Review: Essence Semi-Permanent Eyeliner Pen

I think my current mission in the beauty-related part of life is to collect all pen eyeliners from every brand. It's a really bad habit. But I use eyeliners every single day and I go through eyeliners so quickly! It's always good to have backups; I get a panic attack when one pen eyeliner starts to dry up and I have no other pen eyeliners to turn to (of course, I have plenty of gel eyeliners and pencil eyeliners, but pen eyeliners is MY LIFE). 

As of now, I have 2 go-to pen eyeliners. The first one is the Essence 100% Splash-Proof Eyeliner Pen and the other one is the Essence Semi-Permanent Eyeliner Pen. 

Essence is doing a marvellous job with their eyeliners!! I'm officially a fan and I will definitely repurchase these eyeliner pens! 

As with the Essence 100% Splash-Proof Eyeliner Pen, the Essence Semi-Permanent Eyeliner Pen is also not entirely perfect. It definitely has its flaws. However, the positive traits of this eyeliner pen definitely outweighed the flaws and I'm a happy camper!

I bought the Essence Semi-Permanent Eyeliner Pen during the Essence Warehouse Sale not long ago, and I got it for S$3. SO CHEAP RIGHT?! The retail price should be below S$10, so it's still affordable without the discount! 

What got me excited:

• Precise line (yay!)
• Colour intensive (yay yay!)
• Extra longlasting (triple yay!)
• There's no statement of it being waterproof or smudgeproof, which somewhat lowers my expectation, and will make me feel more impressed if the eyeliner proved to be quite waterproof or smudgeproof. 

I was a little bit unsure of using it because of the "stains the skin" disclaimer, but then again, my favourite K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Eyeliner stains the lids like nobody's business, so yes, I decided to go ahead and use it. 

Packaging: Nothing to fancy and frankly nothing much to talk about. I kind of wish it has a pop of colour on the packaging though because it takes me a while to grab this eyeliner pen because it's stored in an eyeliner box with other eyeliners with similar packaging.

Applicator design: The Essence Semi-Permanent Eyeliner Pen has an applicator that's extremely similar to a permanent marker/slim whiteboard marker. The applicator is not filmsy at all and it's very sturdy. It's not a good applicator for beginners who want to try the winged eye look because it's not easy to use. Those looking at a simple eye look will be able to create it within seconds.

Top: one swatch of eyeliner pen. Bottom: double swatches of eyeliner pen

Pigmentation: Yes, yes, yes! One swipe is enough, but if you're looking at drama, two swipes will be the way to go! It's extremely pigmented and I like how a second coat will not scrunch up the first layer and cause nasty messy flakes. It has a semi-glossy finish as well.

Application: I did a simple eye look in mere seconds with the Essence Semi-Permanent Eyeliner Pen. Super user-friendly! If you want to get that flattering winged eye look, you have to practice a couple of times before getting the grip and the flow right. Be careful not to make mistakes though because this eyeliner stains your lids and even when you try to erase the mistakes using a cotton bud+makeup remover, you will still see a greenish tinge on your lids.

Top: one swatch of eyeliner pen. Bottom: double swatches of eyeliner pen (a good smudging after 5 minutes of application)

The Essence Semi-Permanent Eyeliner Pen did not claim to be smudgeproof or waterproof, but I decided to give it a test anyway.

Smudgeproof: Surprise, surprise! After waiting 5 minutes, I gave the swatches a good smudging and they did not budge! A very welcome pleasant surprise!

Top: one swatch of eyeliner pen. Bottom: double swatches of eyeliner pen (a good smudging with water)

Waterproof: The eyeliner pen is certainly not waterproof. A few drops of water disturbed the consistency of the eyeliner pen and a slight touch smudged the swatches. But Essence didn't claim for it to be waterproof, so all's well in this review because I don't feel cheated.

Top: one swatch of eyeliner pen. Bottom: double swatches of eyeliner pen (after removal with makeup wipes)

Staining power: The Essence Semi-Permanent Eyeliner Pen really does stain your skin. The above photo shows how much it can stain even after I tried to remove the swatches with makeup wipes. It works the same as the KPalette 1 Day Tattoo Eyeliner - it will stain when you remove the first time, however when you try to remove it again a couple of hours later, the stain will come off. Strange but yes it's something that I noticed after using eyeliners that stain the eyelids.

Longevity: Full marks for this section. FULL MARKS. Applied at 730am, and removed at 8-9pm with no smearing/transferring throughout the day. The trick with this eyeliner pen is to just let it chill and not touch it.

Will I buy it again? Most definitely! It works almost similarly to the KPalette 1 Day Tattoo Eyeliner (but not waterproof), but it's so much more affordable!

Hope this review has been useful! Have a great day guys! :D