Automatic Eye Pencil

Catrice The Great Christmas Advent Calendar Multi-Chrome Eye Pencil [C01] Review

By Maychiri's Thoughts - December 18, 2024

Ah, finally, the eye pencil! I have been waiting for this, I do need something for the eyes now that I have both of the lip sets and the liquid lipstick! I like to use eye pencils, they offer me so much freedom: I can use them as an eyeliner, I can make graphic looks with them, and I can use them as eyeshadow – the possibilities are endless! But this is no ordinary eye pencil – this pencil is multichrome! What this means is that the colour shifts dynamically from one to another depending on how the light hits it. I have to say that I haven’t had very impressive results with multichrome (or even duochrome) in the past, so I am not on the edge of my seat (proverbially) for this pencil. Catrice and Essence have been on a multichrome/duochrome kick lately, though, so I am not surprised this is in the calendar. Now, let’s see what this pencil is like!
 
 
 
 
Packaging: black pencil, which would be boring... but there is something very eye-catching here! Look at that Catrice logo – and the text, for that matter! It is iridescent; like an oil spill, it shifts into all the colours of the rainbow dynamically depending on what angle you look at it. Stunning! Very, very beautiful! Without that, the pencil is quite bland, so I am happy that Catrice added this neat detail. The cap closes tightly, with a click; this is very important, as this eye pencil doesn’t have a long PAO. 
 
 
This is an automatic pencil, so it has a retracting mechanism inside. The retracting mechanism is a bit stiff, but it is to retract the lead. It does keep its position perfectly, and doesn't feel a bit wobbly, so it is pretty good quality, build-wise.

Ingredients: vitamin E, squalane for nourishment. No parabens. This is pretty much unscented. If there is any scent, it is super subtle and smells the tiniest bit soapy. The expiration date is just 6 months after opening; this is far too short for an eye pencil.
 
 
Oh dear, this swatch does not look good. In fact, it looks quite horribly uneven. I tried to layer on more pigment so that it’s even, but it just wouldn’t fill in the gaps. This is a bit worrying. Also, I broke the lead while swatching the pencil, so, obviously, it is quite delicate. Not good news. And the multi-chrome effect isn’t even that visible. I hope it ends up being better on the eyes than it is here because... wow, this isn’t good.



Colour: well, judging by the swatch, it should be like a dusty brown shifting into a bronze and then into a bright copper colour. I say ‘should’ because that’s not what you get on the eyes. Not even remotely. Instead, the actual colour on the eyes is a muddy dusty brown with barely visible orange shimmer. Great, ain’t it? There’s also a noticeable gray colour to it for some reason. I did not see that in the swatch. It just looks dirty. 
 
 
 
The orange shimmer is a tiny bit more visible if you apply it on bare eyelids, without any eyeshadow primer or foundation, but it’s still incredibly... underwhelming. Especially when the selling point – multi-chrome – is actually non-existent.
 
 
 
On bare eyelids, the finish is subtly shimmery, but the shimmer is chunky and messy. The shimmer is more visible on a thicker line, but it is still so bad and messy and just, frankly, ugly. And here I was hoping for some futuristic duochrome shifting to happen... yeah, no.
 
 
 
 
Let’s continue with more aspects that are shoddy, shall we? Cause not only is the colour a complete disaster, the pigmentation is an even worse disaster. Let me put it like this: the colour is Vesuvius erupting and destroying Pompeii and Herculaneum, while the pigmentation is the freaking Krakatoa eruption, which submerged and destroyed an entire island!! This metaphor is apt, as there is no pigmentation to even talk about. What you see in photos here is literally 15 freaking layers stacked on top of each other! 15!!! 
 
 
And it still has no pigmentation! How it even is possible to screw it up so badly is beyond me. The best you’ll get is some ashy pigmentation that looks like you forgot to wash your face and remove makeup last night. And trust me, I tried to squeeze out whatever little pigmentation there was – I was pressing down hard with the lead, and not even that was able to give me any pigmentation... what a disaster.
 
 
My eyes were in so much pain...
Continuing... the formula. Oh yes, the formula. Because if two disasters already weren’t enough, add this to the pile of rubbish that is growing exponentially fast. See, this is an automatic pencil, and I get it, they are more prone to drying up... but this calendar is literally brand new. Soooo... why exactly is the lead already bone-dry? Hmm??? It is dry and sharp and legit impossible to use. It applies so messily and badly and just ugh. It’s also impossible to draw precise lines (so you can wave goodbye to any sharp cat eye with this...), not just because there is no pigmentation, but also because it tugs at the skin so badly that my eyelids literally started to hurt! It’s like they forgot to put any waxes or anything to soften the formula, so you get this ugly dry mess. Oh, also, it is not one bit blendable, btw! Yup, it gets worse! Yay! As soon as you try to blend it out it... begins to crumble. I have no words...
 
