Maychiri's Thoughts

Avon

Avon True Colour Calming Effects Mattifying Foundation [Light Nude] Review

December 22, 2023

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Avon

Reviews From the Past - Part 38

December 22, 2023

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Automatic Lip Liner

J.Cat Beauty Roll it Up Auto Lip Liner [RAL110 - Chocolate] Review

December 14, 2023

The only makeup product today (besides the toners)! Something very new for me, this is the J.Cat Beauty Roll it Up Auto Lip Liner, in the shade RAL110/Chocolate!

I remember, ages ago, J.Cat used to be on Pink Panda. Then it disappeared, probably as the last of the stock sold out and they didn’t order more. So I ended up forgetting about this brand, until I was in a real pickle with the Bye Bye Blemish Tea Tree Toners! BIPA used to stock them, but they stopped, for whatever reason. Luckily, this one Croatian shop (that was also the distributor for Bye Bye Blemish for Croatia) had plenty in stock. And since I am already ordering the toners, I might as well order something else, one of these cheap, discounted lip liners, maybe? I decided it would be J.Cat, but I couldn’t decide whether to get a vivid orange fruit orange pencil or this chocolate brown pencil. Orange would have been more useful, ngl, but how could I not pick this deep, dark chocolate brown?? It was a bit cheaper than the orange one as well, so, without further thinking, I ordered it with the toners. Hmm, how good is J.Cat? Is this lip liner good, average, or bad? Let’s see!

Packaging: quite basic, just a black plastic pencil with a matching black cap. The text is not only red, which is already hard to read, but it is also reflective! This makes it almost impossible to read! Good colour combo for clothing and stuff like that, but horrible if you want text to be legible! Even with a light shining on it, I can barely make out what it says.

I almost didn’t notice it, but there’s a coloured section on one end of the liner that is a pretty good match for the colour of the liner. Not a perfect match, but very close. The sticker on the bottom isn’t as close of a match. The cap closes securely, but it isn’t as tight as I would like it to be. The retracting mechanism is pretty good, not flimsy or slippery at all. Good quality, but the design sacrificed way too much in order to keep that red/black colour combination.

Sorry for being so hard to read, I tried to make it legible

Ingredients: coconut (Cocos nucifera) oil for nourishment. Oh boy. There are parabens in this liner: ethylparaben and methylparaben. This is bad enough, without all the other preservatives they added, which include BHT, phenoxyethanol and Polyquaternium-54! Seriously, what’s too much is too much. Anyways, the scent is rubbery, like a rubber beach ball. It’s relatively intense as well. Hmm, not sure I like this all that much. The expiration date is 12 months after opening, despite having so many preservatives.

Oh, oh! This is epic! Like, I knew it would be dark brown, but this dark brown is so amazing! This isn’t a warm-toned brown as one might assume, as that’s what you’ll find more often, no, this is a very cool-toned brown! It really reminds me of dark chocolate! Yum! This colour is especially intense on my pale skin, it looks darker than it truly is. This dark brown is kinda like a roast coffee beans brown. It’s got some yellow pigments and a ton of grayish pigments. This gives it this cold, grayish tone. This is so 90’s – I love it!

Pigmentation is hella intense, with just one layer! It’s rich and deeply dark brown, even if you only press lightly with the liner. It might look a tiny bit streaky on the lower lip, though, especially as it starts to fade with time. Also, it may look a bit odd on pictures – I promise it looks way better in person!

This lip liner is extremely easy to apply as it applies 100% evenly and richly right from the get-go! It doesn’t tug at the lips at all, even if they aren’t in the best condition. This being an automatic liner, it is, as you would expect, super precise. It’s extremely easy to draw sharp lines and precisely outline the lips. And since it doesn’t tug and is super buttery smooth, it’s just as easy to fill in the lips as well! Zero fuss! Defining the cupid’s bow is child’s play!

However, the edges can be slightly smudgy sometimes, not razor-sharp. And, while it does not collect in the fine lines of the lips, it can sometimes exaggerate them, particularly after some time has passed.

The formula is buttery soft and totally smooth! It’s very lightweight as well! You’ve seen how easy it is to apply, well it feels so nice as well! I rarely get to have such a luxuriously buttery formula that doesn’t feel overly greasy or heavy. However, like with most very dark colours, there is a visible demarcation line on the inside of the lips. It’s quite hard to actually fill it in there without it disappearing soon after.

