Review: Fingerpens (16Brand) – For Eyes/Lips/Cheek

This product was sent to me by StyleKorean for review purposes. I was not paid for this post but please note that affiliate links are used on my blog. These go towards supporting Oh My Stellar and future content.

This is actually going to be my second time reviewing these Fingerpens (and you can find my first post here) but there is actually such a range and so many different uses for these multi purpose pens that the product is actually really different. In the past, I have tested and written about their contour/highlight pens but, for this one, I’ll be trying out two of their Eyes/Lips/Cheek pens – one in a matte consistency (which is what I assume M stands for) and one in a aqua consistency (which is their hydrating formula). Both of these are actually multi-purpose products and can be used for eyes, lips, cheeks.

These pens are from 16Brand; a new, trendy cosmetic brand that was started by make up artist Cho Sung Ah that is a little bit reminiscent of the poppy style of her main brand ChoSungAh22 and a little bit 3CE (which we all know that I love the branding of). At the moment, these are on sale for USD$11.77 on the StyleKorean website (discounted from the full price of USD$13.08) so I think it’s a pretty decent price point – not exactly cheap, but it’s not too pricey either. Once you get hooked on them, there is a tendency to want to collect them all; so fair warning!

If you’d like to read about my first impressions on the packaging (and the contour/highlight pens) check out my first post, or read on and I’ll jump straight into my impressions on the lip/cheek/eye formulas!

So for this review, I got hold of their Plum (FM04) and Coral Pink (FA) – both colours that have been catching my eye since I saw this product online (though, admittedly, their super glossy highlighter got to me first). The colour of these labels are sort of similar to the product colour – though it isn’t completely accurate. For those who read the first review, you probably know that this was a peeve of mine.

However, I do like the overall packaging of this product. The concept is really simple, fast and easy to use. It’s definitely good for people (like me) who have very little time to mess around in the mornings but really likes to use colour make up. These pens come in a black box – it’s pretty simple but I like the quirkiness of its design.

The fingerpens take quite a lot of clicking at the beginning to start up and I think I counted up to fifty times before the product started to dispense. After that initial hand cramp though, you only ever need to click it once or twice to get enough product. I’ve been told that someone have had trouble with the tips getting clogged, but I haven’t had that issue myself even with my older pens.

From the photos that were online, the plum looked like a very bright, bold purple colour and the coral pink was a pretty, opaque pastel colour –  however, I found that this wasn’t the case in real life.

The Plum colour applied sheer but was very buildable. Depending on how much product you use (for the lips, I use maybe 4-5 clicks) you can get a different intensity of colour. Although it’s not identical to the official swatch – which was very opaque and strong – you can still get a pretty strong fuschia colour.

With this blendable, soft matte finish, it also works really nicely as an overall base colour on the eyes. It’s buildable, so it’s easy to apply and you can use your fingertips to get a very pretty finish. Afterwards, normal eyeshadow (what ever formula it is) can be added on top to deepen the crease if you’d like. Otherwise, it works on it’s own too and has a very wearable effect. For deeper skin tones, this would also work well as a cheek colour – though you have to be careful not to over apply.

Comparatively, the Coral Pink had a similar issue where it was very sheer in comparison to the photos shown online. It was pretty and had a slight glossy finish, but the colour was more like a light pink gloss on the lips. Like the plum colour, I also tried to use more of it to build up the colour but the finish made it more difficult and the shade was too light for my skin tone.

However, I found that it works best on the cheeks to give a very soft and natural flush. The hydrating aqua finish also gives you a fresh, slightly dewy complexion that’s perfect. Since it is in a pen form, it’s easy to just dot along your face and the lighter colour means that you’re less likely to over apply it. I didn’t try it on the eyes though, as I feel the formula would have a tendency to crease.

The above swatches are very light, hence why the colours are so very different from the official photos. However, it is definitely true that you cannot get the exact same intensity with the plum colour – and I wonder how much of this actual Fingerpen (or maybe how much they boosted that saturation) they had to use on the model to get that look. It is fairly close though, but not so much with the coral pink shade.

Although the colour accuracy is a bit disappointing, I do like the quality of them, how the formula wears and looks (non-drying, comfortable, blendable with multi uses), the packaging and affordability. I just think that, when you buy them, don’t expect that they will all be identical to the swatches. The highlight and contour pens I got were quite accurate, but these non-cream formulas are much sheerer than pictured.

The Fingerpens that I got last time had a strange scent that I couldn’t quite pin point but these are a lot nicer! They have a nice fruity scent, which is really pleasant to use and isn’t overwhelming. There is a bit of a strange taste when it’s on the lips and I’m not much of a fan of that – but, then again, I don’t like many of these lip tastes.

As a lip colour, since you do have to build up the colour quite a bit, I think that this would be good for people who aren’t very used to wearing a bold lip and want to slowly experiment.

Here’s my verdict!

SO WHAT IS IT?

Sheer, multi-purpose colour pens

THE GOOD

• Easy and fast to use concept
• Cute packaging that looks good in sets
• Decent price
• Great colour and finish range
• Multi-purpose products for eyes, lips and cheek
• Blendable and buildable formula
• Both matte and hydrating finishes
• Smells fruity
• Decent lasting power on cheeks and eyes

THE BAD

• Official swatches are inaccurate
• Packaging makes it difficult to tell which pen you have (I contoured with my highlight before)
• Average lasting power on the lips with minimal stain
• Tastes a bit strange

WOULD I RECOMMEND?

Yes. My main disappointment with this product are the swatches but, for people who like to experiment with colour, I think that this is definitely the way to go! They also have concealer pens too, which would be good because of the sponge applicator.

I think that these work better for the face, rather than for lips, because I prefer to use a stronger opaque lip product. However, the multi purpose aspect of the product allows for a lot of experimentation and it means that you aren’t restricted in what you do. It gives you freedom to do what suits you – which is pretty cool. I’m definitely looking to getting more of these in the future, especially different eye colours!

WHERE TO GET IT FROM

An entire collection of fingerpens are available at StyleKorean for USD$11.77 – 18% off the full price of USD$13.08. Click their name to go to their homepage or, alternatively, click the below banner to go to the brand page:

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