Clinique recently launched four new eye defining products, including a couple of stand-outs that have received a lot of love already. Chubby Lash Mascara, Skinny Sticks, Pretty Easy Liquid Eyelining Pen and Just Browsing… great product names, so what do they do, how do they perform and do you need to try them?
CLINIQUE JUST BROWSING & CHUBBY LASH FATTENING MASCARA
Out of all the above, Just Browsing probably looks the least exciting, but it’s the one I’ve reached for most from this line up in recent weeks. A gel-mousse formula with a teensy wand, it tints brows while adding a little fullness and light hold without crispiness. I haven’t tried Benefit Gimme Brow, which would be the obvious comparison, but find it quick and easy to use. It’s not too wet, which means your unlikely to overdo your brows - nobody wants the caterpillar effect - and sets matte. A pencil will give more precise definition, but this is a great everyday option. Available in 4 shades, mine is Soft Brown, which I can just get away with if I use a light hand; Soft Blonde would probably work better.
Chubby Lash Fattening Mascara has been the most talked about release from this line… my samples are Jumbo Jet (black) and Massive Midnight (blue) and I have my eye on Two Ton Teal. I have a real weakness for teal eye makeup (esp liner) and can imagine this being gorgeous on. I’ve also heard high praise for Bodacious Black Honey, (only at clinique.co.uk), which I love the idea of, but struggle to carry off anything with red undertones on my eyes. In terms of formula, this mascara looked good with one coat - though less chubby than expected - and on two coats was a touch clumpy. This may be down to my lack of finesse with the super chubby wand and those blessed with longer lashes may not have the same issue. If you’ve tried it I’d love to know how you got on.
PRETTY EASY LIQUID EYELINING PEN & SKINNY STICKS
I’m rubbish at applying liquid eyeliner and rarely take the plunge as I’ve ruined more eye shadow looks than I care to admit by doing so. Still, deep breaths and I dived in, all in the name of research. Pretty Easy Liquid Eyelining Pen has a very flexible tapered brush, which did in fact seem to live up to its pretty easy name. It lasted well on my eyes, though oddly seemed to be smudgeable after a few hours. Clearly I have weird eyelids, as the same product lasted THREE days on my arm, despite vociferous scrubbing - go figure! Also available in brown for a softer look.
Kicking myself for not photographing the Skinny Sticks next to regular eyeliner to illustrate just how skinny they really are: 2/3 the diameter of traditional pencils to be precise. Designed to emphasise the lash line, the fine nib allows precise application right at the lash root, which I found worked really well. I do end up applying a thicker line as I like the Skinny Blue colour so much, a lovely deep denim blue with a slight sheen. The other colour here is Demi-Grape, a more matte blackened grape. The formula is well pigmented, smooth and easy to apply, with 12 shades in total including mint green and bright yellow! Wheat Thin (bronze) and Mini Moss (dark olive green) shall be mine; I wear bronze or dark green eyeliner most days and can never resist them. Sidenote - go easy on these and don’t twist up too much at a time as the nibs are so thin they could break easily; mine haven’t - just saying.
SWATCHES
Ok so I know it’s a bit odd to swatch mascara in this way but I think some people could be scared off by the electric blue shade on the wand and wanted to illustrate how much deeper it looks when dry. It does look distinctly blue on my very pale lashes, but definitely wearable. I save it for the upper lashes and stick to Clinique’s Bottom Lash Mascara on my lower lash line. Another more subtle way to wear coloured mascara is a light layer just on the tips, over your regular black or brown.
I’ve included a thick and thin swatch of each liner to show just how finely they can be applied, especially the Skinny Sticks. How pretty is Skinny Jeans? This would have to be my favourite along with Just Browsing.
Clinique Chubby Lash Mascara, Skinny Sticks, Pretty Easy Liquid Eyelining Pen and Just Browsing are available now at John Lewis (bonus time until 5 Sep!), Boots & House of Fraser.
What’s your favourite eyeliner formula?
