Kohl(ed) Cafe - Maybelline Colossal Kajal versus Lakme Eyeconic Kajal Review and Swatches
September 21, 2012
After ruling the Indian kohl world for nearly a year now, Maybelline Colossal Kajal is witnessing a new competitor in the form of Lakme Eyeconic Kajal. A similar wave has hit upon the makeup market with most online and offline stores declaring a 'Sold-Out' on the latest Lakme eyeconic kajal.
As for me, the Colossal has been and continues to be a favourite since an entire year. Too much of a good thing can sometimes get very uninteresting. So if you think that my comparison between these two kohl pencils is going to be biased, then you are mistaken. For as much as I still love my Colossal, I am also eagerly waiting for an another brand that can replace it. You see, I am starting to get a little bored using the same kohl for over a year now. The Colossal is still great but it is time now for a change. Let us see if the Eyeconic can meet the high standards set up by my Colossal or if it actually fares better....
Keep Reading...
For the purpose of this review, I applied the Maybelline Colossal kajal in my right eye and Lakme kajal in the left eye at the same time - on the waterline, upper and lower lash line. Being part of the same face, both eyes received the same treatment and went through the same weather condiitions; and stress and strain levels. I did not show any bias towards my favourite Colossal-applied eye
. Just for you to know, I have dry skin with slightly oily eyelids. I had moisturised my skin but no makeup other than this kohl. To simplify the results of the comparison study, I have put them in a table format.
Comparison Study: Maybelline Colossal Kajal versus Lakme Eyeconic Kajal
MAYBELLINE COLOSSAL KAJAL
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LAKME EYECONIC KAJAL
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| INGREDIENTS | No Ingredient List, but claims to have a combination of 5 caring ingredients along with vitamin E. |
No Ingredient List
|
| PACKAGING | Travel-friendly twist-up pencil in yellow outer casing with tight-fitting cap | Travel-friendly twist-up pencil in black outer casing with tight-fitting cap |
| PRICE | INR 150 (Available on Amazon.in) | INR 199 (Available on Amazon.in) |
| COLOUR | Matte Black | Matte Black |
| QUANTITY | 0.35 Gms | 0.35 Gms |
| SHELF LIFE | 24 Months | 30 Months |
| PERFORMANCE | Pigmentation - Requires multiple swipes to get jet-black color WaterProof - Yes SmudgeResistant - Yes Glides Smoothly - Yes Fading - Fades uniformly Staying Power - After 2 hours: Starts fading uniformly on waterline; No fading on upper or lower lashline After 5 hours: Uniformly fades a little more from waterline; some amount of uniform fading also on upper and lower lashline | Pigmentation - Same as Maybelline Colossal Kajal Waterproof - Same as Maybelline Colossal Kajal SmudgeResistant- Same as Maybelline Colossal Kajal Glides Smoothly - Same as MCK Fading - Same as Maybelline Colossal Kajal Staying Power - After 2 hours: Same as Maybelline Colossal Kajal After 5 hours: Same as Maybelline Colossal Kajal |
| USABILITY | Works equally well as kajal and eyeliner | Same as Maybelline Colossal Kajal |
| IRRITABILITY | Did not irritate my eyes even while wearing contact lens | Same as Maybelline Colossal Kajal |
| REMOVAL | Easy removal with oil or oil-based makeup remover (To know more about oiling away your makeup, read here. To know which oil I use to take off my makeup, read here.) | Same as Maybelline Colossal Kajal |
| SAFETY | Not mentioned | Dermatologically tested Not mentioned if it is ophthalmologically tested (Considering that these are primarily kohl pencils meant for use on waterline, they should have been ophthalmologically tested as well, I think. |
| BREAKABILITY | Tip tends to break with pressure | Same as Maybelline Colossal Kajal |
| CAFE-O-METER RATING | 4.5/5 | 4.5/5 |
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| In Natural Light Top (Maybelline Colossal Kajal) L-R: 1 Swipe, 2 Swipes, 4 Swipes
Bottom (Lakme Eyeconic Kajal) L-R: 1 Swipe, 2 Swipes, 4 Swipes
|
Overall Impression
Priced slightly higher than the Maybelline Colossal along with a missing ingredient list, the Lakme one could have been a miss had it not been for the fact that it is atleast dermatologically tested while the Maybelline one does not mention any such testing.
