Eye Jewels

It was on my second visit to Oxford Street that I first noticed this rather unique invention from Lush. At first, I refused to acknowledge its existence as I had far too many other cosmetics that I needed to try and review. However, the allure of all of the bright colours soon caught my attention once more, and I unwittingly ended up purchasing almost £100 worth of these little wedges to try out for myself. 

First released in April 2015, there are a total of twelve different shades - all of which will set you back £10 a piece. In an effort to remain package-less, these triangular tabs can either be bought by themselves, or Lush do offer a pretty container that can house six of them at once. While I am very boring when it comes to the make-up I wear, I was intrigued and rather excited to see what they were capable of. 

Out of the twelve colours currently available, I have been able to purchase nine of them. For left to right, these colours are;

Lucky (Pearl Pigment Green)

Serene (Blue)

Zealous (Dark Spring Green)   

Devout (Purple)

Contrast (Dark Grey)

Excite (Silver)

Delighted (Creamy Peach/beige)

Triumphant (Gold)

Seducer (Copper)

This leaves me with the task of buying Best (Amber Orange), Breathtaking (Vivid Pearl Blue) and Hope (Bronze) at some point in the future. 

With all twelve of them boasting a combination of murumuru butter and organic shea butter as the two main ingredients, these products are incredibly gentle both during and after they've been applied  - leaving your skin feeling really soft, with none of the heaviness that you get with quite a lot of other make-up brands. 

These stunning jewels boast 30% pigment, which means that they're not only bright and vivid to look at, but create a similar effect on the skin. Whether you want something that's going to stand out from the crowd, or something a little more subtle, these unique wedges of colour will shape, sculpt and colour to your every need. 

At first I was a little unsure how to go about using these - their odd shape and lack of 'handle' meant that I had to rethink and re-adjust the way I applied make-up. For someone with expertise, this would have probably proved rather simplistic; for me it was a nightmare. Speaking as someone who has not perfected the eyeliner wing, it doesn't make it any easier when you're rubbing what is technically 'pizza slices of pigment' onto your eyes instead of a pencil. 

However, once I'd had a few practices, I was able to successfully and confidently decorate my eyes with a straight and rather impressive looking line. If you're someone who prefers a very thin application of eyeliner, you probably won't find these very suitable for these needs; if you're looking to replicate the Black Veil Brides look, you've found your grace land. 

As well as working as an eyeliner, these jewels can also replace your regular eyeshadow - blending and sculpting in a variety of different ways to offer the versatility that Lush promised. For a simple one colour coat, you can either shade the corner of your eyelid and then smudge the deposit across your whole lid, or if you want something a little more vivid, you can gently massage the product across your whole eyelid for a thick but very light layer of colour. 

While the jewels don't melt like you would expect a massage bar to do in your hands, it does react a little to moisture, so you may find it easier to use a make up brush - running it alongside the wedge and then applying the product very much like you would a regular pot of eye shadow. This doesn't heed as much colour as direct application, but it does offer quite a bright result when multiple layers are applied.

All of Lush's Eye Jewels can also be used to blend and sculpt, and how you go about this is down to personal preference and style. What I will say is that every one of these products blends so easily and the shades that Lush offer seem to compliment each other, no matter what combination you wish to achieve. 

Once they have been applied, they hold up really well for the entire day and I found that the colour didn't smudge or run unless a good amount of pressure was applied to that area. Once the coat is resting on the skin, I tended to use a make up setter to hold the product in place, and I found that this was more than suffice to keep the colour in place for a 8-10 hour work day. 

Having said this, I love the fact that when you apply a little cleansing lotion to remove the make up at the end of the day, the jewels wash off with ease and leave you without any stubborn areas that you have to scrub off afterwards.

While I was rather skeptical at first, I have grown to appreciate and even revel in this new style of make-up. Not only do I love the fact that the make up comes with very little packaging so it's environmentally friendly, but I can really see these little wedges lasting me a lot longer than the pencil and tub variations that I have been using up until this point. Having used these for a good 5-6 weeks so far, not one of the jewels seems to have shrunk in any way, and their stunning designs mean that they look fantastic in my make up drawer as well.

Although you'll have to consider how to store these (as they do tend to 'rub off' on any surface that they come into contact with), it's a small price to pay for how well they work and how wonderful it is to use them. While I would say that I'd happily buy these again, I don't think I'll be needing to worry about this for a very long time. 

Vegan?: Yes. 

2015 Price: £10 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015.