Blinc Cosmetics have recently launched in Australia and I've been trying out a number of their much raved about eye products. Going on a Queensland beach holiday came in very handy for this little exercise because I was able to seriously put them to the test for myself to see if they really do "...combine ease of use, with the performance no other product can match". Are blinc eye products really sweat-proof, flake-proof, run-proof and water-proof? Grab yourself a cuppa, glass of wine, or whatever happens to be your beverage of choice and get comfortable for a mega review because I have four products to get through here! If you're in Melbourne I'd suggest you get your blanket out too because it's suddenly very cold down here...
Eye Shadow Primer
After reading the intro above you shouldn't be surprised to hear blinc claim this primer holds eye shadow in place without creasing, smudging or fading through a sweaty workout or even in
"harsh weather conditions". I have very oily eyelids so I need a good primer to prevent my eye shadow from the inevitable creasing even without extreme conditions - some primers just don't cut it for me at all, particularly cream products posing as eye shadow bases because they never quite
dry on the eyelids and can sometimes give me a worse result than going without. That said, I'm a good candidate to put eye shadow primer to the test!
Blinc also call this primer a fountain of youthful colour, as aside from anchoring eye shadow in place the claims include a
"53% increase in skin's moisture after just one week" and a
"63% decrease in fine lines and wrinkles after six weeks". Okay, I have almost 48 year old eyelids so I'll welcome anti-aging in that area!
My impressions:
As you can see above the primer is applied with a doe-foot applicator and is quite an opaque formula, so only a little dab is needed which I patted gently over my lids to even out then allowed to dry for a few seconds. The shade I've tried here (Light Tone) is quite light but I found it good as an eye brightening base, although a darker shade (Flesh Tone) is also available.
This primer most definitely held my eye shadow in place no matter what I did! I put it through 3km runs (where the rest of my face melted off in a hot, sweaty mess yet my eye shadow looked 100% freshly applied), humid weather, swimming in the resort pool, and long 16 hour days. It stayed on until I decided to take it off with remover. As a point of further amusement for me the primer I patch tested on the back of my hand stayed there for nearly two days - yes I did shower and wash my hands - until I used some makeup remover! This stuff really,
really works.
Okay - so what about the anti-aging claims? It hasn't been six weeks yet so I can't assess overall wrinkle reduction, however this product immediately provides a smoother base for my eye shadow so my eyes do look fresher when made up. My eye shadow seems to glide on more easily when applying over blinc primer and of course the pigment looks more vibrant too. So far I am pretty impressed on all fronts with blinc eye shadow primer and I'll continue to use it every day on my lids.
Lash Primer
Blinc Lash Primer has been developed to
"...nourish and enhance lashes..." with its Vitamin E enriched formula while adding
"...incredible volume and length that amplifies your mascara's effect." Multiple coats may be applied for desired volumising, lengthening effect and removal (even when topped with mascara) only requires a
"generous dose of warm water". It can be used alone as an overnight treatment for the lashes or beneath mascara for immediate oomph. This primer can also be brushed onto eyebrows.
My lashes are already rather long but I liked the idea of pampering them (I never thought of conditioning my eyelashes!) and thickening them without using scary dry fibres which I'm forever terrified might fall into my eyes.
My impressions:
The brush is made up of soft, flexible bristles in a spiral pattern which easily pick up the creamy primer and evenly sweep it through the lashes. I've been getting away with a single coat on my lashes as a daytime volumiser but I've applied two coats here (waiting the recommended 30 seconds setting time between coats) for full effect.
I like the idea of controlling the amount of volume and the primer certainly delivers a good amount of volume even with one coat and emphasises the length of my lashes. My lashes are visibly thicker but still defined and feel super
soft and conditioned - I hate crunchy, brittle feeling lashes - and there are no nasty fibres to worry about so this product should also be a safe choice for contact lens wearers.
Removal is as easy as blinc say and I either remove this primer (usually worn under my mascara) with cotton pads soaked in warm water or in the shower.