The texture is not quite matte but also not satin. It’s definitely more matte than satin, though. Although it does have some natural shine still. I honestly love this finish, it looks so natural!

Okay, so what happened to the buttery soft formula?? As soon as you are done applying it, it becomes noticeably waxy and tacky. In fact, it’s quite uncomfortably tacky on the lower lip. It’s not transfer-proof, so there is really no way to fix the tackiness, you just gotta live with it. While it is definitely lightweight, the tackiness just makes it uncomfortable to wear, particularly because it only becomes more tacky with time. It also seems to dry out too much on the lower lip as it usually collects there, forming a tacky buildup that is not nice at all.

Also, this lip liner definitely dries out my lips. Not horribly, but they do feel dried out while the liner is still on, much more so when I finally remove it. Not very nice to wear at all, sadly. Even if the colour is kickass.

The longevity is, unfortunately, not very good. The liner feathers on the edges after a few hours, so any sharp lines you used to have will be soft now. It doesn’t smudge, though, which is good. It’s also not at all food-resistant, as it disappears after eating food, especially if it’s even slightly greasy. Waterproof? No, at least in my experience. It rubs off on the cup/glass/bottle while drinking and it tends to start to fade as you are drinking. Shame. Such a nice colour, but bad durability.

Removing this liner is a piece of cake! Only a few swipes with micellar water and it is gone! Not a lot of rubbing needed to fully remove it; and it’s even easier if you use a specialised remover! No stains either!

Side note, this is an automatic lip liner, which some will say doesn’t need to be sharpened. However, sharpening helps you make it look sharper and makes it easier to use overall. This liner does not come with a sharpener included, so I hope you already have one! It’s super easy to sharpen as long as you don’t press too hard or try to angle it while you are sharpening. Both will lead to the lead breaking in an instant. Just be careful and it will be easy to sharpen it properly.

All in all, huh, well, about how I expected it to be like. I didn’t have high expectations, especially not knowing how old this liner actually is; for all I know, it may be 6 years old! It was cheap and a brand I had never tried before so I figured it was worth a try since I am already ordering from the webshop. I am not too disappointed, honestly. There are things that bother me greatly, but there are also things that are simply great! Let’s start with the good: the formula is buttery smooth while you are applying it, no tugging or pulling and it deposits a rich, even layer every time, no matter how lightly you touch your lips. Incredibly easy to use! And also super easy to line the lips precisely, even the cupid’s bow! The colour is vivid and richly pigmented, truly dramatic and dark. The name ‘Chocolate’ is very appropriate in this case – this colour absolutely reminds me of 95% dark chocolate! So dark, but cool-toned dark brown which is slightly grayish. And slightly yellowish, instead of being a warm, reddish brown. Perfectly moody and a total 90’s colour! I love it! And I love how incredibly intense it looks on pale skin! The texture, which is between matte and satin, only adds to this richness of colour! It makes it look even more dramatic and rich. And that just about sums up the good, I think. The bad is... well, there is a lot. The formula dries from that beautifully buttery one to a dry, waxy and uncomfortably tacky one. It is seriously uncomfortable on the lower lip, where it collects, and then it becomes so tacky and dry at the same time. No surprise then that it also dries out my lips a good amount! It feels like an ultra-matte lip liner, when it’s not. Its longevity also leaves a lot to be desired. It should be waterproof... but it’s anything but. Just drinking from a cup is enough to smudge the liner, let alone going for a swim or having a shower. It transfers everywhere, so no surprise that it is not at all food-resistant. It fades a lot all over the centre of both lips, even if the food wasn’t too greasy. It’s really not a good look. So you’ll have to reapply it post-meal or after a drink. Not what a supposedly waterproof lip liner should be like! Some might question why I chose such a dark colour when I had never had a single product from this brand. I could have chosen a more nude, rosé colour instead. Well, this one is called Chocolate and it looks like dark chocolate, so the choice was clear. A chocoholic must have chocolate-themed products! Even if they aren’t as good as I would like them to be, like this liner. It’s meh. Mediocre. Nothing special. But it’s cheap enough so I don’t feel regret over ordering it. That said, it will not be getting any recommendations, it’s got too many problems.

Rating: 5/10

Would buy again? NO