Catrice The Great Christmas Advent Calendar Lip Liner [C01] Review
By Maychiri's Thoughts - December 04, 2024
Smart move of Catrice to make a full lip set with the
lipstick and this lip pencil! After all, the lipstick is quite smudgy on the
edges, so it requires something super precise to give it sharply defined
edges... something like this pencil, perhaps? This is an automatic lip pencil,
which has its good sides and it’s bad sides. I generally prefer the classic
wooden pencil kind, as they are, in general, more robust, though these pencils
tend to be more precise. I honestly don’t know what to expect since I don’t
have plenty of Catrice lip liners, so I am excited! Let’s check it out!
Packaging: as simple as can be. This really looks kinda
cheap, and it feels a bit loose. But at least the colour is a good indicator of
the true colour of this lip liner. I like the light pink text, it goes
incredibly well with the soft terracotta-like brown. There’s not a lot of info
to be found, so if you are looking for the ingredients, you’ll have to check
the calendar itself. The cap closes fairly tightly, with a nice click.
The
retracting mechanism inside is very stiff and takes a lot of effort to actually
retract the lead. It really feels bad, honestly, but it’s still better than if
it were too loose. Also, I managed to somehow....um... bork the mechanism so
that it is almost impossible to fully hide the lead. Oops.
Ingredients: vitamin E for nourishment and no parabens. So,
the same deal as with the matching Full Shine Lipstick. The scent is the same,
too, and I couldn’t be happier for it! It smells so richly like melted
chocolate! Yummy! But like, the bitter, dark chocolate kind, my favourite! This
is so delicious! And it kinda goes well with the colour, it kinda reminds me of
milk chocolate. The expiration date is 12 months after opening, a full 6 months
less than the lipstick.
.jpg) |
| Swatch of the lip liner on my arm |
Colour: almost exactly the same as the lipstick, just maybe a shade darker and a tiny bit more muted. Whereas the lipstick was a warmer shade rosy brown, this lip liner is an even more muted rosy brown kind of colour. Though with a tiny bit more rose than brown, giving it an almost antique appearance. I love this colour so much! It’s so gentle, so subtle, that you can wear it everywhere! And it looks so natural on my pale skin! Though, on me, it looks almost a bit 90’s soft brown, doesn’t it? It pairs phenomenally with the Full Shine Lipstick from this calendar (who woulda thought, eh?), giving the lipstick more defined edges while preserving that soft colour. This colour is quite similar to rosewood, but it is a bit lighter. Also, it kinda reminds me of milk chocolate for some reason, don’t know why... but in any case, such a beautiful colour! And I knew it would be beautiful since it is one half of a pair with the lipstick!
.jpg)
.jpg)
This isn’t the first time Catrice lip liners behaved like this; the old Velvet Matt Lip Pencil had the same issue, but that wasn’t an automatic pencil, so it is worrying that this automatic pencil has that issue as well. Aside from being annoying, it also may ruin the look if you are using this pencil solo all over the lips. That can ruin it, and the fact that the colour seems to be deposited slightly unevenly. Though this colour can tolerate so, so much, which makes things easier. But it’s still bad, don’t get me wrong!
.jpg)
However, sharply defining the edges is pretty easy, and they end up sharp enough. It’s also very easy to define the cupid’s bow, as the lead is very thin and precise. Since this pencil doesn’t ‘need’ to be sharpened, it will stay a bit smudgy until you use it up, but I found that it doesn’t really end up being that much smudgier than before. Though it certainly was a bit easier to define the cupid’s bow the first time I used the pencil, when it still had a sharp point to it.
.jpg)
I really don’t like how powdery it is, it feels horrible. But at least it doesn’t exaggerate the fine lines of the lips; it doesn’t really soften them either, but it manages to look soft on lips, despite being so horribly dry. Initially, it doesn’t feel tacky, but that changes after some time, as it’s coming into contact with saliva. It becomes more waxy tacky then. The best thing about it is how incredibly lightweight it is! Were it not for the waxiness and dryness, I wouldn’t be able to tell there is anything on my lips! It’s that lightweight! Now, the texture is matte, with barely any shine. But it doesn’t look horribly dry matte; it actually has a pleasantly soft matte finish! I am surprised with how natural and soft it still looks despite not having any shine at all! Very, very nice!
