Review: CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencils in Melted Caramel and Crystal Flame

Purchased by Me 

The minute I saw the new CoverGirl products in person, I knew I had to try some of these jumbo pencils. I also purchased one of the Lipslick Smoochies (review coming soon) but I didn't buy any of the Flamed Out Shadow Pots. Why, you may ask? Well, the pots don't come with safety seals. And due to their slightly grainy surface texture, I was scared that a finger swipe might not be obvious to the naked eye (yeah, I'm paranoid like that). So...if I can get them online for a good price, I'll review them eventually.

But until then, let's take a look at these pencils (which come wrapped in tamper-proof plastic. Yay!):

 CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencils in 350 Melted Caramel and 305 Crystal Flame

(retail: $7.79 each at CVS, 0.08 oz)

From the CoverGirl website:

Two versatile products in one brilliant pencil! With Flamed Out Shadow Pencil, you get vivid, creamy color plus the definition of eyeliner for the bold eye looks you crave.

Ingredients (from Amazon):

Water/Eau Butylene Glycol Sodium Stearate Glycerin Nylon-12 Phenoxyethanol Simethicone Methylparaben Propylparaben Hydroxyethylcellulose Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Butylparaben Sodium Benzoate Potassium Sorbate Mica. May Contain/Peut Contenir: Titanium Dioxide Bismuth Oxychloride Ultramarines Iron Oxides Chromium Oxide Greens.

The Flamed Out Shadow Pencils come in ten shades. From what I can tell, there are no mattes in this range, but the shimmers DO vary from shade to shade. Some are shimmery, some are frosty and some also contain sparkle/glitter. Also, I want to point out that the shade NAME is only printed on the safety seal. The pencils themselves only have the number printed on them--not the name.

These are traditional wooden pencils. For some reason I thought they were going to be twist-ups, but no such luck:

 350 Melted Caramel and 305 Crystal Flame

 I have to be honest and tell you that I don't like old-fashioned wooden pencils. I guess I'm spoiled by the black material that most "must sharpen manually" pencils come in these days (what IS that black material anyway? Plastic?). I find it a bit surprising that CoverGirl didn't use that black material for these, because they used it for the Liquiline Blasts. For someone like me, who sometimes lets pencils get a little dull before sharpening, the wooden pencils can be sharp against the skin, whereas that black material is softer and more forgiving. Moving on...

Melted Caramel is a lovely shade that I would describe as a cocoa-taupe. The shimmer is not frosty and there's also no glitter/sparkle in this color.

Crystal Flame is a true, snow white shimmer that can look very frosty on the skin. It also contains some sparkle.

For this look, I applied Melted Caramel from lid to crease and then blended using just my finger. I then applied Crystal Flame to the inside corners of my eyes and blended with my finger. Finally, I lined my lower lashline with Melted Caramel and then brought the line in to meet Crystal Flame and then gently blended them together. 

No primer was used beforehand for this look.

As you can see, Melted Caramel isn't frosty. In fact, it's not even super shimmery--I'd say it's more of a satin-shimmer once it's blended.

Texture and consistency: These pencils are quite smooth and creamy, but they're NOT greasy. I do want to warn you that they have a cooling sensation, which is exactly like the old CoverGirl Eye Slicks (in fact, I'm pretty convinced they're the same formula--if not very similar--to the old Eye Slicks). And the cooling sensation lasts quite a while on my skin (upwards of 20 minutes). So if you do not like a cooling sensation in your eye products, these are not for you. I'm very surprised that CoverGirl didn't indicate that these have a cooling sensation on the label--maybe "cooling" doesn't quite go with the "Flamed Out" theme?

Ease of application: Very easy to apply directly from the pencil to the eye. No dragging or tugging, and they're very easy to blend with just your fingers. You have plenty of play-time before these set, and they never quite set in the same way as say, the Milani Shadow Eyez. They're not billed as a type of indestructible, 24HR wear type of pencil, so I wasn't disappointed to find that they don't set in the same way as long-wear pencils.

Pigmentation: Much like the old Eye Slicks, I'm quite pleased with the pigmentation of these pencils and I also think the pigmentation doesn't diminish after blending, which is what I always look for in a good jumbo pencil. I do wish that CoverGirl gave us some matte options here, but I'm happy that they're not all super-frosty. I really love the finish of Melted Caramel.

Staying power: Again, I'm impressed! I can get a full seven to eight hours of wear--without primer--before I start to see significant fading/creasing. In fact, I've been so happy with Melted Caramel when worn by itself that I haven't even tried to wear it over primer. I have worn Melted Caramel as a base for some of my powder eyeshadows though, and it works very nicely that way as well. It gives my powder shadows a lot of extra staying power and also some additional vibrancy. When worn as eyeliner, Melted Caramel doesn't last quite as long on my oily skin (five to six hours before I start to see some fading/smuding).

Removal: Very easy. These remove with no problems at all using just my regular facial cleanser.

Fragrance: None. I literally can't smell a thing, even when I hold these up to my nose.

FINAL VERDICT: I'm pretty convinced that the formula of the new Flamed Out Shadow Pencils is very close, if not identical, to the old CoverGirl Eye Slicks Pencils. They have the exact same cooling effect, the same texture and the same staying power as the Eye Slicks. So if you liked the old Eye Slicks, you'll probably like these too. I really love Melted Caramel and  I can't wait to try some of the brighter, bolder shades in this range. I am quite impressed with these pencils when worn all by themselves (no primer beforehand) and Melted Caramel is so darned versatile--it's super easy to slap on in the morning when you're in a hurry. My only warning is that if you're sensitive to cooling-type products, keep in mind that the cooling sensation lasted a long time for me (upwards of 20 minutes). Otherwise, if you can grab these when they're on sale (and maybe combine the sale with a coupon if you have one) I say they're worth a shot. They work very nicely on their own and also as a base for powder eyeshadows. My luck with them as eyeliner wasn't as great as when worn as eyeshadow, but keep in mind that I do have very oily skin (and the weather's warm here right now) so your mileage may vary if you try these as eyeliner.

Do you own any of the new CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencils? I'd love to hear from you!

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.