Lakmé Eyeconic Kajal Review

Winter is upon us and it's oh so tempting to snuggle up in bed beneath the covers and skip work for a couple of days. But for those of us who can't and need to look and feel bright and fresh throughout the day, Lakmé is here to help us!

What Lakmé Claims: Lakmé Eyeconic Kajal is a smudge proof, water proof kajal which is dermatologically tested. With a deep black stroke in an easy twist up format, it gives your eyes a long-lasting, eyeconic look through out the day.

Price: Rs. 199 for 0.35 grams

 

Shelf Life: 30 months from the date of packing
 

I'd been on the lookout for a good kajal that would last long on my very watery eyes and the beautiful packaging caught my eye. The trendy black and teal colours (and of course, the catchy name), along with Lakmé's claims of being smudge proof and waterproof, lasting upto 10 hours made it a must buy for me! The package also comes with detailed instructions - on usage, removal etc. But it failed to list out its ingredients. Lakmé is a trusted brand, but an ingredients list is a must for every beauty product. 

The kajal comes in a neat twist-up pencil, which makes it very easy and convenient for application. The colour of the kajal is Black, but I found that I needed 2-3 gentle swipes to get that deep black eyeconic look that Lakmé promised. If you swipe too hard, the kajal breaks. This however was not so much of a problem for me, considering that it is so affordable.

I used the kajal on my upper lids and on my waterline. It lasted easily on my upper lids for the 10 hours as promised, but I found that it had faded from my waterline within 1.5-2 hours. I found this very disappointing as it was the main reason I was on the lookout for a new kajal in the first place. That said, please remember that I have very watery eyes and various other reviews say that this kajal does live up to its 10 hour claim. Moreover, the kajal did not smudge at all. It faded, but did not leave me looking like my Halloween makeup hadn't come off yet.

 

It was a little tough to remove the kajal from my upper lids, where it stubbornly stayed, despite my use of a cleanser. I had to use the cleanser twice and follow up with a cleansing foam facewash to get it off completely. On the waterline however, my eyes did all my work for me, and at the end of the day, there was not much left to remove. But considering the waterproof claims, this was completely expected. The packaging did say to use Lakmé Absolute Bi-Phased Makeup Remover to get it off, but personally I found that a bit annoying. It's not enough you're buying their kajal, they want you to buy their entire range as well?

To summarize:

Pros:

• Beautiful packaging, convenient to carry
• Twist up pencil facilitates easy application
• Affordably priced
• Lasted the entire 10 hours on upper lids
• Waterproof and smudge proof
• Dermatologically tested
• Good shelf life

Cons:

• Missing ingredients list
• 2-3 swipes needed to get the deep black eyeconic look
• Breaks easily
• Lasted for only 1.5-2 hours on my waterline
• Difficult to remove

My Verdict: 8/10

Will I purchase it again? I wanted to love this kajal, but sadly it has its cons. However I find that the pros outweigh the cons, and it is worth a purchase. I will be trying other kajals for now and continuing my search for the perfect kajal, but will keep a stick of this one handy for regular use. After all, I find that the fun of using makeup comes from applying, don't you?