.jpg)
As soon as I was finished applying it, I noticed how extremely dry it felt. It’s extraordinarily lightweight, but what use is that when it feels like my lips are, metaphorically, turning into dust from how dry they are? I constantly feel the urge to lick my lips to restore some of that moisture, to no effect. But that would be tolerable if my lower lip did not become so dried out that there is a horrible dry crust all over it. This ‘crust’ is a recurring problem for me, but it’s not usually this bad. And, thing is, I don’t even notice it until I try to lick my lips, and then notice how horribly dry my lower lip is. The upper lip seems to be in better condition. So, a mixed bag of comfort. Yeah, I love how light it is but, at the same time, I hate how drying it is. At least it doesn’t become horribly waxy after some time, that’s a relief. But I will absolutely need a lip oil after this – no amount of lip balm will be enough to rehydrate my poor lower lip.
.jpg)
Although, seeing how it can be simply rubbed off, should I be this surprised? I guess I should have seen it coming. But, on the bright side, at least it doesn’t fade throughout the day on its own and the edges stay free from feathering or smudging. It’s just the inner part that suffers. I am deeply upset that it cannot tolerate any food or drinks... even more so because this was supposed to anchor the lipstick in place... such a bloody shame.
As I said before, this pencil doesn’t necessarily need to be sharpened, but it can be. Say, if you had one of those little automatic pencil sharpeners that come with certain automatic pencils... just be careful as it breaks very easily. But that’s one way of getting back that nice sharp tip!
Oh, one last note. So, this lip liner and the Full Shine Lipstick C01 are made to go together as a lip set. The colours match phenomenally well, but to me, it seems like the formulas don’t agree with each other. While they do layer over each other very well, the main issue is dryness. See, both in their own right are drying and feel dry on lips (the lipstick after some time, but it still becomes dry nonetheless), so what happens is that the dryness compounds each other and leads to what I’d call ‘mega dryness’. Only on the lower lip, though! After a day of wearing this combo, my lower lip felt miserable, it was so dried out that it began to crack and I had to use SOS lip oil to try and heal it. But even before I removed the whole set, there was a very, very thick and irritating crust on my lower lip, which is not as extreme when I wear either the lip liner or lipstick alone. This is very odd, and makes it seem like you should very either separately, not as a lip set. So, I guess, if you want gloss on top of this lip liner, apply a clear gloss instead of the matching lipstick???
In conclusion, again, I hoped, I thought, I prayed (jk, not really, I am an atheist) that this lip liner would be good but, yet again, I am met with mediocrity. And again, it all seemed so promising when I swatched it, only for things to completely change after putting it on my lips. Which is different to how the lipstick was; the lipstick started off feeling great and super soft and creamy, only to show what not adding any hydrating ingredients does later. But this lip liner, it shows its true colours immediately; by that, I mean that it immediately shows how extremely dry – and drying! – it is. It’s obnoxiously powdery dry, and causes my lower lip to be so dry that not even lip oil helps it recover. But, this powdery dryness has one good side: it’s extremely lightweight! This makes it at least a bit more comfortable to wear because man, the dryness is very, very uncomfortable. And it becomes kinda waxy once your lips become moist, which just worsens it. Although, it’s never tacky, which is awesome. And another awesome thing is the colour! Oh my, this colour is so beautiful! It’s a soft rosy brown, almost rosewood, but a touch lighter. It’s a phenomenal colour no matter the occasion, but it especially looks good on more everyday makeup looks because it is so soft and neutral. This is one of those colours that would look good on a variety of skintones, although it looks especially good on my pale skin. Naturally, it matches the lipstick C01 perfectly, as they were made to go together anyways. But, there’s one thing: both are drying on their own, so if you combine them, the dryness will be multiplied, and lips will feel super dry at the end of the day. It’s better to wear each separately then, to prevent this. Besides the dryness, there is one other major problem with this lip liner: it doesn’t have great longevity, especially when it comes to eating. It’s very easy to just rub it off, so, as you can imagine, it will disappear after eating and you’ll have to reapply it, which isn’t the easiest thing to do with this horribly dry yet waxy formula. The fact that it smells like milk chocolate (and the colour does kinda look like it) doesn’t cover for a whole slew of problems. Although, for everything I’ve said, you’d think that this is the worst lip liner ever – it’s not, not close, but it’s also not particularly good. It’s just meh, sadly. And what saddens me even more is the realisation that, so far, I’ve only had mediocre products... what’s going on Catrice? Where’s the usual quality gone???
Rating: 4.5/10
.jpg)
0 comments