 
 
Now, as for usability, ie., how easy it is to use? It’s horrid. I don’t remember EVER using such a horrible eye pencil, and I’ve used plenty by now. The extremely dry formula is very rough on the delicate skin of the eyelids, and the necessity of pressing down hard with the lead just get some – any – pigmentation causes eyelids to feel irritated, red, and sore. There’s just no way to actually apply it so that it looks decent – let alone good. You can see how uneven it is around the crease, and it’s not due to user error. 
 
 
Believe me, I tried to apply it every which way. I used every direction possible; horizontal swipes, going in circles to try and fill in the gaps, using tiny little flicks all over the eyelid... I even tried to go vertically across the eyelid just to get something. But no dice. It is a miserable experience and I am sure that my eyelids are very red and irritated underneath because they sure feel damaged. It literally feels like a cat clawed at them! That’s how aggressive and sharp this damn thing is! And yet... no results for all that trouble. No yeah I am FINE.
 
 
Oh, also, it seems to mind being applied to anything other than bare eyelids. I use foundation as an eyeshadow primer (look at James Charles’ videos if you doubt this technique, if a pro MUA encourages this, then yeah). This usually allows me to apply eye products more easily and it makes blending much easier, without causing everything to be muddled. But this pencil seems to hate this, as it just wouldn’t give me any pigmentation with foundation/eyeshadow primer on. 
 
 
And sorry, if this works for legitimately all other eye products but not for this, then it’s a ‘you’ problem, buddy boy (referring to the pencil). I am not about to stop doing this just for this crappy eye pencil.
 
 
 
Well, at least it is very lightweight after you are done massacring your eyelids erm –  applying this pencil. It is pretty much weightless even with god knows how many layers on. Even though I tried to apply it as an eyeshadow, I cannot feel it on my crease, so that’s good. Just don’t try to tightline your eyes with this, not unless you are craving severe injuries to your eyes.
 
 
 
 
 
Look at all that creasing not even 5 min in!!!
Longevity is crap, just like everything else. It creases immediately if you decide to use it as eyeshadow or if you do any graphic looks that go over the crease. Like I said, using foundation usually prevents this from happening, but when a product is crap then nothing can save it, can it? I honestly have no idea whether it fades during the day because I simply cannot even see it on my eyelids under most lighting conditions. The shimmer sure stays, though. Golly gee, what would I do without that orange shimmer??? I am so done...
 
 
Eh, it is mostly easy to remove. Although, if you applied a few dozen layers like I did just to try and get some pigmentation get ready to deal with all that shimmer – it will show up in larger amounts than you ever imagined! So I highly suggest using a specialised remover, to ease the pain at least a little bit. But besides the shimmer exploding everywhere, it’s pretty easy to remove. So that’s like 1.5 good things in total here, and the less important stuff, to boot. How great. Totally not sarcasm. Nope. Why would it be?
 
 
Can this be sharpened? Probably, using one of those tiny automatic liner sharpeners. But I honestly wouldn’t even bother. Just don’t waste any more time on this piece of garbage. 
 

 
In conclusion, this is going straight into the rubbish bin. I am not even joking, I quite literally see no redeeming features in this eye pencil. Everything it sought to do, it failed catastrophically. Literally. There’s nothing good here. And I hate to be so negative; I hate to be so harsh on it. I always try to give products at least some grace, but that’s quite impossible here. I am a silver linings kind of thinker, so it pains me to be completely negative about something. But I have to, because this eye pencil is absolutely trash. Steaming pile of garbage. Where do I even start??? Maybe with the lead already being bone-dry even though this calendar is fresh?? How about that? Like, what went wrong with the formula?! And it’s not like I kept it in the bathroom; I kept it in a cool, dark place that has mostly constant moisture levels before I went to open each door. And even then, it was in my bedroom, which doesn’t have incredibly oscillating moisture levels. So obviously, it came already dried out – and that shows in how it applies. Or, doesn’t apply, I should say. Because, even after 15+ layers, there is still barely a trace of any pigmentation to be found. And even though I tried to blend it out with a brush, it is still hella messy and patchy and just horrible. Before you ask, no, applying it as a typical eyeliner doesn’t work. It tugs at the skin so badly that it’s impossible to draw any sort of sharp line. Let alone getting a sharp tip, you can forget about that. And, because it is dry, it is so freaking aggressive on the eyelids. Not only does it tug at them, it also feels so scratchy and sharp! My eyelids were practically sobbing, begging me to stop, as I was forced to go sideways, around, and up-and-down just to get pigment out. I have never had such a miserable experience using an eye pencil. It is utter crap and so not worth any potential damage you might do to your eyelid while applying it. Now, pigmentation... or rather, lack of. So... where’s that fabled 'Multi-Chrome'??? All I got is an ashy, dirty mess. I can see the shimmer under certain lighting conditions, but there is no colour shifting. Which is the main selling point. Man, what a botch-job... what happened, Catrice?! What the hell happened here... and this is just the first if two eye pencils so yaaaay, I get experience this crap all over again once the second one comes. Sigh. I am so fed up with this piece of s-garbage. Let’s just move on, I want to forget about this as soon as possible...
 
 
 
Rating: 1/10



  • Share:

0 comments