Massively disappointed with Eyeko Skinny Liquid Liner


After reading tons of rave reviews of the Eyeko Skinny Liner (in black), I was delighted to see it as a magazine freebie in this week's Glamour. £2.00 for a £12.00 liner? Yes, please! I wanted the black one to be honest, but my local supermarkets only had the navy option left. I like experimenting with colours and navy seemed like a perfect Summer shade, so I picked it up and couldn't wait to use it! As soon as I arrived home, I opened the liner and swatched it on my hand. Outcome?

Nothing came out. I gave it a little shake and pressed it harder against the skin (using the side of the nib) and it worked. It looked super pigmented and dried quickly to a nice, slightly glossy finish. I thought that it will work fine after that, but... unfortunately when I tried to draw a thin line again, there was almost no colour payoff and the line was very faint. I gave it another shake, tried to draw a thin line again - same thing happened. At that point, I had a feeling that it won't perform well on the eyelids, but I gave it a go anyway. 

Let's just say that it wasn't a pleasant experience...The colour payoff was close to nothing and when I pressed it harder against the eyelid, using the side, it would just leak the product and leave a big stain. Basically it looked like a blue pen leaked allover my eyes if I used the side of the liner and the thin lines I tried to draw with the tip were almost invisible... Not a good look at all! Drawing a flick was IMPOSSIBLE as well! I can't even describe it. I tried my best to draw a thin line many times, but it just didn't happen.  The liner is an absolute nightmare to use and it is not due to my makeup skills. I am seriously good at liquid (and gel) liner and I can do it in a moving car, in a hurry etc and it is always perfect! 

On top of that, the tip felt very uncomfortable on the delicate skin around my eyes and there was some serious tugging involved. It wasn't a nice feeling. I am not a big fan of felt tip liners in general, but this was extreme and I felt like I was dragging a dried up pen along my top lash line. I also struggled to remove it and I had to triple cleanse with oil based products to get most of the colour off my eyelids. I still have navy panda eyes to be honest and will have to cleanse again...

I shared my experience on Instagram and guess what? Over 20 people commented saying the same things: hard to work with, terrible colour payoff, dried up, hard to remove. You can read the comments HERE. I am seriously disappointed and I won't be buying the black version. Maybe the batch of magazine freebies is different than the actual retail version, because there is absolutely no way someone could draw a nice flick or any sort of line with the liner I got. I have seen many pictures of a perfect cat eye created with this liner (in black) by bloggers I trust, so this is very confusing for me. I just can't work with this tip at all and it just feels like the top of it is completely dried up. So odd!

If the product is different/not the same quality as the retail version, what is the point to sell it in a magazine for £2.00? Most bloggers will buy it, try it, hate it and write bad things about it. Not a good move for a respected makeup brand in my opinion, hence my confusion! I haven't experienced anything similar with other felt tip liners and I simply had to bin/stop using them for hygiene reasons after 6 months, not because they dried up or didn't work. They all draw perfectly pigmented fine lines every time! Bourjois, Urban Decay, Eye Of Horus, Zoeva - absolutely no problems with their felt tip liners!

THE GOOD THINGS:
If the application process was easy and the felt tip didn't feel so horrible on the eyelids, this liner would be fab because the actual formula is fantastic! As you can see on the photos below, the thick line is super pigmented and there is absolutely no feathering. Once the liner is on, it is not going anywhere and I am assuming that it would last all day or even 24h+. I also adore the design and the packaging! That's why it's a real shame that it didn't work for me and other girls who commented on my instagram and twitter.

As you can see, the thin lines are not pigmented at all and I only got some product out by pressing hard against the skin with the side of the liner. 

What are your thoughts? Have you tried the Skinny Liquid Liner by Eyeko London? Was it a retail version or a magazine freebie? Let me know how it performed.


  


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