In terms of performance (on eyes), though, both Maybelline Colossal Kajal and Lakme Eyeconic Kajal do equally well.
It is just a matter of personal choice now whether you prefer to overlook Lakme's missing ingredient list or the fact that Maybelline may not have dermatologically tested their kajal. In any case, neither claim ophthalmologically testing of their products. Being essentially kohl pencils to be used on waterline, it is invariable that some amount of product will enter the eyes and so, in my opinion, both the kajals should have been ophthalmologically tested as well.
If any of you know a kohl pencil better than these two, then do let me know in the comments below. I will be glad to try.
Thanks for reading and have a nice day!
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| With Flash Top (Maybelline Colossal Kajal) L-R: 1 Swipe, 2 Swipes, 4 Swipes
Bottom (Lakme Eyeconic Kajal) L-R: 1 Swipe, 2 Swipes, 4 Swipes
|
It is just a matter of personal choice now whether you prefer to overlook Lakme's missing ingredient list or the fact that Maybelline may not have dermatologically tested their kajal. In any case, neither claim ophthalmologically testing of their products. Being essentially kohl pencils to be used on waterline, it is invariable that some amount of product will enter the eyes and so, in my opinion, both the kajals should have been ophthalmologically tested as well.
If any of you know a kohl pencil better than these two, then do let me know in the comments below. I will be glad to try.
Thanks for reading and have a nice day!
22 comments
loved the post...its hilariously serious :D
ReplyDeletemissed the junior excerpt ;)
thanks pooja... :)
DeleteI absolutely hated eyeconic kajal... i line my eyes with a lot of kajal..but Maybelline colossal never smudged or faded but i ended up with racoon eyes with lakme....
ReplyDeleteoh, bad that it did not work for u! :( i will post updates if my opinion changes after prolonged use of eyeconic...
Deleteawesome review gurl! i was looking out for some1 to do the comparison! thanks alot. Il always get the MCK, not the lakme one..
ReplyDeletehey thanks shourima! like u, i was also waiting for someone to do the comparison and then went ahead and did it myself....... :)
DeleteNice review dear . .
ReplyDeletethanks shabby...
DeleteNice review !! Very well explained in detail :)
ReplyDeletethank u.....
Deletesomehow colossal never stayed on my eyes for long.. so i didnt even want to try eyeconic coz of the similarities.... but you have reviewed them very well :)
ReplyDeletei use l'oreal contour khol n its awesome :) do give it a try!:)
poorva, for me, it is the opposite... :) i don't use the loreal one much...
Deleteluved the post... n such a detailed explanation ... :))
ReplyDeletethanks for reading... :)
DeleteHey Jennifer, thanks for posting this and for setting the facts straight. Somehow in the swatch above, I feel the above one (Maybeline) is darker, but could be because of lighting also. You indeed have a great presentation style. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this post :)
ReplyDeletethanks gaganpreet...:) actually while swatching, the tip of the maybelline pencil broke and so it was creamier at that time whereas the lakme tip used for swatching was intact and therefore drier. the maybelline one may be looking a bit darker due to this....... otherwise i find them both the same.... good observation... :)
Deletenice review :)
ReplyDeletethnk god i saw it cus i was abt to purchase the lakme one (for a change as i've been using mck from long) but i prefer sticking to mck only...:)
awesome review :D :D i luvd the style u presented
thanks mady...... actually, both perform equally well... :)
DeleteCould you please tell me whether it's better than Faces's Solid Black? I haven't used Colossal Kajal or Eyeconic, and every other ones seem to smudge on my water-line after a couple of hours. Solid Black has been working fine, and even is difficult to remove with Remover. Just wanna know whether there's any meaning spending around 100/- more bucks on Faces if Maybelline would just as good...
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this.
ReplyDeletereally effective expressing way... i was confused that which kajal is best bcoz i used only lakme eyeconic.so sumtime i think i must purchased collossal instead of eyeconic but after reading ur lines i m satisfy that both kajal have same effect on eyes.. so thanks to solve my confusion.
ReplyDeletereally effective expressing way... i was confused that which kajal is best bcoz i used only lakme eyeconic.so sumtime i think i must purchased collossal instead of eyeconic but after reading ur lines i m satisfy that both kajal have same effect on eyes.. so thanks to solve my confusion.
ReplyDelete