This $57 Crayon Is An Eyeshadow, Contour Stick And Lip Liner In One
Sangeeta’s beauty ethos is very much ‘happy maintenance to be low maintenance’ – she’d rather spend a Sunday doing all the appointments to then be able to do less every morning. Makes sense given she often does her full morning makeup on the bus. She’s the former Lifestyle Editor of POPSUGAR Australia, and has written for publications including Refinery29 Australia, ELLE and Marie Claire.
You can follow Sangeeta on IG: @sangeetatatiana and TikTok: tiktok.com/@sangeetatatiana
It was probably the many TikToks I’ve watched of girls in their cars or after a swim, uncapping the lid of a multi-use makeup pen – sometimes with their teeth – and then using it as eyeshadow, cheek and lip liner or contour. Some versions, they’ll contour their nose too. Others, their jaw line or forehead.
Or it might’ve been that I’ve always loved a shortcut – with anything in life – so that of course extends to makeup.
Either way, when I got my hands on a few MAKE UP FOREVER Artist Color Crayon Waterproof Multi-Use Stick to try, I had a feeling they’d become makeup bag staples...
What Is The Make Up For Ever Artist Color Crayon Waterproof Multi-use Stick?
The multi-purpose sticks are a creamy, waterproof formula, said to be for cheeks, lips and eyes, though I’ve also used them to contour my forehead, nose and jaw.
Depending on the shade, they can act as an eyeshadow, contour stick, highlighter, lip liner and blush.
The sticks were inspired by MAKE UP FOREVER’s popular Artist Color Pencil and HD Skin Palettes, but they’re shaped like chunky crayons, so you don’t need to be as precise as you’d have to be with a pencil.
Also with their retractable twist-up format, you don’t need to worry about sharpening them. They’re easy to use and fun – they feel like thicker versions of the crayons you’d use to draw in a colouring book.
They come in 27 shades – some shimmer finish and some matte – and some in the same much-loved shades of Artist Color Pencil like Wherever Walnut, Anywhere Caffeine and Limitless Brown.
The shades are white and light pinks, browns and darker pinks, and reds.
You can get a few colours for your makeup bag like a Daring Pink for your lips and cheeks, Starfire Gold to use a highlighter, and a Dimension Dark Brown or other brown for contouring and eyeshadow.
Or if you only have budget for one crayon, I’d recommend a brown as they’re the most versatile. There are also a handful of brown shades to choose from, so chances are high you’ll find one to suit your skin tone.
Below, I put its various uses to the test...
As an Eyeshadow
My favourite way to use the crayons is as an eyeshadow, placed in the outer corner of my eyelids. I like the Spicy Caramel shade for this, a matte medium neutral brown, for daytime, and Limitless Brown, a matte rich chocolate brown, for night.
When I use the crayon as an eyeshadow, I scribble them on my eyelids and then buff the colour towards my temples with my finger. I’ll add more colour if needed, but I find with the Limitless Brown, one or two swipes is usually enough.
For Contouring
I use the crayons to contour my nose, forehead, cheeks and jaw. As I said, the Spicy Caramel shade works well with my daytime makeup – it’s subtle and helps define my features, but it looks like I’m not even wearing makeup.
The Spicy Cararmel is also a lot easier to buff out than the Limitless Brown, which seems more pigmented.
A couple times I noticed in a mirror later that I hadn’t fully buffed out the contour lines I’d made with my Limitless Brown and looked like I had markings on my face.
As A Lip Liner
You can also use the stick as a lip liner or contour!
I drew over my lip’s cupid bow and lined the bottom of my lower lip and then buffed out the lines.
I much prefer the Artist Color Pencil as you can more precisely line your lips, though if you don’t have a lip liner handle, this is great to give your lips some colour.
As a Blush
Finally, if you can grab a pink shade, you can use it as a blush or lip stick. I’ve been using the Swanky Mauve on my cheeks and just above the tip of my nose and then buffing it out.
The shade isn’t too pigmented, which is great because it means it’s hard to use too much and risk suffering blush blindness, but that does mean I’m heavy handed with it – I like being at the edge of blush blindness.
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