ELLIS FAAS: ELLIS EYES Milky Eyes Review


I’d been wanting one of these Milky Eyes pens from ELLIS FAAS ever since getting bowled over by the Creamy Eyes back in November. I finally purchased one about a month ago. You should have seen the gleam in my eyes! It’s quite sad to admit it but it’s amazing how elated one can become with just a pen. Then again, this isn’t any ordinary pen.

As before, it was hard to decide on the colour. There were seven to choose from and being one who is on a lookout for colours not already in my collection, I ended up picking E207.

Product
Name: ELLIS FAAS – ELLIS EYES Milky Eyes No. E207
Description: Liquid eyeshadow
Colour choice: The Milky Eyes range is available in a total of seven colours (see swatches here)
Volume and Price: 2.8ml / 0.095 US fl oz for €26.00

According to ELLIS FAAS (excerpts)
With a more translucent texture than Creamy Eyes, and a deeper, more vivid palette, ELLIS FAAS Milky Eyes can be used as a colour stain or a subtle wash. For a soft and sophisticated look, use the specifically designed ELLIS FAAS Milky Eyes sponge applicator to apply Milky Eyes all over the eyelid, then fade it with the fingertips. For more intense colour, simply re-apply a second layer of Milky Eyes.

Packaging
The pen is similar to the Creamy Eyes pen. However, unlike the Creamy Eyes which has a brush applicator, Milky Eyes has a slanted sponge-tip applicator. In essence, it looks exactly like the Creamy Lips pens.

Except for the foundation pens, all the ELLIS FAAS pens look identical on the outside. Each product is identifiable through the colour and item number found at the base. ELLIS EYES products start with the letter E followed by a ‘1’ for Creamy Eyes or a ‘2’ for Milky Eyes.

Contents
Description: Fluid eyeshadow with a thick consistency, becomes sheer when smudged out. It has a hint of shimmer. Colour E207 has been described as a terracotta orange. When I first set my eyes on it, the first word that came to mind was ‘rust’. Yes, call it anything you like but it’s the colour of new rust.

Swatch:

Swatches on bare skin, in daylight
L: layered on, R: smudged out

My thoughts
Packaging
Because of the similarities, please refer to my previous reviews on the Creamy Eyes and the Creamy Lips.

Application
The technique isn’t too different from that explained in my Creamy Eyes review. You may:

1. apply directly on the eyelids using the sponge applicator.
2. pick up some colour from the applicator with a clean finger and then apply on the lids.

Whichever way you choose, you will end up with coloured fingertips because you will need to use your fingers to blend and smudge or fade out the edges. This seems to be an essential step as even Ms Faas herself does that!

Pigmentation
The shadow is very pigmented. As you can see in the swatches above, it can be intense if layered on. When smudged out, it becomes light and sheer but still retaining the pigmentation.

Texture
The eyeshadow comes out a thick liquid but it dries like powder with a hint of shimmer. I don’t know if it’s just me, but if I layer it on too much in an effort to intensify the colour, it ends up looking cakey on my lids.

Durability
Now with the dryness indoors from the central heating, I find that I have less than a minute to toggle with the shadow before it dries. There isn’t much room for hesitation and smudging/blending mistakes. Once it dries, you won’t be able to correct those mistakes. Not unless you layer on something else to camouflage the mistake or remove the offending section with eye makeup remover and then patch up the gap. I try to avoid doing that and live with the little imperfection. Firstly, it’s time-consuming to have to correct the mistake. Secondly, I’ve not had much success with patching up the gap – the blending becomes off and the shadow sometimes looks cakey on the skin. But that’s just my own experience. If you've had better luck, do share!

So, just like Creamy Eyes, Milky Eyes stays put once it dries. You can kiss your creasing issues goodbye!

I did another experiment to check how long-lasting Milky Eyes is. These images were taken with diffused flash so that you can also see the hint of shimmer on the inner section of the eye where Milky Eyes E207 was applied. On the outer corner is Creamy Eyes E104.


The following two photos were taken seven hours later. You can hardly tell the difference.


To remove, I have found Milky Eyes to be less stubborn than Creamy Eyes. In both cases, an eye makeup remover for waterproof makeup is best. Normal soap or facial cleanser won’t help. I tried washing off my swatches on my hand with normal shower cream. The swatches became faded but they stayed on for another day until I finally used my oil-based eye makeup remover.