Naked eyes with lash primer. Yup my lashes are up to my eyebrows:
Mascara Amplified
Blinc have quite a few rave points about their Mascara Amplified: It makes all of the
"Life Proof" claims outlined in this post intro (smudge-proof, sweat-proof, water-resistant and flake proof)
, coats lashes with a
"glossy, volumizing and extending" coat that forms tiny water resistant “tubes” around the lash, and differently from the traditional tubing mascara the Amplified formula allows for
"buildable, glamorous volume and length" as multiple coats may be applied. Blinc also promise this mascara removes as easily as the traditional tubing formula, with only warm water and gentle pressure from fingertips or a cloth.
I've heard of tubing mascaras but had never tried them myself until now. I'm one of those people who wears mascara 365 days a year, through all life's daily demands including exercise so I was totally armed to test something which promises to hold fast - and then removes with just warm water and a little gentle rubbing!
My impressions:
I've tried Amplified alone and over blinc lash primer. The soft bristle brush is very much the same as the lash primer so it easily sweeps through to coat my lashes. The Amplified formula is glossy but not too wet so it is easy to build up coverage with multiple coats (I've applied two quick coats below) as the mascara glides on without clumping.
This mascara really
does wear as well as it claims too as I wore it through sweaty exercise sessions, swimming and even dared to leave it on overnight just to see what would happen (not something I normally do!) and it stayed put with no flaking whatsoever.
Despite the budge-proof wear I was amazed at how easily and thoroughly Amplified removes with warm water and a little gentle rubbing. It's a bit weird seeing the little tubes, which look disconcertingly like lashes on my fingertips in the shower but of course my lashes were all still there and 100% bare afterwards. Absence of panda eyes is guaranteed with this stuff (unlike more traditional waterproof formulas which can sometimes resist the even most effective makeup removers - I go to bed thinking I've done the job only to find tell-tale smudges in the morning). I'm impressed with Amplified because I just love the ease of it.
Amplified is available in black or dark brown.
Lashes dressed with two coats of Mascara Amplified. Yes they really ARE up to my eyebrows:
Liquid Eyeliner
Blinc say their Liquid Eyeliner is different from traditional liquid liners as rather than performing like a paint this liner applies a water-resistant
"layer of colour" which
"cannot fade, run, smudge or flake, even if you cry or rub your eyes".
If you've read from the top of the post you know what I'm going to say next: when you're ready to remove it blinc liner should
"slide off" with the combination of lots of warm water and a little gentle pressure applied with fingertips or a wet cloth.
My impressions:
The soft fine-tipped brush allowed the liner to glide on smoothly and precisely so liquid liner-phobe me found it quite easy to get a straight (well not too shaky!) line and I was able to build up it up for glossy looking definition along my upper lash line. It does set quite quickly so once it's on it's
on - although you can make refinements with a warm water dipped cotton bud if you do need to.
I loved the glossy, vinyl looking black line. It stayed looking freshly applied and didn't bleed, fade or transfer from my lids all day, including through an exercise session. It didn't budge until I decided to make it budge with warm water soaked cotton pads - it didn't necessarily
slide off my lids when I rubbed them but it did thoroughly remove without any residue left behind. No panda eyes!
Blinc Liquid Liner is available in four colours: black, dark blue, medium brown and grey.
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If I had to pick my "
wow" blinc product from the four I've reviewed I'd cheat and pick two - Eye Shadow Primer because it provides a smooth eye shadow base which stands up to my oily eyelids with zero creasing and Mascara Amplified because I rely on waterproof mascara and I love how gently and thoroughly Amplified removes with warm water.
Of course all of the four products do as they say so there are no fails here in terms of performance - this range is worth checking out if you need your eye makeup to go the distance. Blinc products are safe for contact lens wearers.
Click
here for your nearest blinc stockist.
(Products were provided for my consideration. All comments and opinions are my own.)