(Note: I had taken photos of the four neutral Smoothies all together, before planning the Black Box week, and then used Licoriche – which is why it’s accompanied by three other shades here! The review, however, is just for the one pencil, and I’ll try to do the other three soon.)
The product: Annabelle Smoothie eyeshadow pencil in Licoriche
The colour: Licoriche is, in short, a very black sort of black. It’s deliciously intense and dries to a satiny matte finish, and makes a gorgeous smokey eye, whether it’s just subtle shading around the lashline or the base colour for a dramatic, super-dark look.
The wear: Unfortunately, I don’t get all-day wear out of this, much less “waterproof, crease-free, and mess-free” wear. Within just two hours of application (no primer, no powder), it had migrated, faded, and creased – but, then, I didn’t really expect much else from my lids! I know that readers & fellow bloggers Tracy (Beauty Reflections) and Arianne (Glitter Geek) love them, so I’d definitely recommend checking out their reviews if you’re interested in the pencils.
Annabelle Smoothie in Licoriche, smoked out very lightly around the eye & applied to the upper lashline. It makes a gorgeous thirty-second eye, emphasizing but still looking incredibly natural!
The application: Right off the bat, I was taken with how smoothly Licoriche took to both the waterline and lashline. The über-creamy formula slid right on to deliver really intense, opaque colour with zero patchiness – quite literally the easiest, most comfortable, and most perfect black I’ve evertried on my waterline, and the most blendable black eyeshadow/liner/base that I’ve tried, as well.
The ingredients:
Isododecane, Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG/PPG-19/19 Dimethicone, Synthetic Wax, Hydrogenated Polydicyclopentadiene, Nylon-12, C20-40 Alcohols, Perfluorononyl Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-4 Diisostearate/Polyhyroxystearate/Sebacate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Polyethylene, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Silica, Isoceteth-10, Tocopherol, Iron Oxide.
How these compare
I looked into the ingredient lists to compare these against other “big name” eyeshadow pencils, and found…
- Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils ($24) feature the exact same formula, and
- Sephora’s Jumbo Liner 12H Wear Waterproof Pencils ($12) feature a very similar formula, but
- NARS Soft Touch Shadow Pencils ($28) and NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils ($6)? Totally different!
In conclusion…
If you’re looking to try an eyeshadow pencil (or, specifically, you’re a fan of Urban Decay’s) and you don’t often have problems with your eyeshadow creasing, give these a go. Because so many other bloggers and makeup jonkies are crazy about them, I’m pretty sure they’re not a bad product – just, perhaps, not for me :P
I’m hesitant to offer a verdict on these without trying some of the other shades (particularly because this one is a matte, and most are shimmers), but I hope to have a complete review for you soon! In the meantime, I’ll be ferreting this one away to join my hoards of black liners. Okay, so maybe I already have an unreasonable number of them, but this one is just so photo-perfect on my waterline! You can’t make me give it up! *flails*
Annabelle “Licoriche” Smoothie Extreme Longwear Eyeshadow Pencil, swtached; direct sunlight
Annabelle “Licoriche” Smoothie Eyeshadow Pencil, swtached; indirect sunlight
P.S. I had used Licoriche to prep for this Clarins makeup look. Because it’s just the base colour, the following shot is quite a mess, but nonetheless – the product itself makes a gorgeous, incredibly blendable base colour, and it’s a brilliant way to lay down the foundation of a smokey eye in two minutes or less!
