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Kohl Liner – The Day to Night Essential

Not a month goes by where I don’t see a ‘day to night’ feature slapped across a double page in a glossy. According to my magazine stash it seems us gals are on a never-ending hunt for the perfect drawer-housed beauty stash to take us from office to packed pub in as little products as possible. Heck, even I’ve got in on the action with a few posts on the matter, this ‘Desk till Dawn’ edit being my most recent chime in on the cause. But I’ve been thinking about it and really I reckon there’s just one thing that does it all – smokes things up, adds a flash-photo friendly swipe of definition and takes about two minutes to apply – a kohl liner. Hear me out…

Sure a little smudge of pencil in the outer corners is all daytime friendly, but when things get a little heavier, smudgier and smokier for me that’s evening makeup in a nutshell. A dab of whatever lip products I have swimming around in my bag with a blot of the face and a quick tame of the brows helps matters along, but it’s the upper lash line definition that’s the key player here. The great thing is that nights out mean dark settings (unless you need a late night fix of fried chicken which are always home to the brightest, most unflattering light in the history of bulbs) which means that things don’t have to be perfect. Apply, blend with your finger and repeat until you find your desired level of Kate Moss-ness. If you’re in the market to add a kohl to your desk side pencil holder then here are my faves:

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Hustleoh hello there you long lasting, richly pigmented, no-budge formula. U.D are kinda the Queens of the kohl category and rightly so. Hustle is a deep bronze that coats the base of the lashes in a sweep of dense colour that holds, yet has just the right level of smudge to it. The small nib makes this a prime candidate for detailed work and is the one that I reach for most when I feel like getting all flicky.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Liner in Bronze – before this turns into 50 shades of bronze I must add, as you’ve probably already noticed, that I’m not the biggest fan of anything darker than a coffee colour on the lash line. It just looks a little heavy on me. So I’ll continue my brown hued theme with this badboy. It’s a creamy formula that glides on to the waterline without a tug or pull in sight and it’s not too bad in the longevity department either. If you’re in the market for a bargain smokey eye purchase I’d point you in the direction of this.

By Terry Ombré Blackstar in Brown Perfection – now this isn’t strictly a kohl, but it’s a cream based eye product that multitasks as a liner, all-over wash of colour and/or base so it’s being thrown into the mix and it may just be my favourite one of the three (and the one I’m wearing in the picture). The great thing with this one is that it’s blendable yet long-lasting when you give a minute or two to set. There’s no shimmer here, just a straight-up warm matte brown that’s subtle enough for an everyday smoke but strong enough for after-dark shenanigans.

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