Fuchsia future.

Pink eyeliners aren't really that easy to find. Most of the time, it's always blue, green, and violet that's readily available in makeup aisles. But pink? Well, that's another adventure of sorts. So imagine my surprise when I saw a pink eyeliner in a drugstore makeup brand's corner. What also made it better was that I got it for 50% off the price tag. ;)

This is essence cosmetic's kajal pencil in 24 Pretty in Fuchsia. When I first saw it, it reminded me instantly of Urban Decay's Glide-On Pencil in Woodstock but when I swatched Pretty in Fuchsia, both pencils have different shades. While Woodstock is more of a red-pink shade with silver sparkle, Pretty in Fuchsia is a proper fuchsia leaning more purplish than red and has a sheen but no sparkle. It's a pretty spot on color and because of its purple undertones, I think this would really look good on brown eyes.

 Since it's a kajal, I expected it to be easily smudged and yes, it is easily blendable, but the product is very fragile. It's not like MAC's kajal pencils where the product is tough enough to use to line the eyes and soft enough to blend out. No, this essence kajal is a really soft product before, during, and after application. Use it too hard and you'll end up with something like this:

So that happened after lining a fourth of the way. While lining, it tends to crumble too so it's not the easiest and cleanest product to use to line the eyes. But I managed, barely, for swatch purposes. ;)

It's not as bright on the eyes and I dunno if that's just because of my skintone but personally, I think it's a good color to add a little pop to the eyes without being too loud and shiny. Shame this is too soft though because I would've used it in a heartbeat on days where I want a little color on my eyes. :(

One thing I discovered while playing with this kajal: it's best used when smudged. It's better to have product on the back of the hand first where it can break and crumble then smudge it with your fingers. The heat of the fingers help it melt and blend easily on the lids. 

Isn't that such a gorgeous shade? I was really digging how it looked on the lids. There's that purple undertone, the pink shade, a little red peeking through...it's such a lovely color. Unfortunately, I won't be able to use it as is because it creased on me. It's still a kajal, after all.

I have to say one thing however: when I had it on, I felt a little warmth on my lids. Got me on the verge of tearing up too. I guess that's why on the cap, they put a disclaimer about the product containing carmine. Carmine is a red pigment obtained from the aluminum salt of carminic acid and it's commonly used as a food dye. While it's somewhat safe for the most part, it could still cause allergies and such to some people. So while I'm not particularly allergic to it, I'm also not as numb as I thought. So you know, proceed with caution not just with this, but with all products that may contain carmine because you never know how you'd react to it.

I thought Pretty in Fuchsia would be different than Taupe Me! in terms of texture but they're pretty much the same: soft, breakable, and blendable. The only difference is that Taupe Me! has glitters while Pretty in Fuchsia has a sheen. Is this worth picking up? Yes, if you want to try it. Repurchase? No, not really. I'd rather have pencils that don't break easily. So essence, I think it's time to reformulate this and package it as a gel pencil. Just sayin'. ;)