Max Factor Colour Elixir Giant Pen Stick

I'd been eying up the Max Factor Lip Giant Pen Sticks for a good while before I took the plunge and picked up one when there was a free gift offer at boots.

I went for Subtle Coral but the shade pictured above is Foxy Amber which was in the gift set I received. No idea why it was named Foxy Amber as it isn't an orangey shade at all, just a pretty pink.

The formula is somewhere between a lipstick and a lipgloss - closer to a gloss. When sharpened, the product on the shavings feels like a really thick gloss (yep, I dipped my finger in and swatched the pencil shavings...). Personally I prefer a balm to a gloss, I don't like the sticky feeling.

While these aren't the most gloopy/sticky they certainly will grab hold of any stray hairs if they wander close enough. If you're happy with a sheerer colour but don't want a sticky feeling, maybe try blotting and then applying a balm on top.

In terms of colour these dish out a sheer wash of pigment, very pretty and sheeny. Perfect if you want to experiment with colour but don't want something too dramatic. These are buildable, and some of the swatches for other colours I've seen look very bright. I think these would be a good choice if you want something fun but subtle enough to wear to school.

A plus side of the glossy finish is that these aren't the least bit drying though I'm not sure that they do anything beneficial for your lips. They last probably 3-4 hours, less if you're eating or drinking. But these are super easy to apply on the go and really small to carry around.

The pen sticks are £6.99 at Boots, Superdrug and other cosmetic stores. Personally  while I do enjoy using them I don't think I'll repurchase them or pick anymore up. I'm just not a gloss fan.

(sidenote: the pens are currently on offer in Superdrug for £4.99 if you wanted to pick one up!)

A Sweep of Teal: Collection Felt Tip Liner

I'm a neutral girl through and through, I must have a hundred different shimmery champagnes, metallic golds and buttery browns, but on occasion, once in a blue moon, I'm in the mood for something a little brighter.

When I do fancy swiping on a spot of colour, I tend to stick to something subtle. I think partially because I'm not very daring, but also I find that colour can be quite hard to work with. I lean towards graphic sweeps of colour because I think it's easier to keep it chic.

I bought Collection's Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner in Teal last summer. I figured at just £2.99 it wouldn't be a huge loss if I seldom used it. It applies really nicely, heavily pigmented, quite wet but quick to dry and once it's on it will stay put for a long time. I swatched it on my arm this morning and it hasn't budged a bit. Even if I rub it like crazy it doesn't seem to fade. The felt tip format is also really easy to apply - perfect if you find liquid eyeliner tricky.

Unfortunately despite it's long wear this liner has a habit of transferring onto my crease. No matter how much powder I pat into my eyelid it always seems to settle there. The only thing I have found to counteract this is pressing a similar coloured powder on top of the liner. It works but it's risky, for some reason my left eye has a faint arc of green above the socket but my right eye is fine. And even if it does leave you crease-line free, it is a lot of effort to put in when it should take seconds to sweep on a line of colour.

This is also really difficult to get off. Eye make up remover quickly gets rid of most of the green but leaves a faint line that will probably stick around for a good 24 hours regardless of the amount of scrubbing.

If it didn't involve such effort and constant worry that I have a crazy sixties style crease line going on, I think I would wear this a lot. It really is a brilliant product with just one drawback. I'm sure I'll keep breaking it out every now and then but it isn't something I can use frequently.

Collection Felt Tip Liners are £2.99 from Boots & Superdrug.

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I wanted to mention that I have the same product in black and it is a completely different formula. I've heard good reviews about it, I know that Alix of I Covet Thee recommends it, but I find that it isn't very pigmented, and it wears off quickly.