Rimmel SCANDALEYES Shadow Stick Review

 

Just recently Rimmel brought out a new addition to their Scandaleye range in the shape of eyeshadow pencils.  I found this very exciting as I am very into cream and pencil shadows right now.  I find they are easy to use, blendable and also make great bases for shadow products to add intensity and lastability.

In the UK Rimmel have only released five of the shades, and have decided not to release the white, green and blue ones over here.  Im not sure why, I think they would be very popular, and at this very affordable price point I'm sure would sell well.  

Currently they are £3.49 at Superdrug (free postage online till Feb 14th) and £5.99 and in a 3 for 2 offer at Boots.

So, after testing them and swatching them, here are the pros and cons, as well as a review of all the colours and a star rating on each. 

First what does Rimmel promise, this is what Boots have on their page:

High Impact Colour Shadow Stick. High impact cream shadow stick that applies in a flash. Precision tip applicator and ultra-soft formula glides on smoothly and won’t tug or pull lids for a subtle or intense look. High-shine and luminous finish

They also claim to be 24 hour waterpoof!  This is printed on the pencil itself.

Before I start with the pros and cons, here are some pictures of the colours and swatches:

BAD BRONZE

BULLETPROOF BEIGE

TEMPTING TURQUOISE

PARANOID PURPLE

BLACKMAIL

First off, love the choices for names, they have a hard mysterious edge that appeals to me and my love of crime, as in crime programmes and books that is.  

So first lets rate them:

BAD BRONZE - ***                      A medium chocolate brown

BULLETPROOF BEIGE - **        A champagne gold

TEMPTING TURQUOISE - ****  A vibrant turquoise

PARANOID PURPLE - ***           A blackened purple

BLACKMAIL - *****                      A true black

So as you can see, some colours faired better than others.

Lets get the negatives out of the way first:

THE LIDS - They are cheap and not suited to the product.  When you first get yours they may even be very hard to get off, beware though because in your struggle you could take the tip of your pencil off, yes they are that soft!  I would have preferred an opaque lid, that was more solid and less cheap looking and feeling, they would have looked classier to, and be less potentially damaging to the product, perhaps thats more to do with the fit of the lid.

THE PENCIL - They wipe away with a tissue, no makeup remover just a plain, ordinary tissue.  If you leave them this might not be quite as easy, but.... left on the back of my hand BULLETPROOF BEIGE in particular just evaporated.  Within a few hours there was barely a trace there, and after washing my hands they were gone completely and i didnt even rub at them or apply soap so 24hour waterproof RIMMEL, I dont think so.  So if you are an eye rubber you may want to give these a miss.

Another thing is how soft they are, we all want a soft pencil so it doesnt drag our skin and feels nice to apply, these are TOO soft, too much pressure and pop goes the end of your pencil.  I would hate to see what a hot climate would do to these!

THE COLOURS - Why is the UK not good enough to get the whole range, annoying!!  Also the colours themselves are not all strong, bulletproof beige is a champagne goldy colour not beige and bad bronze is more bad brown, and well paranoid purple, yes it must be paranoid because it cant decide if it wants to be black or purple, so it switches between the two. 

But enough of all that negativity, lets get to the positives, because there are positives.

THE PRICE - These are very affordable shadow pencils, that aim to mimic urban decay shadow pencils and NYX, they may not be as good, but they are a good high street alternative, if you just want a quick fix.

THE COLOURS - The black and turquoise stand out from the others by a mile, they last longer on the skin, are very vibrant and true colours.

THE PENCILS - They are pigmented, creamy and not at all streaky on application.  They glide over the skin and could work equally well as dramatic eyeliner or as a shadow, they also blend nicely for a smoky eye.  And with primer and a setting spray their lastability could be extended.  Also they make a great base for other eye products, such as powder shadows.  They are also very glossy and do contain small glitter pigments that reflect light beautifully.

THE PACKAGING AND NAMES - I touched on this before, the names are genius i love them, and the packaging, with exception of the lid is nice and simple.  Its not gaudy, or too much its just simple and the coloured end means you can put them upside down in a pot and get the colour you want at speed.

TO SUM IT ALL UP....

Before I conclude I will tell you that I dont like RIMMEL as a brand at all, the packaging and products do nothing for me, I have a black nail varnish and a black lipgloss by them, and that is it.  But now I can add 5 pencils to that because as much as they have issues, I feel like I can work with them, and at that price point I wouldnt expect them to wow me the way the Urban Decay shadow pencils do.  You get what you pay for with cosmetics in my opinion, this is something I have learned over the past few years.  But you don't always have to go for that higher brand to get a great look, its not like a named handbag or those designer shoes, nobody sees the labels on what you put on your face after all.  You have to find what works for you.   

I love the versatility of a pencil shadow, its creamy, soft and makes application easier, I can be more creative with how and where I apply the colour and these will be a fun addition to my collection.

Scandalous I know, but Rimmel as much as this product has its flaws, I like it anyway... but you have not converted me, just release those other colours and stop teasing!!

Live, Love, Laugh

And remember, the name of this blog is UNAPOLOGETIC, I'm going to be honest with you always, you might not agree but its good to hear every side of the story xx