Review: New Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeliner Pencils

First let me say that I'm kind of confused about these new WnW Color Icon pencil eyeliners, but here's what I know so far (hopefully I can confirm this with WnW soon).  

I found this display of new Limited Edition Color Icon eyeliners the other day:

It's hard to see, but the display says "Limited Edition" in a yellow box at the top of the display

But then I saw this post on ShakeupYourMakeup's wonderful blog.  In her post, she mentions that WnW's latest email talks about how the new Color Icon pencils have been revamped with an improved formula. Great! But at the bottom of the image, is says "4 new shades: Green, Olive, Purple, Amethyst".  Well, two of the shades I purchased from the "Limited Edition" display are Olive and Purple.  So the question is, are these shades Limited Edition or will they soon be part of the core collection?  Maybe just some of the shades in the above display are limited edition? I'm not sure but hopefully they'll all be part of the core collection eventually!

At any rate, let's take a look at the shades I purchased (by the way, this week at Rite Aid WnW products are BOGO1/2OFF with $1 +UP Rewards. This sale ends tomorrow if you're not in a test market. Otherwise the sale ended yesterday, Thursday).  So because of the sale, I was able to get four pencils for just $1. Awesome!!

Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeliner Pencils (retail: $0.99 each)

So here's my take of these new pencils so far. The creaminess and ease of application are a MAJOR improvement over the WnW eyeliner pencils of yesteryear. As you can see in the above collage, you get a great color payoff on the first swipe, and you don't need to apply any pressure to get that color payoff.  Literally, one light swipe and you're DONE.  The swatches on the right were done to give you a better idea of the actual colors, and I think they are just so pretty (I especially like Olive since it's the most shimmery of the four I purchased). 

Recently I've been toying with the idea of using a white eyeliner on my waterline to really make my eyes stand out. I know this is an old trick but I honestly can't remember the last white eyeliner pencil I owned, so I was excited to try it. I'm happy to report that White did not disappoint. It was a cinch to apply this pencil to my waterline because the texture is just so soft and creamy. And the pigmentation is excellent as well.

Although these pencils do not claim to be long-wear, I have found that they wear quite well on my upper lids (I used Charcoal yesterday and it lasted a good seven hours before I saw any fading) but I'm afraid that, due to the creamy, soft texture, they don't fair as well on my super-oily lower-lid region.  After about four hours, I noticed that I start to see creasing on the outer corners of my eyes, and a little bit of running on my lower lids. So, like most non-longwear pencil liners, I have to blend out the line on my lower lids quite a bit, or set the liner with some powder eyeshadow to increase the staying power.

All in all, I think you might be very happy with the pigmentation of these pencils, and certainly with the ease of use. They go on effortlessly, the colors are bright and vivid, and if you don't have super oily lids, they'll probably wear quite well for you.  I say definitely give them a shot. You just can't beat the price!

Have you tried any of the new Color Icon eyeliner pencils yet? What do you think of them? I'd love to hear from you!