Product Review: Nichido Eye Pencil

It was during my last formal make up activity when I realized that there are still good products amidst the downgrade image local brands such as Nichido, Ever Bilena, and Careline. It was also when I read Lauren's blog that my trust on these make up line were strengthened.

During my last visit to Robinsons, I dropped by their department store and look at those modest shelves carrying the lines mentioned above. My eyes were caught by the sleek pencils beaming on the side of the shelf and I remembered Lauren telling her readers how great the pigmentation of this eye toy. The pencils themselves are already interesting to look at, and so I did not hesitate to haul five different shades. Each is priced at 80 php so it was not a big risk if it will turn out that this purchase is a fiasco.

Lauren was right, they are very pigmented (for darker shades) considering that they are really cheap. The dark colors are really dark, and the light ones are really light.

 

nice gal, smoke green, deep plum, metal blue, pink diamond

The two ends of the pencil come in the eyeliner form and the other is for smudge purpose if you intend to use the pencil as an eyeshadow and not as an eyeliner. Generally, it is a bit sharp and pointed so you have to be careful when you glide them on your eyelids. The best way is to apply it in a slant position if you intend to use it as an eyeshadow. In this way, you have a wider application and it is easier to smudge. The smudging part is also a pain for the eyes so do it gently and smoothly.

After several glide on the eyes (even in one make up session), the pencils though become dull and you should sharpen it so as to get a better surface for further application.

Why I like it:

• Readily available in department stores
• Cheap!
• For darker shades, it has a strong pigmentation
• Flexible (eyeliner, eyeshadow, eye accent)
• Wide variety of colors

Why I do not like it:

• It gets easily dull, you need to have a readily available sharpener
• The lighter shades (nice gal and pink diamond) has an unreasonable type of lightness
• The smudge foam could have been more friendly to the eyes
• Staying power is not reliable

Will I buy it again?

It's nice to have these pencils on your treasure chest but for me they are best worn as eyeliner and as an added accent to the eyeshadow but not as the primary eyeshadow. If you are in the mood to play along with eyeliners aside from doning your neutral ones, then these pencils are for you. But if you think of having them as your eyeshadows, I guess it is not a wise investment.