I bought the Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strips Kohl Kajal Trio while searching for the L’Oreal HiP loose kohl liners that are apparently discontinued. Instead of loose powders, these look like chunky, pointy crayons.
Each set is designed for a specific eye color. I got the one for blue eyes, which includes brown, black, and blue, and those colors did really make my eyes stand out (though honestly, any dark color on the waterline will do that). They claim to be 100 percent waterproof and last on the waterline.
If I had read other reviews before I purchased them, I wouldn’t have bothered. They’re not as ineffective as other reviews make them sound, in my opinion, but I don’t feel like they were worth the $11.65 I paid for the set.
They did last a couple of hours longer than most regular pencils on my waterline and I didn’t experience a lot of color fallout the way I have with dark shadows and even the loose kohl product I was looking for in the first place. The blue was a nice addition to my typical black-or-brown liner routine.
That’s where the pros end. I’m a contact lens wearer, but I usually have no problems with eye makeup. Immediately after purchasing these (in the Ulta parking lot; I have no shame), I applied the black to my upper lash line and waterline and the blue to my lower lash line.
They weren’t creamy at first and I had to press harder than I wanted to and drag them back and forth a few times. The colors weren’t incredibly dark and pigmented, but that kind of added to their sultry, smoky appeal. It still looked intense. And hot, if I do say so myself. But then my eyes turned red and started to feel exceptionally dry. By the time I got home, I really wanted to take my contacts out.
The next day, I tried them again. They bothered me less, but my eyes still felt a little drier than usual and I started thinking the shape would be an issue if I actually did continue to use them. Once the point was gone, there would be a lot of wasted product that I couldn’t get near my eye without poking myself in the eye.
In the end, I decided they were nice enough but not worth the money. People who don’t wear contacts may like them a little more, but there’s still the shape of the stick to consider.
Photo credit: Physician’s Formula
