| ...though it wouldn't have hurt them to spell "shing" right -_- |
Purchased: In Korea at a Missha shop. Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to get online for a reasonable price. Most charge at least double.
Cost: It was only 4500won ($4.00 USD)/each at the Missha shop.
Packaging: Quite nice, sturdy, and easy to use. Cap fits on well and it's just overall well-made. One thing I really like is how the rounded edges of these shadow sticks just roll into your crease. This is very helpful for Asians where the "hollow" above your eyes (aka the "crease" between your eyeball and browbone) is harder to find. These also don't need to be sharpened since the rounded tip is how they are supposed to be. I have never experienced any fallout or clumping with these either, which is a huge plus.
Texture: Remarkably creamy for a shadow in stick form.
Staying Power: They're not as long-lasting as Urban Decay or MAC shadows but they are quite comparable to drugstore shadows such as Maybelline and Almay. The BR02 lasts longer than WH01.
Color Payoff: Surprisingly good pigmentation. It's also buildable. The white one has large glitter particles and a shimmery finish while the brown just has pearl finish with a faint purple flash.
Blendability: It's not the most blendable shadow ever but it blends pretty well with minimal streaking considering it's in a hard stick form. I wouldn't say it's "silky smooth" when it comes to blending but I wouldn't complain about it either. It's very acceptable.
The WH01 is ideal for a subtle inner corner highlight or just putting it on the ball of your eye for a bit of dimension. This is how I use it. It's doesn't go well over foundation as a highlighter for your nose tho and the glitter particles chunk up when you blend it. Nonetheless, I like white quite a lot for my eyes. BR02 is a less versatile but it's more long lasting and excellent for a subtle "no makeup" look. I like to use this color just along my upper eyelid and the outer corners. Together both these pencil eyeshadows work well together to create an easy everyday look since all you need to do is 'scribble' on your eyelid and smudge ^_^
Overall
For ~$4/each, these are great. Very convenient and I am surprised how often I use these, the white one especially is a staple of mine for the center and corner of my eyes. I would certainly buy these again; I'd prolly buy one of each if I was in Korea. I really like the stick form and while they are rather expensive if you think about it (aka you get 4 eyeshadow colors for ~$7-8 in a Maybelline Quad), it's really not that bad when you consider the packaging and convenience that goes with it. They're rather hard to get in America though, I've seen these being sold on Ebay as high as $18/each, which is just ridiculous :P
Good:Overall, I do recommend these. I like them quite a bit and having 2-3 colors in your purse is very convenient without the hassle of brushes/sponge tips. Also here's a a full copy of the original Korean ad for these:
- Overall, both pencils are a good balance between creamy but not "too" creamy.
- No fallout, streaking, or clumping. Not powder-y in other words.
- Surprisingly good pigmentation.
- Sleek packaging. I really like the idea of eyeshadows in stick form now :)
- Lasts as long as a drugstore eyeshadow.
- Not a huge color selection but has many basic, wearable colors (10 total).
- Doesn't crease.
- Has a nice pearl/shimmery finish.
Bad:
- Large glitter particles in WH01 make it unsuitable for face highlighting.
- Difficult to get online.
- Not moisturizing like they claim :\ Though only heaven knows how an eyeshadow can be moisturizing :P But in that respect, it doesn't flake/have fallout or anything.
#05 shows various looks you can do with these color sticks. All the colors are mentioned by their color code (Ex: WH01) so you can easily figure out which color sticks go with each look. I would translate the looks but I don't think enough people will be able to get their hands on these for the instructions to be useful :\ Maybe I'll do it in the future when these become more readily available.