Sally Hansen (Carmindy) Forever Stay Eye Pencils

I've had these swatches all labeled and ready to go for a very long time, so I figured it was about time I post them. :)

In short, these are pretty nice eyeliners. They're water-resistant, smudgeproof, etc. All five shades are completely matte, and I experience no irritation when putting them on my lash line or waterline. These liners are slightly drier and waxier in texture than most waterproof pencils I've tried so they don't glide on quite as smoothly, but they don't skip or drag on the lid, either. I have found that when I want a very bold, pigmented look, I need to go over the line a second time; after only lining once, I end up with the sort of "softer" look I'd expect from using a similar pencil and then smudging it out with a brush. The good news is that, I think due to that waxier texture, these liners last exceptionally well on my waterline. These are also paraben-free, if you're into that kind of thing; I'm not really concerned about parabens myself, but I'm going to make a special "paraben-free" label on the blog for those are. These are the regular kind of pencil you have to sharpen; as always, I recommend Urban Decay Grindhouse for this (it's very sharp and durable, so it works especially well with softer pencils like these, and it's pretty!). They retail for $8 each and are available at select CVS and Rite Aid stores, as well as on Drugstore.com.

Anyway, onto the swatches! FYI, Pure Plum is slightly more red-based in real life than it appears in the picture; it's definitely more of a "plum" color than a a true purple. Deep Jade reminds me of Stila Emerald Kajal, but is more of a true green (Stila Emerald looks more blue-based in comparison). With that said, Deep Jade might still be a good choice for someone who likes Stila Emerald but shies away from its price or smudge factor. As usual, you can click on the image below to view it at full size:

My biggest beef with these liners is actually their laughably long name (and that goes for the rest of the "Carmindy" line too): Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy Forever Stay Eye Pencil. If the eyeliners weren't as good as they are, I'd think Sally Hansen was compensating for something.

The other annoying thing about Sally Hansen in general is that the company's distribution totally sucks. All the available shades in the permanent line of their products are listed on their website, but in my experience, it's exceedingly rare to find them all in one place. Case in point: about a year ago, I spent months looking for the Carmindy blushes. There are seven shades each of the powder blushes and the cream blushes, but every store I went to only had the same six (or fewer) of both. It was only after I finally gave up and swatched the twelve I had that I found the last two. (Those swatches will be posted later on.) So, keep in mind that you may not be able to find all five shades in one store; I actually bought these five in three different states.

And just in case that isn't annoying enough, Sally Hansen also really likes to release completely awesome, limited-edition nail polish shades, send them to a couple of big-name nail polish bloggers so everyone can get all excited about them, and then make them harder to find than Isla de Muerta. Opulent Cloud and Hidden Treasure, I'm looking at YOU!

Forever Stay Eye Pencil: Deep Black, Chocolate Brown, Deep Jade, Pure Plum, Blue Indigo