November 14, 2014

L’Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon Review & Swatches

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon

Review and swatch time for the new L’Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon peeps! L’Oreal has launched a selection of Infallible Eye Crayons which are a new cream eyeshadow pencil that can be used to shade and line with!

This is a risky move because cream eyeshadow pencils are a dime a dozen from brands like NYX and Rimmel.

Are L’Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon worth your time?

L’Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon will likely get a big push for Spring 2015. At the moment I’ve seen them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $6.99 each but I have a feeling they’ll be around the $10 mark at CVS and Walgreens or even more.

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon swatches

L’Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon Swatches (Resilient Green, Forever Taupe, Everlasting Gold, Impressive Brown, Always Aqua, Midnight Charcoal, Always Purple, Enduring Rose)

Is there anything different, special, or unique about these when comparing them to NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils or Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Stick? Yeah, mainly, the price. NYX Jumbo Pencils are $4.50 each and Scandaleyes Shadow Sticks are $3.79 to $4. If I’m right about the pricing on L’Oreal Infallible Eye Crayons going up when they reach more mass drugstore retailers you’re likely looking around a $5 to $6 price jump compared to the cheaper Rimmel and NYX formula. So for $10 bucks you can get nearly three shades of Rimmel Shadow Sticks or at the least two NYX Eye Pencils versus one L’Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon.

Ouch.

And I haven’t even compared sizes.

L’Oreal gives you 0.10 oz, Rimmel gives you 0.2oz, and NYX gives you 0.15 oz.

So….we haven’t touched on the formula and already L’Oreal Infallible Eye Crayons seem like a not so great purchase. I’ll also say that many of the shades in the eight color permanent collection from this launch are all very dupeable. There aren’t any really unique shades here and all eight colors can easily be located in the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil catalog. Strike 2 L’Oreal, another one and you might be out of this game.

The formula is a lot like Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow Sticks for me in terms of texture but it also happens to have almost an identical formula as Milani Shadow Eyez Eyeshadow Pencils as well as Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Sticks. The creaminess, the slick, easy glide formula, and the ease of blendability is most like Bobbi Brown, Milani, and Rimmel’s formula and texture. I think they are considerably slicker and creamier in texture than shadow sticks like NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils and Covergirl Flamed Out Eyeshadow Pencils.

L'Oreal Mdnight Charcoal Infallible Eye Crayon

L’Oreal Midnight Charcoal Infallible Eye Crayon

L'Oreal Impressive Brown Infallible Eye Crayon

L’Oreal Impressive Brown Infallible Eye Crayon

L'Oreal Enduring Rose Infallible Eye Crayon

L’Oreal Enduring Rose Infallible Eye Crayon

L'Oreal Always Aqua  Infallible Eye Crayon

L’Oreal Always Aqua Infallible Eye Crayon

L'Oreal Resilient Green Infallible Eye Crayon

L'Oreal Resilient Green Infallible Eye Crayon fotd

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon Resilient Green

L’Oreal Resilient Green Infallible Eye Crayon

L'Oreal Always Purple Infallible Eye Crayon

L'Oreal Always Purple Infallible Eye Crayon fotd

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon Always Purple

L’Oreal Always Purple Infallible Eye Crayon

L'Oreal Everlasting Gold Infallible Eye Crayon

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon Everlasting Gold

L'Oreal Everlasting Gold Infallible Eye Crayon fotd

L’Oreal Everlasting Gold Infallible Eye Crayon

L'Oreal Forever Taupe Infallible Eye Crayon

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon Forever Taupe

L'Oreal Forever Taupe Infallible Eye Crayon fotd

L’Oreal Forever Taupe Infallible Eye Crayon

I have no problems with the formula. It glides on beautifully, never tugs, and has a nice slick creaminess. I do however, experience issues with blending. These sheer out considerably once applied so you have to build a good deal to get colors to look as intense as they do when swatched. During the initial application they apply very opaque and very vibrant on my lid but as I blend them out they sheer out considerably and the color ends up looking very faded. So…I have to go back and add at least three more layers sometimes four to see the intensity and vibrancy you’ll see in my pictures above. They don’t set quickly so building isn’t a problem but I feel like I make quite a mess during the blending process. Eyeshadow pencils are supposed to be a snap to use and not as complicated as a powder. Swipe, blend, go. Unfortunately, I felt like I was doing a lot of extra blending so the colors looked just right and in this I ended up with shadow everywhere…my fingers, the side of my eyes, and on upper cheeks. I dunno what was going on but the color seemed to be transferring all over the damn place as I blended. I ended up using a flat cream shadow brush to swipe across my eyes as I blended to avoid the mess.

When they did finally set (about a minute) they had a fairly good wear of around six hours. The color did not fade during this time but around hour 7 I noticed considerably creasing right across my lid. This is easy enough to fix as a quick pat blended the issue away. However, if you have oily lids I kinda suspect these won’t set for the 24 hour wear that L’Oreal promises.

There’s a moral in every beauty story and the moral is don’t fix what’s not broken. There are too many brands that have already paved the way for cheap, inexpensive, and well formulated eyeshadow pencils. If you had plans to introduce a shadow pencil you should have had a more unique shade selection, a competitive price, and a formula that rocked my socks off because there are too many brands that already have so your formula should do something even more amazing.