Possible Uses
1. All-over lid colour
Because Milky Eyes are translucent, they are excellent as an all-over lid colour. The images on the right were taken in daylight and they show how a wash of E207 would look like on the eyes. The shimmer is not noticeable in daylight. No other products were used on the eyes: no primer, no eyeliner and no mascara. Ladies, before you pass judgement on these images, let me emphasise that this is by no means an EOTD.

Here, I first dabbed the fluid eyeshadow on the outer corner of my eye directly using the sponge applicator. Then, very quickly, I used my finger to smudge and spread the shadow towards the inner corner. This way, I would have more intense colour on the outer corner and lighter colouring on the inner corner. I’ve been having problems capturing that gradation of intensity in a photo – it’s really pigmented! In person, it’s noticeable. I think you may be able to see the gradation slightly better in the image with the eye open.

I wouldn’t recommend going out with only a wash of this colour. I find this an unusual colour for the eyes but because of the strong yellow base, I think it would make someone with my skin tone look a bit sickly, as if with jaundice. It would look better with at least an eyeliner, don't you think?

2. Paired up with dark Creamy Eyes
It can also be used as the lighter colour paired up with a dark Creamy Eyes shade, as shown in the earlier images with Creamy Eyes E104. The lighter shade of E207 would work well on the inner section of the lid.

3. Paired up with dark Milky Eyes
I’m not able to try this out as E207 is the only Milky Eyes I have but I can imagine that it would be possible to apply this on the inner section of the eye and pair that with a dark Milky Eyes like E203 (dark blue) on the outer corner.

Conclusion
Practice, practice and more practice. There’s a learning process involved with this fluid eyeshadow and that’s only because of:

• the heavy pigmentation
• the short drying time (it’s dry and it’s winter!).

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. You will be rewarded with an eyeshadow that:

• is long-lasting
• won’t crease.

I can live with that.

More information can be found in my previous ELLIS FAAS posts and on the ELLIS FAAS website. Time permitting, I will later show a couple of different looks with the ELLIS EYES pens that I have.

10 comments:

DinaXYYan said...

the staying power is great! yeah, i think practice is the only way to conquer this. :D

bowsnhearts said...

Wow I have never seen a product like this! I love creamy eyeshadows...all the better that it's coming out of a pen!

Shop N' Chomp said...

I love how you are always introducing new products to us! =D

twinsouls888 said...

Wow girl , really beautiful eyes ^_^. That's the first thing that I see when I read the post. I love Earth colors, this EOTD is really pretty, I might experiment , an EOTD one of these days, I'm gonna use the colors that you use ahaha coz it's really nice.

Ellis Faas packaging is so elegant and sophisticated, you must be ecstatic to have one of those ;)

An eyeshadow that's long lasting and won't crease wow, plus the beautiful colors. This is a very nice product ^_^

Anonymous said...

the staying power is fabulous! Love the looks you have created. I also love the packaging. It's so pretty and simple. X

Lydia said...

These really do last. I like them layered over a Creamy Eye too. I love both of the looks you show; there's something very modern about the otherwise bare eye look to me.

Witoxicity said...

@Dina
Having to practise is just a small price to pay for the great staying power of the shadows! :)

@bowsnhearts
You should check out Mecca Cosmetica as that's where ELLIS FAAS products are available in Australia. :)

@Shop N' Chomp
I'm glad you enjoy such articles. :)

@twinsouls888
Thank you for your kind words, my dear. Yes, the shadows are amazingly long-lasting.

I look forward to seeing your EOTD soon! :D

@Linda
Thank you! I think the sleek packaging is another big selling point for this brand. :)

@Grace London
Thanks for stopping by. I'm pleased you like the looks. I should add an eyeliner for the second look. I'll see about posting a pic on this later. :)

. said...

wow, your blending is amazing! this product is probably not for me, i'm to amateur. xD on the other hand, i'm really, REALLY impressed with the color payoff!

Anonymous said...

Fluid eyeshadow pen sounds so interesting.

Btw, great FOTD!!

Witoxicity said...

@pfefi
Gosh, thank you! You're too kind! I consider myself an amateur, actually, so whatever you saw, it must be the camera's doing. Ha ha! Yes, the colour payoff is certainly impressive! :)

@Natalie
Ha ha ha! Frankly, I never intended it to be an EOTD in the true sense of the word, but thank you, my dear! :D