Rodial XXL Lip Liner & Smokey Eye Liners Review

I think 'how to create a smoky eye' is one of the most popular questions typed into Google and Rodial Smokey Eye Pens make it a really simple and easy thing to do. Although Rodial calls these pens, they are in fact pencils (not a felt tip pen liner.) You just draw along the lash-line and smudge the line upwards and out to create the smoke effect. Voila! Then reapply along the lash line for definition. These pens are creamy, they don't tug but glide on and are easy to smudge/work with. They're not as creamy as Urban Decays Perversion but on par with Rimmel's soft kohl pencil liner. I used the brush that comes with the Maybelline gel liners to help smoke out the liner. They are safe to use on the waterline so after you've smoked out the upper lid you can finish the look by applying the pen to the waterline and lower lash line.

Rodial says that their Smokey Eye Pens offers 'super-rich pigment and gel-effect definition...This long-lasting soft formula easily blends for a build-able smokey eye effect with all day hold.' I think their description is pretty much spot on apart from the 'gel effect.' The smokey eye pens are a little reflective like a gel liner but often it looks like pencil on the eyes rather than gel liner. I also found that the black smoky eye looked better than the brown one. I don't know if it's because black smoky eyes are more of a classic look. When it came to sharpening them I used a pencil sharpener as Rodial's website suggests but I soon discovered that you can twist the end of the pencil to get more product, which is much better as then you're not wasting any product. The only thing I'd want to change is having a colour indicator at the top of the pens so I can tell them apart quickly and easily when I store them in a pot without having to take them out in order to read what shade it is.

I really like Rodial's Smokey Eye Pens and I feel that they're not just a gimmick, they're actually really useful to create a smoky eye fast, even with minimal makeup skills. Another bonus is that they're safe to use on the waterline as well.

Rodial XXL Lip Liner in Nude

Rodial describes their XXL lip liner as a 'creamy, soft formula. This tinted lip liner glides effortlessly on, creating the illusion of fuller, more defined lips. Offering high coverage and excellent colour payoff with long-lasting, waterproof and anti-feathering wear, this formula will stay put.'

Nude is a light pink matte shade that looks fairly natural when lining the lips. It's actually a rosy pink colour that is a bit lighter than my natural lip colour. It was excellent at outlining my lips making them look bigger but it dragged and tugged when I tried to colour my lips in. Rodial and some other reviews I read describe the lip liner as creamy, but I don't find it to be so. Compared to the eye pens which are smooth, creamy and soft this is the opposite, being dry and hard which is such a shame. It does not glide on either. The light rose pink shows up well on my lips but the hard, dry pencil affects how much coverage and how much pigment you can get out of it. It's almost, but not quite waterproof in that it hardly transfers much on cups and glasses. It depends on what you're snacking on but it generally lasts through a snack. It does need to be reapplied after a meal though. It's pretty long lasting for a lip liner. I don't really have a problem with lipstick fethering but it wasn't that great at keeping my lip gloss in place. It does twist up from the bottom but mine doesn't seem to work so I have been sharpening it instead. Unlike the Smokey Eye Pens it has a colour indicator at the top so you can see what colour it is at a glance.

The XXL part alludes to a plumping complex consisting of  a Vegetal Filling Spheres and Hyaluronic Acid to make lips appear smoothed and plumped with long-lasting hydration. However this definitely does not hydrate lips and I didn't notice a plumping or smoothing effect. Rodial's XXL Lip liner is £19 and I feel that the poor performance does not justify the expensive, luxury price. There are better lip liners out there for a much cheaper price.

Overall the eye liners are worth it, especially you struggle to do smoky eyes or are often tight on time because using Rodial's smokey eye pens are quick and easy. (However If  you were on a budget you could experiment with other creamy eye liners to see if you can get the same effect.)  While I love me some brown eye liner I think that going with the black Smokey Eye Pen is better for a creating a smoky eye. Personally I don't feel that Rodial's XXL Lip Liner is worth buying. How can you market a lip liner that's so dry as hydrating? The hyaluronic acid which is known for it's moisturising properties is lost in this product, they need much more of it to make it hydrating. Don't fall for the plumping effect either.

Rodial Smokey Eye Pens £17 Online here
Rodial XXL Lip Liners £19  Online here

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Highlighting Dome & Lip Liner Fixer Review

The Body Shop Lip Liner Fixer is a transparent lip liner that is designed to keep your lipstick in one place and prevent lipsticks from bleeding into any fine lines. I'm lucky in that lipsticks rarely bleed on me, but I love using this for lip glosses that move all over the place and leave you looking like a toddler who's just eaten a strawberry lolly. You simply draw around your lips first and then apply lipstick or lip gloss and it shouldn't budge past the lip liner line.  It feels really soft and creamy since it contains moisturising marula oil, castor oil and Jojoba oil. It also contains beeswax to help to create the barrier effect but this ingredient might not suit vegans. Overall it feels lightweight on the lips and very comfortable and smells like honey. The Body Shop Lip Liner Fixer is retractable so there's no need to sharpen and waste product that way. In a pinch you could also use this to keep your brows in place as it contains wax. The price isn't bad for such a unique product (£8) and since it is transparent it will go with any coloured lipstick or lip gloss so it's good value for money.

There are three Honey Bronze Highlighting Domes, 01 a silvery highlighter, 02 a shimmery blush and 03 a shimmery Bronzer. I chose the shimmery blush because it seemed the most pigmented. The packaging is cute with a screw top lid and similar in size to a pot of lip balm. As part of the Honey Bronze line it's dark brown and gold and of course contains honey in it's ingredients. The colour is  a gorgeous pink with gold shimmer through it and pretty much the same shade as The Balm Hot Mama blush but in a cream form. (You can see the comparison photos on Monica's Blog Beauty In Five Minutes.) There is a slight golden sheen when applied to the face but it's very natural looking and not glittery at all, mostly it's a just got out from the cold red rosy cheek colour. You can apply the blusher straight from the dome but I found it best to use a finger to apply the product right where you want it and you can layer the product easier this way. The dome is hard to keep it's shape but the blusher is soft and warms up with fingers making it easy to blend. Best of all it's long wearing and so you don't need to lock in the colour by applying powder blush on top, it will last the whole day by itself, though it fades a little after 8 hours. It has a sweet honey, rosewater and fruity smell but the smell isn't overpowering. The price of this cream blush is quite reasonable at £8 for 6.5g, you get a lot for your money and I think it will last me a long time. I'd say that both these two products were a good buy and i'd definitely recommend them.

      What have you bought lately from The Body Shop? What do you recommend?

Both the Lip Liner Fixer and Honey Bronze Highlighting Domes are available from The Body Shop.