Tuesday 4 February 2014

Essence Gel Eyeliner - Midnight in Paris 01 | Review & Swatches


Essence Gel Eyeliners are available easily in market, comes with an affordable price tag hence look like a winner already. I have this liner for more than an year and experimented a lot with it. Now is the time to talk about it in detail and decide if I enjoyed it enough for a repurchase.

Essence Gel Eyeliners


Special occasions require special eye make-up products like the Gel Eyeliner from Essence! It's ultra-smooth gel formula allows an accurate application similar to liquid eyeliner. The range offers various effects, such as matte or shimmering. Simply dip the special Essence Gel Eyeliner Brush into the pot and effortlessly paint a perfect quick drying line. You're left with an ultra long-lasting, smudge and waterproof look!




I have this gel eyeliner in shade Midnight in Paris 01 - a true matte black colour. Usually I never purchase things without reading proper reviews and comparison posts unless on a whim. Essence gel liners were highly raved and praised in the beauty blogging world so I picked mine with really high hopes. The first thing I noticed about the product after recovering from the new-product-excitement-syndrome was its cheap packaging. You get 3g product in a cute little glass jar that has a non-sturdy plastic lid on it. If you ever throw it down by mistake, the lid will defeintely get damaged, ruining all product. 

This gel liner has somewhat dry texture which is not the perfect consistency to work with. I read people saying that this liner applies like a butter but mine never did, Initially, I literally had to battle with it and my brush in order to line my eyes properly. Fast forward a few months - I had a discussion with a friend where she ranted about how her Essence gel liner dried within a month of purchase, it then occurred to me that mine probably reached me dried already. Instead of tossing it away, I decided to make it work for me, YouTube-d few methods to revive dried gel eyeliners and tried the flat hair iron one, it helped a bit with the consistency but still nothing ideal.




The longevity of the product is decent. It lasts for 4-5 hours on my oily lid and then fades away gradually, you will get more wear time if your eyelids are not an oil slick. Once applied, it doesn't transfer or smear (a usual problem with hooded eyes) that's what I like about it. I use this liner to waterline my eyes too, and it doesn't irritate my eyes so a big plus. The formula is waterproof as claimed, makes it ideal for tightlining again.

The major plus of the product is its pigmentation, a full on saturated black eyeliner that dries to a classic matte finish. If for nothing else, I just might pick it again for its pigmentation alone.



Few Tips that Worked for Me for this Gel Liner:


Since I already mentioned, the texture of my gel liner wasn't amazingly buttery so I figured out a way to work with it easily. Might help you, if you're going through same situation.


  • In order to revive your dried gel eyeliner, lock it in a plastic bag and dip it in a glass of warm water for few minutes. 
  • If you don't have time for warming water and all or you are simply lazy like me, heat your hair straightener and place this small glass jar on it for 3-5 minutes. I revived mine this way about 4 months ago and it still is in a workable condition.
  • If you are beginner with gel eyeliners, use an angled brush for application and draw small strokes on your lid instead of one line in a go, makes life easier.


Amazing Points

  • Easily accessible for everyone in Pakistan.
  • Really affordable hence great for beginners and young girls.
  • Beautiful pigmentation.
  • Decent wear time. (4+ hours on oily lids)
  • Doesn't irritate eyes.
  • Tightline your eyes with it and it will last a whole day or even more. (True Waterproof).

Not So Amazing Points

  • Dries up fast, before you could even use half jar.
  • Packaging isn't impressive, the non-sturdy lid might be the culprit of quick drying.

This liner is available easily everywhere in Pakistan, click here for a list of reliable cosmetics' stores. I got mine from D-Watson for PKR 570. You can order it online from Just4girls.pk and Beautyarena as well. Folks in USA can get this from Ulta for $ 3.99.

Over all, Essence Gel Liner in Midnight in Paris just didn't wow me. Guess, hyped products and me could never have a better relationship. I'd probably pick up another liner once I finish this and my Catrice one. I like this to enhance my eyes but achieving a perfect winged liner with this type of formula is quite a hectic job.

Ratings: 3/5


Have you tried Essence Gel Eyeliner? How was your experience with it? Which liner you suggest should I pick next, suggest your favourites!

Much Love,
Zubia Rizvi
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18 comments:

  1. nice review zubia .. n oops my review abt this beauty is still in que :)

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  2. Nice review with amazing tips.....xoxoxo....:)

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  3. I ordered this one online as I donot have an essence counter in my city. It reached me partially dried up as well. People in Pakistan open up the products at counters to "swatch" causing air in. So you buy the product thinking that it's new but it actually has been opened by some irresponsible shopper. Irritating is that shopkeepers also allow this to happen.
    Nevertheless it is a great product. Very black and totally smudge free. Will re-purchase if I can be assured that it is unopened. Essence should seal their products.

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    Replies
    1. I totally hear you Naqsh! I face the same problem here in Al-Fatah Faisalabad. Majority of the NEW products of Art Deco and Essence are tried already by someone, I wonder if these two brands don't provide testers maybe or if they do, they are consumed by sales assistants already. Whatever the reason is, it's so gross!

      And yes, I love the pigmentation of this liner as well but I personally find the drying factor so annoying.

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  4. I have been hearing good things about this gel eye liner quick drying this a put off though. Nice review xx

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  5. This is superrrrr black and looks great but sad to know it dries up so quickly. I wanna try this soon

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  6. Sorry to read that your gel liner came dried! I somewhat got a similar pot from Catrice, and I feel you sister! I'll share my review soon the blog! Meanwhile, I'd say great tips! I found a few promising ones too but haven't tried any yet. Store your pot updside down to prevent faster drying. :) x

    Jasmine Catches Butterflies ʚϊɞ

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  7. my sister had the same prob.Her jar was already dried up.Its sucha shame.Great review dear

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  8. Thank you Zubia for such a detailed review, I might skip it n get the catricw one :) this sounds same like Luscious one.

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  9. Thank you Zubia for such a detailed review, I might skip it n get the catricw one :) this sounds same like Luscious one.

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  10. Thank you Zubia for such a detailed review, I might skip it n get the catricw one :) this sounds same like Luscious one.

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  11. Thank you Zubia for such a detailed review, I might skip it n get the catricw one :) this sounds same like Luscious one.

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  12. Thank you Zubia for such a detailed review, I might skip it n get the catricw one :) this sounds same like Luscious one.

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  13. Thank you Zubia for such a detailed review, I might skip it n get the catricw one :) this sounds same like Luscious one.

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  14. i love liquid eyeliner just waaay too much to think about converting to gel ones haha! i love that youve mentioned tips, really helpful :)

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  15. I'm really bad when it comes to applying eyeliner. I guess, i told u before that im new to this makeup thing, I hope this gel eyeliner would do good for me. Will let u know after using it :)

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  16. This is the only gel eyeliner I own and even though I feel it has been dried out in the pot, I still love to use it :)

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