KIKO Ultimate Pen Long Wear eyeliner vs Bourjois Liner Feutre Very Long Lasting eyeliner

My favourite eyeliner used to be Revlon ColorStay Liquid pen eyeliner but it is so hard to get in Belgium that I’ve been trying some new eyeliners in order to replace it. I’ve been using KIKO and Bourjois for almost 2 months and I have very strong opinion about their quality I must say.

Price: KIKO costs 6,90€ and you can buy it either in stores in Italy, Spain or in some other European countries. If you live in Belgium, you can order it online at kikocosmetics.be. Bourjois costs 12,90€ in French Sephora but you can buy it in any drugstore probably for cheaper.

Colour: I bought both eyeliners in colour black; they were both well pigmented although I feel like Bourjois was slightly darker.

Bourjois Liner Feutre Very Long lasting eyeliner

Longevity: they both claim to be long-lasting and they both lasted on me for the whole day so no problem with that. What concerns the longevity of one pen; Bourjois had far more “juice” and lasted more than 2 weeks longer than the KIKO eyeliner. KIKO eyeliner didn’t “deal” well with the eyeshadows underneath while applying it and was skipping the line many times. I ended up using it only for the wing part.

Applicators (felt tip): KIKO has very thin felt tip applicator almost as thin as liquid eyeliners do so it was little bit hard to apply it on the lid and create thick line but it was far better at applying the wing. Bourjois has thick felt tip and it was easier to make a thick 60’s kind of eyeliner that I usually wear. Unfortunately the felt tip broke after 2 weeks and I could not do a precise line. I tried to cut the broken part but could not use it anymore to draw a wing only to draw the line on the lid.

KIKO Ultimate pen Long wear eyeliner

Final verdict: KIKO eyeliner was skipping the line and Bourjois eyeliner’s tip broke. At the end I had to use both of them at the same time to get the proper eyeliner look (Bourjois for the lid and KIKO for the wing). I think both eyeliners are quite a fail and I’m not going to repurchase any of them. I recently bought Yver Rocher and ARTDECO eyeliners so I will try them and definitely report back. I’m also planning to buy Maybelline and L’Oreal pen eyeliners as I’m determined to find a good drugstore replacement for that Revlon one.

Nivea Smooth Oil

It is almost summer and most of us don’t like to put any moisturiser on the body as the hot weather makes the creams feel sticky and slippery. However sun dries our skin and we should use something to hydrate it. During the day a moisturiser with high SPF is a must and for the night time one without SPF is better.
My favourite for summer time is Nivea smooth oil and here is a quick overview of what you get:

Price: I bought it in Slovakia, in DM drugstore for under 4€ (unfortunately I threw away the bottle so I don’t remember how much ml you get, but I think it was 200ml).

Smell: it has nice feminine scent, hint of Nivea classic cream perfume with floral base. I love this scent, it makes me feel very relax, it’s very comforting. The scent lasts quite long when I put it on in the evening I can still smell it in the morning. The scent is not overwhelming, nobody will smell it from the distance, it is very close and personal scent that only you know about.

Nivea Smooth Oil

Texture: it is oil but not a heavy one. It has almost liquid consistency; it is transparent, so it looks like water. Still, since it is oil, you can feel it’s a bit slippery. It is ok for me as it makes the application easier.

Hydration: it is focused on very dry skin and promises 24 hours hydration. After its application my skin felt very smooth just like it promises. It soaked into the skin fairly quickly considering that it is oil. It kept my skin hydrated for at least 15 hours (all night and part of the following day). As it is not heavy oil I recommend it for normal to oily skin girls for winter time and of course for girls with dry skin, like mine, for spring and summer time (in the winter I need something more “hard core” than this oil).

Final verdict: I love this body oil, its scent and hydration properties. I already used up one bottle and I’m definitely buying another one soon.

Back to basic: cream and liquid eyeshadows

Cream eyeshadows are generally not used very often since they have this image of too much work and not much of the staying power. For some of them it may be true but good cream eyeshadows can actually make an eye look fast and easy.

(from left to right) Milani Shadow eyez in Champagne toast and Cafe au lait, WjCoon Make it lasting colour stick in Rosa Quartz, NYX Jumbo eye pencil in Pots & Pan, Oyster and Purple velvet  

You can use cream eyeshadows for:

• Quick look when you don’t have much time, just use your finger and apply it to the lids and it’s done
• To intensify colour (in case your powder eyeshadow is not as pigmented as you’d like it to be)
• As a help to make a powder eyeshadow last longer
• As a sticky base for pigments and glitter
• Cream eyeshadows in very light colour (pearl white, light gold or silver, champagne) can be used as cream highlighter on your cheekbones, matt colour on the eyebrow bone and in inner part of the eye to brighten eye area

(from left to right) KIKO Vibrant eye pencil in 601, Boujois Metallic eyeliner in Noir effet miroir, Feuille de cuivre and Vert pepite, Maybelline Color show Crayon Khol in Chambray blue 

They come in different format, for example in pots (they tend to dry quicker than cream eyeshadows in other format and they are not super hygienic if you use fingers for application), as crayons (either thick crayons or skinny classic crayons, they have to be creamy enough to be smudged). Liquid eyeshadows usually come in tubes or concealer-like packaging with doe foot applicator.

(from left to right) Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo in Pink gold, Physicians Formula Custom Eye enhancing Gel CreamLiner for brow eyes, Bourjois Ombre a paupiere liquide in Beige metallique

Tips and tricks for easier application:

• If you have very oily lids use eyeshadow primer underneath cream eyeshadow 
• Use fingers or brush with synthetic bristles as they don’t soak as much product as brushes with natural bristles and they blend creams better (see the picture for examples) 
• Colourful gel eyeliners can be used the same way as cream eyeshadows, for example for smoky eye look use dark brown, blue or purple as a base and apply powder eyeshadow over it 
• Look for long-lasting eyeshadows, they can serve not only as cream eyeshadow but also as eyeshadow primer 
• Bright colours can make a natural eye look more exciting (apply cream colour eyeshadow under water line and smudge it) 
• If black eyeliner seems to be harsh for you, you can use dark purple, brown, blue cream eyeshadow instead (use thin brush used for gel eyeliners) 
• Don’t put too much of the cream eyeshadow otherwise it will crease even if it’s long-lasting, let it sit for few seconds and wipe away the access with finger 

(from left to right) Sigma F70, Real Techniques Domed shadow brush, Sedona Lace 312

My favourites:

Higher end:

• MAC paint pot (in MAC stores) 
• MAKEUP FOREVER Acqua cream (in Sephora) 
• Chanel Illusion D’Ombre (in Sephora or in perfumeries where they sell Chanel)

With drugstore price:

• Maybelline Eye Studio Color tattoo 24hours (in any drugstore) 
• Milani Shadow eyez (in drugstores in USA, but also at http://www.cherryculture.com) 
• Rimmel ScandalEyes Shadow stick (in any drugstore)