Clarins 4-Colour Pen Liners Review Swatches

Who can pass up on a pretty notebook? More importantly who is able to walk away from a novel-yet-ingenious beauty launch? Not me, that's for sure and the new Clarins 4-Colour Pen is where the worlds of beauty and office supplies have collided: nostalgic, clever and every bit the everyday essential in the making.

Clarins 4-Colour Pen Liners Review Swatches
Clarins 4-Colour Pen Liners Review Swatches

Do you recall those huge 8-colour pens from our youth? They were so ridiculous - I mean who really needs three shades of green ink for school - and yet the were easily one of my favourite items in my pencil case. Filling the chunky pen void for 2017 is the Clarins 4-Colour Pen; sure it may be a little bulkier than your typical eye -  or lip liner for that matter - but there is nothing around quite like it. Four silken, almost-gel-like liners, ready for use at a click of a button, and the best part? You never need to worry about a pencil sharpener or leaving home ill prepared in terms of make-up pencils.

Clarins 4-Colour Pen Liners Review Swatches
Clarins 4-Colour Pen Liners Review Swatches

The real selling point of this product is the design, that's not to say the formulations are sub-par but the sheer construction of this multi-liner is really what will reel people in (myself included). To use, you simply push down the button of the shade you wish to apply, twist the bottom of the pen to dispense product and apply. To switch colours - or prepare the Clarins 4-Colour Pen for storage - you click down an alternative shade. It couldn't be simpler and as the delicate gel-like liners are stored inside a plastic pen, they are less prone to breakage than your standard eye/lip pencil.

Clarins 4-Colour Pen Liners Review Swatches

Clarins have attempted to offer a broad yet universal spectrum of liners within the Clarins 4-Colour Pen: blue (best described as cobalt), black, brown (a deep, almost blacked tone) and nude (pink tinged and should suit a good proportion of skin tones). The concept is that the black and brown shades are intended for use on the eyes and brows, or can be used to on the face to create or deepen moles and freckles. The blue liner is to brighten the eyes and the nude option is a lip liner. Truthfully, I feel Clarins could have skipped the blue pencil in favour of either a white eye liner, or even a red lip option as they hold more broad appeal; blue is a very particular and dare I say dated option that not may will reach for on a daily basis, if ever.

Clarins 4-Colour Pen Liners Review Swatches

I have a real soft spot for Clarins make-up as the quality is always of the highest consideration and this time is no different. The four shades within the Clarins 4-Colour Pen are wonderfully formulated: pliable so that they don't drag on the skin and yet not overly soft, in which they quickly disintegrate into a mushy and easily broken mess. Each shade applies and wears beautifully, with long lasting pigment that doesn't smudge, smear or feather.

If you use classic shades of liner on a daily basis and/or travel a lot, I really do believe that the Clarins 4-Colour Pen could be the product of dreams - like wise if you simply enjoy great formulas combined with a smidgen of nostalgia. This may just be my favourite launch of 2017.

Clarins 4-Colour Pen £24.60 via Escentual - link.