Chi Chi Gel Eyeliner

I found this eyeliner set at Farmers while they were having a 30% off sale, so I picked up 10 gel eyeliner pencils for $27.99! A real bargain considering that single eyeliners are about $15 each.

After sampling the 10 colours on the back of my hand, I tried to smudge them and they didn’t budge! I then tried washing them off with regular hand wash and again they didn’t move an inch. They definitely live up to the expectation of being long-wearing, smudge-proof and waterproof. To get them off, I had to use Maybelline Eye & Lip make-up remover (the blue and clear dual phase one) and they came off really easily without having to rub or scrub. I just let the cotton pad soaked in make-up remover sit on the area for 30 seconds before gently wiping it off. If you don’t have a make-up remover on hand, an oil cleanser works well too (try The Oil Cleansing Method or Lipidol Cleansing Oil).

The consistency of these gel pencils really is amazing! Its creamy, easy to apply, they have great pigmentation and colour pay-off, are long-lasting and don’t irritate my eyes. There’s no drag on the eyelid while the pencil is being applied and the plastic tube ensures that there are no hard pieces of wood to scratch at my delicate eyelids after sharpening them.

When the tip wears down the plastic tubes can be sharpened with a cosmetic sharpener (not a regular pencil sharpener). The soft plastic outer coating will come off the same way as a wooden pencil does when it’s sharpened. If you’re having a little trouble with sharpening them, try popping them in the fridge for a little while to harden up the plastic before sharpening them.

Colours in the Chi Chi Gel Eyeliner set include:
Lo-Cal Chocolate (a rich matte brown), Midas Touch, (a light metallic gold), Caribbean Queen (a turquoise green), Black is Black (the blackest matte black), Diamonds in the Sky (black with very fine silver glitter), Matte White, Boys Boys Boys (baby blue matte), Dream Lover (metallic cobalt blue), Beauty School Drop Out (shimmery purple) and Hopelessly Devoted (Hot Pink) which can also be used as a lip liner.

The little coloured bases on the ends of the pencils aren’t always glued on properly and may pop off or get stuck inside the lid, if like me, you like to put the lid on the back of the pencil. If you’re worried about this happening, just give the bases a gentle tug when you get them. If any pop off, simply glue them back on. To prevent any of them coming off in future, paint a stripe of clear nail polish around the rim where the coloured base meets the body of the pencil.

Chi Chi Gel Eyeliner sets are available from Farmers, other Chi Chi stockists and online. (Also available from Target and Myer, if you live outside New Zealand).