esquido | Ask Me About My Makeup

When it comes down to the basic necessities for a beauty kit, black & brown eyeliners are the phillips and flat head screwdrivers of the makeup toolbox; very similar tools, but you’re better off having one of each. Could you use other things to get the job done? Probably, but having the right one for the job is very helpful.

So I was delighted to hear that Esqido, whose lashes I recently reviewed, was bringing out their own gel liners, and they were kind enough to offer me a black and a brown for review.

Yay liners! Also, nice clean package design

I know many people prefer liquid liner, but I happen to think that a gel pencil liner is a more accessible, easier to use option, especially if you’re new to makeup. You can do a precise line with them, but they are also far more forgiving than your average liquid liner. And when you have a quality one that will set in place, there’s practically no down side.

good color payoff and smooth application

These liners are no exception. They gave me a bold, pigmented line on the first swipe, and once they set, they are locked in for the long haul. I’m not exaggerating either, here’s a clip of me trying very hard to rub these swatches off after letting them set:

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “these are gel liners in a plastic tube, so once they’re dull thats it on precision!” Right? Nope! These guys thought of that too! While you do twist the bottom of the tube to bring up more product, the very end of the pencil actually pops out to reveal –

These liners are great quality, and they’re not even super expensive. Right now you can get them for $12 each, a pretty good bargain for a quality liner with its own built-in sharpener- a really handy detail.

So if you’re looking for some good liners, I would definitely check these out. While they only come in black and brown, those are pretty useful colors to have. And if you’re looking ahead to plan your perfect holiday party look, maybe look at some of their lash styles while you’re there, its a great way to make your look more festive!

Of course, many festive holiday looks call for the perfect red lip, which is never an easy choice to make! Perhaps we should examine that next. 🙂

Disclosure: This product was sent to me for review purposes.

This post is rather special to me. Why is that? Because this is the first time I was independently contacted by a company to be sent their product to review. While I have been sent a product to review before (and they are STILL a favorite, believe me!), I got connected to that company through a supportive friend. So unless someone at this other company is secretly a friend of mine, this is solely based on my online presence.

What was I sent to review?

Esqido lashes – and they were kind enough to include a full size tube of their lash glue! I was given my option of their various styles of lashes, and after trying the guide on their site, I opted for the style, “Starlet”*.

As you may recall, I’ve only just gotten into lashes, so you can imagine how pleased I was at the timing on this. I just figure out how to wear the darn things, and here comes a high end pair for me to try!

They arrived packed neatly and compactly in a padded mailer – no excess shipping material- and the packaging is quite nice. the lash container has a magnetic closure. They also included their lash glue, which comes in a hard tube with a brush applicator.

These lashes have a nice cotton band, and while I know for many, the preference tends to be for a thinner and less detectable band, as someone newer to false lashes I quite like the band. It helps a great deal not only with have a solid place to put the glue, but with positioning them on the eye. They were very comfortable to wear too. I didn’t find the band cumbersome at all, and once I got them in place I didn’t find it that obvious either, as you can see.

The glue that they sent was so easy to use, I nearly forgot to include it when I was making notes for this article! Lash glue is one of those things where, if it works well, you barely think about it. The brush was super easy to work with, and the formula was a nice even consistency that was easy to get exactly where you want it without making a mess. Their formula is latex and formaldehyde free, and is $10, not unreasonable for the 5.5ml you get in the tube. It also doesn’t take forever to dry, and held until I used remover to take the lashes off at the end of my day.

One thing I’m getting used to is how dramatic a difference false lashes makes on my appearance. The difference is quite striking, and I felt it was worthy of a side-by-side comparison:

If you are trying to make your eyes stand out, I have to say false lashes are a great way to help you get there. I think anything that makes my smaller eyes look bigger and pop is a marvel. And don’t think glasses are a barrier to them either! I was a little concerned, given how bold these lashes seemed when I got them, but they don’t touch my glasses at all, and look totally fine with them:

After another look at Esqido’s line, I discovered that these are considered a “medium volume” lash. They also have light and full volume, so they really have a wide variety of styles to choose from.

While these are great, they are definitely a higher end item, at $29.00 a pair for the Starlett style I am wearing. So if you’re looking to spend a little bit of money, and want something high quality, these are definitely worth it, they are soft and lush, but also very well constructed and comfortable to wear, and they will definitely hold up through multiple wearings. The packaging is nice as well, so you can hold onto it and store your lashes in it for as long as you have them.

*at the time when I was selecting my option for review, they had not yet released their synthetic line, Unisyn, which is now available on their site. The lashes I received and tested are mink hair.

Disclosure: This product was sent to me by the manufacturer for review purposes.