Doe-eyed, long legged, slightly bedraggled hair and always immaculately dressed without looking like she's even tried, or taken style tips from Barbie. Maybe I'm a little biased because I like her, but I'm always pretty happy to admit that Alexa Chung has certainly earned her place on the list of sartorially savvy. And of course, she dated Alex Turner and she's had a Mulberry bag named after her for god's sake! For a little while, she seems have been less on people's radar. But now, since the publication of It, she's back AND she's got merchandise.
Ok, I'll be the first to admit that even though I had cynically acknowledged it wasn't going to be a groundbreaking piece of literature, I knew I'd end up buying a copy. Just out of curiosity. Just because I like to look at what she's wearing. I can give you a load of excuses, if you want me to but really, I was wholly sucked into the Chungle. And even before the book, when there was whispers of her collaboration with Eyeko, I knew I'd not be able to resist trying it out. I mean, a girl that's famous for her feline flick is hardly going to be able to get eyeliner wrong, right? And since eyeliner is cemented in my daily make up routine, I thought, 'hey, sign me up!' So having already set my sights on buying the limited edition Alexa Chung for Eyeko duo, I was over the moon to find it turn up in my present pile this Christmas. Since then I've been alternating it with my usual eyeliner, and thought it was about time to let anyone who's interested know if it's worth investing the pennies. If you're feeling too lazy to read this post, (shame on you! But at least you're honest..), then the short answer is, yes.
Now, most bloggers / anyone in the world who's written about this, will have told you about the packaging, the poster and the plectrum, so I won't waste my time with that. And yes, it comes with a mascara, but to be honest I think most people (I know I certainly did anyway), will be buying this for the eyeliner so I'm focussing on that. And to be honest, I've not been using the mascara very much. So what I want to tell you is the really important bit about the eyeliner, how well does it work? And having given it a fair bit of use over the last couple weeks, I feel confident enough to share. First of all, I wear liquid eyeliner almost everyday. In general, I always use Benefit's liquid eyeliner, partly because I have eczema on my face so I'm reluctant to change once I know a brand is ok, mostly because it's habit. Since I'm pretty faithful to it, I've grown accustomed to using liquid eyeliner in its ink pot and brush format. The Alexa Chung for Eyeko set on the other hand is a pen. Now, when I first saw liquid eyeliner pens, I was immediately put off. They look like felt tips. And who really wants to draw on their face with felt tip? And everyone knows the problem with felt tips: they dry out. So my impression was that the pen would dry up quickly or only allow you to apply a small about of liner.. meaning that you're stood effectively colouring your eyelids in for ten minutes or so. They didn't sound fun. But having been lured in by the Alexa Chung brand, I was too curious about the eyeko set not to try it out myself.
On first impression, I found the pen actually applies the liner a lot heavier (although it's not so much that you're left with a trail that takes ages to dry). When I first applied it, I was surprised to find that it went on fairly dark, but not quite as dark as an ink pot liquid eyeliner, where it seems you get a more concentrated application. However, with the pen I didn't notice the tell-tale stickiness I find liquid eyeliners leave on your lids as they're setting. So far, so good. Now, one of the main reasons I love liquid eyeliner is that it stays put. Unlike kohl which inevitably ends up all over your face after a few hours. But one of the issues I have with liquid, is that not only is the Benefit one not waterproof.. it's not even damp or moisture proof. Even the hint of rain, or laughing a little bit too hard and I find black streaks ready to run down (or be rubbed all over) my face. With the pen, I find it a lot less temperamental and it has pretty good staying power. In general, I've found that my eyeliner stays in place for around 7 to 8 hours before it needs a little help. I was half expecting the pen to have a little less longevity but in general I've found it's been lasting just as long. My only bugbear? I find that the pen makes it a little more difficult to create a nice thin line. Although that could be partly down to me still getting used to applying it. Still, it's a nice change from my usual and it's worth giving a try. I just hope I don't get used to using it only to find I then can't get a hold of one when it dries up! Let's hope ASOS keep it in stock for a while...
Ok, I'll be the first to admit that even though I had cynically acknowledged it wasn't going to be a groundbreaking piece of literature, I knew I'd end up buying a copy. Just out of curiosity. Just because I like to look at what she's wearing. I can give you a load of excuses, if you want me to but really, I was wholly sucked into the Chungle. And even before the book, when there was whispers of her collaboration with Eyeko, I knew I'd not be able to resist trying it out. I mean, a girl that's famous for her feline flick is hardly going to be able to get eyeliner wrong, right? And since eyeliner is cemented in my daily make up routine, I thought, 'hey, sign me up!' So having already set my sights on buying the limited edition Alexa Chung for Eyeko duo, I was over the moon to find it turn up in my present pile this Christmas. Since then I've been alternating it with my usual eyeliner, and thought it was about time to let anyone who's interested know if it's worth investing the pennies. If you're feeling too lazy to read this post, (shame on you! But at least you're honest..), then the short answer is, yes.
Now, most bloggers / anyone in the world who's written about this, will have told you about the packaging, the poster and the plectrum, so I won't waste my time with that. And yes, it comes with a mascara, but to be honest I think most people (I know I certainly did anyway), will be buying this for the eyeliner so I'm focussing on that. And to be honest, I've not been using the mascara very much. So what I want to tell you is the really important bit about the eyeliner, how well does it work? And having given it a fair bit of use over the last couple weeks, I feel confident enough to share. First of all, I wear liquid eyeliner almost everyday. In general, I always use Benefit's liquid eyeliner, partly because I have eczema on my face so I'm reluctant to change once I know a brand is ok, mostly because it's habit. Since I'm pretty faithful to it, I've grown accustomed to using liquid eyeliner in its ink pot and brush format. The Alexa Chung for Eyeko set on the other hand is a pen. Now, when I first saw liquid eyeliner pens, I was immediately put off. They look like felt tips. And who really wants to draw on their face with felt tip? And everyone knows the problem with felt tips: they dry out. So my impression was that the pen would dry up quickly or only allow you to apply a small about of liner.. meaning that you're stood effectively colouring your eyelids in for ten minutes or so. They didn't sound fun. But having been lured in by the Alexa Chung brand, I was too curious about the eyeko set not to try it out myself.
On first impression, I found the pen actually applies the liner a lot heavier (although it's not so much that you're left with a trail that takes ages to dry). When I first applied it, I was surprised to find that it went on fairly dark, but not quite as dark as an ink pot liquid eyeliner, where it seems you get a more concentrated application. However, with the pen I didn't notice the tell-tale stickiness I find liquid eyeliners leave on your lids as they're setting. So far, so good. Now, one of the main reasons I love liquid eyeliner is that it stays put. Unlike kohl which inevitably ends up all over your face after a few hours. But one of the issues I have with liquid, is that not only is the Benefit one not waterproof.. it's not even damp or moisture proof. Even the hint of rain, or laughing a little bit too hard and I find black streaks ready to run down (or be rubbed all over) my face. With the pen, I find it a lot less temperamental and it has pretty good staying power. In general, I've found that my eyeliner stays in place for around 7 to 8 hours before it needs a little help. I was half expecting the pen to have a little less longevity but in general I've found it's been lasting just as long. My only bugbear? I find that the pen makes it a little more difficult to create a nice thin line. Although that could be partly down to me still getting used to applying it. Still, it's a nice change from my usual and it's worth giving a try. I just hope I don't get used to using it only to find I then can't get a hold of one when it dries up! Let's hope ASOS keep it in stock for a while...
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