MAKEUP | All 39 MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencils Swatched! Use Them on EVERYTHING!

It has dropped. The first pencil that is actually intended for eyes, lips, blush, contour, rainbow freckles so that if you have always wanted your blue eyeliner to literally match your lips, now it can! The brand spankin' new MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencils* ($23.00 CDN) have now landed in Sephora and MAKE UP FOR EVER boutiques and can be worn on their own for a true monochromatic look or layered to create boundless makeup looks. Each pencil has a matte finish and is a blend of silicone, vegetal and crystalline waxes allowing for glide across any surface, but not so creamy that the colour will slide off wherever you decide to put it!

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencil Review with Swatches
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I was very fortunate to have been sent the full range of 39 shades and did not know where to begin when it came to creating. I'm sure a makeup artist would have known exactly what to do, but I felt so overwhelmed! There were neutrals, brights and essentials and to be honest, the very first shade I picked up was a very Jayne-esque #808 in Boundless Berry which I put on my waterline, cheeks and lips and shared on my Instagram story below!


MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencil Review with Swatches

In terms of packaging, I thought having these pencils look like stationary style pencils was super cute, fun and actually encouraged me to want to play with them if just to relive my childhood!

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencil Review with Swatches

When I was first swatching a few shades, they didn't seem that creamy and then when I did the arm swatches, the pencils seemed soft as the tips were breaking off, but then again these pencils were freshly sharpened when I swatched them.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencil Review with Swatches

The very first thing that would pop into most people's heads after the inital "ooh" and "aah" of a multi-purpose pencil is "How hygenic is it to use something on my eyes AND lips?" If you are a MUA, I am guessing a good sharpen with a spray of alcohol will do the trick and personally I think I will still be using certain pencils for certain areas only. Since I am the only one using the pencils, I just wipe the pencil on a paper towel when I go from eyes to lips. From eyes to cheeks, I don't bother sanitizing since my eye is probably "cleaner" than my cheek, but I do sanitize from cheek to lips or from lips to eyes.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencil Review with Swatches

I have been using the browns and pinks as full on lipsticks and giving them a coat of gloss over top using the MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Lip Booster. To think that I could potentially just take ONE pencil and a lip gloss for traveling is kind of crazy to me!

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencil Review with Swatches

For the most part, all of the pencils swatched well and with plenty of pigment with the exception of three of the lighter colours above that seemed a bit patchy in pigmentation, but was easily intensified with a few extra strokes. Most ended up being more creamy than I had originally thought and all blended nicely as a blush using fingers though you could use a brush as well. Pigmentation was a bit hard to build up as a blush, but it's good to know that these pencils will work if I don't have anything on hand to give my cheeks some perking up!

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencil Review with Swatches

Wear time was a few hours on their own if left in their matte state. To REALLY make these Artist Color Pencils stay on your lips and eyes, use the Step 1 Skin Equalizer Lip and Eye Primer (review) and they will pretty much stay locked on.

Along the waterline and lash line, I was impressed with the longevity of these pencils as I had to physically remove it with a Q-tip at the end of the day to really get it all off! They also held up well on the lips without feeling dry. I would still give my lips a good exfoliation though as these are still a matte finish which we all know can be very unforgiving on a dry lip no matter the brand.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencil Review with Swatches

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencil Review with Swatches

Final verdict: I think these are pretty cool. I'm not going to say, "Please get all 39 shades", BUT I will say that the time I spent looking for a RED eyeliner to compliment my lips could have been better spent had these been around! I understand that yes, there are no rules when it comes to what we can use as a blush, lipstick and eyeliner as pigment is pigment, but I don't think $23 is unreasonable for a pencil that works fairly well on very different areas of the face. I love the monochromatic looks that I can create using a neutral pencil so what I will say about these pencils is to NOT buy them with the intention of singular usage, but to keep in mind that the texture is multi-purpose and about making makeup fun! I will be doing a proper makeup look with these when I have some time off from work, but please do check these pencils out!

The MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Color Pencils are available now at Sephora and MAKE UP FOR EVER Boutiques.

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