Bourjois Effet Smoky Eye Pencil in Ultra Black and Sand Rose

I loved loved loved the visual of the Bourjois Paris Ballerine collection Kirstie posted about it way back in January and have been hovering around Bourjois stands waiting for the collection to land ever since. My patience was finally rewarded when I came across it in my local pharmacy last week and after much consideration I picked up the Effet Smoky eye pencils in Ultra Black and Sand Rose.

We've been loving a bit of priest's socks black pencil here on the blog for a while now, but the Sand Rose shade was an unusual one. To be honest, I wasn't too sure I'd be able to make it work when I chose it, but I like to experiment a little bit every now and again and at a reduced price of €6.49, thought it would be worth it for that alone.

Ultra Black is (as it says on the tin) a lovely rich black - no hint of charcoal here, while Sand Rose is a cool-toned, almost taupe-y rose shade. While it looks almost as though it would be a better lipliner than eyeliner, it actually works pretty well to give depth to the lashline in a subtle way, working particularly well to define the lower lashes if you don't want a harsh look.

I've also used it smudged up over the upper eyelid in place of shadow, which works well for a daytime look that can be applied quickly, with a bit of the Ultra Black pencil smudged into the lashline.

The texture of these pencils is lovely - buttery soft and very easy to apply in a nice smooth line. I do find that they smudge a bit on my eyelids, however. Now I do admit that my eyelids are extremely oily for someone with skin like the Sahara everywhere else and my eyes are also deep-set, so smudging can be a hazard at the best of times. But where I can apply some liners, like the recent Armani Spring 2011 black eye pencil or Shu Uemura Drawing Pencils without any base and know that they will wear like iron, I do need to prep my eyelids with an eyeshadow base to get these pencils to last the day.

This slight issue aside, I do love the texture and pigment of the Effet Smoky pencils and the brush at the end is a great addition for smudging and blending the product. Normally priced at €7.99, these pencils would be an excellent choice next time you're browsing the pharmacy aisles.