Smudge, or doesn't budge? (Stila Smudge Pots)

Member Name: glitter_princess

Product:	Stila Smudge Pots
Date:	25/11/08 (317 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to apply; really lasts

Disadvantages: Need to buy a brush to apply, can't apply anywhere !

I am a bit of an eyeliner fiend - I never leave the house without a smidge of eyeliner on and as you might expect I have tried lots of different varieties of eyeliner. Having tried liquid eyeliners and pencil eyeliners, I was excited when I saw Stila had brought out a gel eyeliner called Smudge Pots. I was particularly drawn to the name - I love the smokey look that you can get with eyeliner, but appart from Benefit's Bad Gal liner, I've not yet found an eyeliner that can create a smudged look that lasts without just looking messy a few hours later.

Smudge pots come in a teeny plastic pot about 2cm in diameter. They come in 6 different colours - black, brown, grey, emerald, bronze and cobalt. The grey is a nice twist on black - a bit more subtle and easier to wear - but my favourite is the classic black, really deep black which doesn't lose its colour on application. The texture is really creamy and this makes it really easy to apply - much more so than liquid eyeliner and if you're trying to line the tops lash line, I would say it beats pencil liner for that. The trick to application is to use a clean, dampened brush - I do use the Stila eyeliner brush simply because I bought them both in a set, but any eyeliner brush should do the job. Stila do also do a double ended eyeliner and smudge brush designed specifically for the smudge pots, but at £24 I've not shelled out on this yet! I find pencils can sometimes apply a lot of pressure on the delicate eyelid and feel scratchy on the skin, and liquid liners can be fiddly, but this has just the right consistency to glide on easily.

It goes on creamy and dries very quickly, leaving you with a perfect matte finish which doesn't move. The staying power of this stuff is great - this is the only eyeliner I have ever used that stays on my lower lash line all day and the staying power in general is so good that I use it as stage make-up - a real staying power test! I find that lesser eyeliners can disappear if there is any hint of oil on the lids - so any sweat or moisture will send it sliding all over your eyes. No the case with this one - I'm impressed! It stays on through rain, snow, heat - it's weather proof! Although it's named Smudge Pots, you can apply these to achieve that smudged look, or in a sleek line, depending on the look you're after. I do find though, that if you are going for a smudged look, then the staying power isn't quite as good and it tends to smudge further throughout the day. Not really a massive issue for me - if you've got a smokey look going on, you don't really care about a bit more smudging!

I have found that the gel in the pot tends to dry out quite quickly, but is easy enough to carry on using as long as you are applying with a wet brush. When it became too hard to use, I used a tip I picked up which was to use a Q-tip to just take off the top layer of the gel, revealing the gel underneath to be good as new!

The need to apply these with a wet brush means that they can't just be applied anywhere, so I still carry my Benefit Bad Gal eyeliner with me if I know I'll be pushed to get to a mirror.

I bought my smudge pot in a stila set which included lots of other products, but these retail at £13 each on www.hqhair.com

Summary: Fab smokey eyeliner from Stila