Hello Kitty Charmmy Kohl Eyeliner Kit: Review & Swatches

In this day and age, who doesn't love Hello Kitty?  At least that's what it seems like.  I must confess I am a little biased since Hello Kitty is part of my heritage, but she's not my favorite character (I prefer San X characters).  That said, when the cosmetic line showed up in Sephora last year, I was a little curious to try it out. I was expecting the worst quality of products (I remember only too well the gimmicky items that were sold in Sanrio).  But since I try to be an equal opportunist, I went to my local store to try things out.  Let's just say I walked out with the Charmmy Kohl Eyeliner kit ($29).  It has 7 usable liner colors and comes in a cute tin container.

For the rest of the review and swatches, click the link.



I really thought long and hard about what I could use the tin for (I thought it was too cute to throw away), but I really couldn't find a reason to keep it so I think I gave it to someone (or put it in the trash...).  In any case, if you were curious, I included a pic (pic: Sephora).  On to the actual eyeliners.  As I hinted, these are more than a gimmicky product.  There's actually good functionality to it.  The pencils are not full size (I would say maybe 2/3 the size of a normal liner), and they have individual caps on it.  It is a kohl liner, which means that it smudges (as kohl liners are meant to do).  Luckily the smudging is not too bad, and I just pretend it was part of my makeup look (for example the liner transfers to my lower lashes from the top lashes even though that might not have been the original look I was going for).  Also the smudging doesn't take away from the lasting quality of the liner.  The color stays true all day long. It lives up to the claim that is glides on smoothly (no tugging), and having a high percentage of pigments that gives great color payoff.  Even lighter shades have no problem with pigmentation.  As much as I enjoy bright colors, I really appreciate that the color choices are mostly practical, everyday types with a few fun ones thrown in.

Swatches

The 7 colors included in the kit are: Blue Sky, Happy Cloud, Blueberry, Bicycle, Goodnight Dreams, Chocolate Milk, Grape Juice.  The color description on the Sephora website are as follows:

• Goodnight Dreams (black), Grape Juice (purple), Chocolate Milk (brown), Happy Cloud (white), Blueberry (navy), Bicycle (teal green), Blue Sky (bright light blue)

I don't personally agree with all of the color descriptions, so here's my take on it.  Goodnight Dreams is black, but not a black, black.  As in it's nice and dark, but there are blacks that are truer blacks.  Goodnight Dreams tends to lean ever so slightly towards brown, although that's not too noticeable on the eye.  Grape Juice is an indigo purple.  It's one of the sheerer shades, although on the eye it can be made opaque with a couple swipes.  Chocolate Milk is a warm toned rich dark brown.  Happy Cloud is a pearl color (not white) that works great on the inner corner, or to brighten up the eye by lining the water line.  Blueberry is a navy that can appear more of a marine blue if applied lightly.  It's not a heavy navy.  Bicycle is not a teal green in my opinion, it's more of a forest green that leans a little on the olive side.  To me it's a warmer color than cool.  Blue Sky might be my favorite in the bunch, it's truly the perfect sky blue, as in straight out of the crayon box type sky blue.

You can check out the swatches to get your own take on the color.  I have both sunlight and shade photos to give a better idea on the true color.

Sunlight pic: Blue Sky, Happy Cloud, Blueberry, Bicycle, Goodnight Dreams, Chocolate Milk, Grape Juice

Shade Pic: Blue Sky, Happy Cloud, Blueberry, Bicycle, Goodnight Dreams, Chocolate Milk, Grape Juice

Bottom Line: I totally think it's worth it.  I use these multiple times a week.  It's easy to use, and there's a lot of colors to choose from. I'm hoping Hello Kitty Cosmetics comes up with a new eyeliner kit with more colors.