Marks and Spencer Essential Colours gold liquid eyeliner, and eye palette

I'm swatching some M&S gold liquid liner and an eyeshadow palette bought recently from their Essential Colours  range, which is their cheapest make up range. The liner is a gorgous metallic honey gold (same as Barry M gold liquid liner if you're looking to switch). It really catches the light so is perfect for evening. I've actually stopped using black as this complements my  skin better.  It also comes in electric blue(same as barry m turquoise liner), silvery back,  royal blue, green and purple.  M&S make up has always struck me as old fashioned but they seem to be introducing more modern products,like eye and face primers as well as continuing their existing ones

                                                                                    

Its easy enough to apply with the brush, and dries without smudging,  to a shimmery gold leaf  effect; the look is metallic rather than glitter. I  like that the bottle is clear so you can see exactly how much product you've got left. Its not as fluid as an eyeliner pen, and you would probably need to retouch after a couple of hours, but  for £3.50 its excellent value, as you get a decent amount, unlike some other liners, and  a luxe colour.

There are a several different colour versions of this Essential Colours eyeshadow palette available at £6, though sometimes its on offer for cheaper. I picked this one because of the lovely lime green shade; its the only BUAV approved brand I could find that does lime. If you come across any others please let me know. Its a handy palm size so good for travelling and the case seems sturdy so it probably wouldn't open in your handbag. All seven colours are matte with tiny flecks of glitter in them, but the sparkle isnt perceptible in the day and barely at night, so the finish is basically matte. The dark brown and dark teal give good coverage, and are easily blendable. Its sort of an opaque coffee brown, so could be used effectively as a smoky liner  or  shadow. I found the  lighter colours difficult to work with though; they are very dry and I struggled to get even coverage, and its an effort to build up the colour even over primer. All of the colours faded extremely quickley also, and there's a lot of fallout. Other reviewers on the M&S website loved  this palette, but sadly it didnt work for me; I wouldn't recommend it for dark skins, or if you like your colour to stay strong. M&S premium range seem higher quality (tested in shop) and are still very affordable.

left to right: dark brown, lilac, baby pink, light teal, lime green, dark teal, peach, cream
www.marksandspencer.com

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