available in my neck of the woods >:-/ I may give TBS’ a try!
Daniel says
A saw them on TBS and was interested on them, but I wanted to see a review 🙂 I was planning on buying the white one, but now I think I’ll buy another brand. Which MATTE white eyeliner do you recommend??
Kim says
HAHA on the “swatch out”. 🙂 Oh, my. If these transfer to your crease when you blink, I could expect to look like a raccoon 5 minutes after applying.