"The Chosen One" (The Body Shop Eye Definer Pencil)

Member Name: LRWade

Product:	The Body Shop Eye Definer Pencil
Date:	30/08/09 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Highly pigmented, smooth application, lasts all day.

Disadvantages: Perhaps price?

If you asked me to name 5 things I'd take to a desert island, eye liner would be number 5. It is the single most important thing in my make up bag, it characterises and defines my whole wardrobe. Clothing has been discarded to the floor because it didn't go with the eye liner style of the day. And I've used every brand, from the cheap to the bank emptying expensive.

Currently there are 5 colours: black, rich brown, taupe, white, and french navy. The body shop claim:

"A fade-resistant, intense colour pencil for outlining and defining the eyes. They are soft enough to enable smooth application yet firm enough to be smudge-resistant. Dermatologically and opthalmalogically tested." -thebodyshop.co.uk

*APPEARANCE*
This is a bit of a no brainer. You get a stick whose colour corresponds roughly to the colour of the eye liner, with various white or black writing and a silver lid. The writing says "THE BODY SHOP", then the shade in english and french, 1.25g/0.04 oz (who the heck uses ounces these days?!), tells you that the wood comes from mixed sources and some legal blurb about trademarks.

Instead of my usual headings, I'm going to address the claims made by the body shop about the eye liner and see if they stand up to scrutiny via grading.

*FADE RESISTANT*

It is important to note the word resistant here, it doesn't claim that it doesn't fade, just implies that it doesn't fade quickly. I have encountered many eye liners that fade by the end of a 9 - 5 day, and this isn't one of them. I can wear this eye liner from dawn till dawn and the crisp black (or warm brown or whatever) is clearly there. 5/5

*INTENSE*

This one is a little subjective, and depends more on application, but when I am wearing my "gother-than-thou" flicks heavily applied it is indeed "intense". 5/5

*SMOOTH APPLICATION*

Most eye liners have two applications: the warm smooth and the cold scratchy. There are relatively few that are still smooth when you're applying straight out of the fridge but this is one of them. It glides on at any temperature with out incident. Important to mention here is sharpening. If you are using the pencil warm it is important to use a sharpener designed specifically for make up, school sharpeners simply aren't sharp enough for anything softer than graphite. 5/5

*SMUDGE RESISTANT*

Here is where the claims fall down. No pencil eye liner is smudge resistant, because application is in itself smudging. If you want smudge resistant then you should be using liquid liner. However, when left to its own devices and not touched, by the end of the day you are not going to look in the mirror to find (GASP) panda eyes. While there will be minimal smudging from blinking and eye movement, it will be just that-minimal. 4/5

I wouldn't say I'm particularly loyal to any given eye liner, but the Body Shop Eye Definer is one I keep coming back to time and time again. Again-should the desert island scenario ever occur and I could only have one brand, this would be the chosen one. At £7.30, there are cheaper options out there, but the quality of this eye liner is well worth the expense, not to mention the ethical trading of the body shop.

I should also mention for completeness make up removal. I use Tesco value face wipes and this comes of easily with them, no panda eyes in the morning!

© L Wade 2009 - submitted only on dooyoo.

Summary: Another body shop success.