Unfortunately, L’Oreal Infallible Eye Crayon are too expensive and not formulated in a way I can rave them. Milani, NYX, Rimmel, they’ve all done it better and for cheaper. Sorry L’Oreal.

Tried these?

Do share!

I purchased this item.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Fancie

    I love how the purple and green ones look on you! I hope they don’t cost too much though

    • Isabella Muse

      both are dupes for milani and nyx shades fancie no reason to splurge 😀

  • Kate

    I love the Infallible line from Loreal, but saw this display was not interested in the colors,

    thanks for the review

  • Sarah Cooper

    I’m so glad I ran into this post!!! Now I’m definitely not so keen on getting these. I’ve been hearing so many mixed things about these. Thank you so much for your review on these. I’m absolutely loving your blog too girly! Keep up the awesome work.

    • Isabella Muse

      aw thanks sarah glad you enjoyed the review..it’s just there are too many options for cream shadows and these weren’t all that great!

  • Suzy

    Hi! I am so glad you swatched then! I was so looking forward for it 🙂
    I have dry lids but still I have problems with eyeshadow pencils creasing. I loved the UD formula and I was wondering if maybe it is the same since loreal bought UD.
    From the brands you suggested (Milani, NYX, Rimmel) I have only tried NYX milk as a primer and I got creasing after 2-3 hours even with a powder eyeshadow on top…
    Do you think I should try next milani, rimmel or loreal?
    Tks 🙂 🙂 🙂

    • Isabella Muse

      honestly, I was always shocked people told me they had creasing issues with NYX bc they were always great on me but lord knows my eyes are dry as hell. Milani and Rimmel have almost the same formula as L’Oreal and I have a a feeling L’oreal won’t perform well on oily lids. You MIGHT want to go with Milani though, they seem to have the best, longest wear Suzy plus they are cheap!

      • Suzy

        Tks!!! I will go with Milani! I should find then for sale during these holidays 🙂
        Have a wonderful weekend 🙂

        • Isabella Muse

          I think milani has 20% off on their website off your total if that helps but there are so many sales at cvs bet you can get a better deal in stores 😀 you as well! enjoy!

  • Sjofna

    That green smokey eye looks incredible on you! I’m going to have to find something in that shade because now I want to try that look.

  • Laura

    Thanks for the review! I will definitely not be buying these. Also kudos on matching your outfit & accessories to the shadow color!

  • Carol

    Thanks for this great (and honest) review. When I first saw the picture of these I thought to myself I want them all! But if they are that expensive and the shade range isn’t anything special then I’ll pass. You just saved me a lot of money!

  • Katherine T.

    Thanks for the review! I was curious about these, but I have very oily lids (and one’s hooded, too), so even with primer, these are probably going to slide right off.

    • Isabella Muse

      I don’t trust them on oily lids, they take time to set and seem like a crease monster for oily lids imho!

  • Rosy

    Sooooo agree with you on this! As unique as the Infallible eyeshadows are, especially within the drugstore, you’d think L’Oreal could come up with something more impressive than some boring (imho) and overpriced eye crayons. Womp womp.

  • Kiss & Make-up

    Awww, too bad these don’t live up to the expectations 🙁 Resilient Green and Always Purple look amazing color-wise though.

  • Ling

    Great review!!! I love how you mentioned what a brand should do to create a better product!

  • reen

    that green is gorgeous! but i think i will stick with the NYX jumbo pencils- i have a few and love them all!

    thanks for the review! coming to your blog is a daily thing for me these days 🙂 !

    • Isabella Muse

      aw thanks for visiting often reen 😀 I hear ya, I have NYX ones too and prefer them 😀

  • Genevieve

    I love most of the colours – especially that green on you Isabella. However that aqua colour is way too bright. We don’t get Milani in Australia – which is a great shame, and only selected NYX products. I wonder if they will bring these to Australia.. I think if L’Oreal makes them too expensive, people will just look at the Rimmel or other brands instead. I am a big fan of Rimmel.

    • Isabella Muse

      thanks Genevieve. I hope you get them and hopefully at a reasonable price as Australian prices can be a little cray! I like the Rimmel ones a lot and they are considerably cheaper 😀

  • Heidi

    The deeper hues look great on you. Really pop against your eyes. But yeah, the price. I saw these at Bed Bath & Beyond and thought I could get any of these cheaper from Rimmel, Milani or NYX for a fraction of the price. A couple shades made me think of the Jordana pencils, too, and those are, what, $3 or $4?

    • Isabella Muse

      thanks heidi! 🙂 agreed…it’s just the shades aren’t super unique at all and the price considerably higher than other brands!

  • Johnna Quick Owens

    Thanks for the great review! I would absolutely agree, don’t fix what isn’t broken, and NYX and Milani have definitely got great products on the market for this purpose. I do, however, love the line of L’Oreal Silkissme eyeliners, so they are at least doing some things right!

  • DivaDebbi

    Thanks for your honesty Is.
    Im not usually one for fat pencils, but I love how modern your application was. The purple really looked stunning.

    I think I will be a Rimmel pencil and give your technique a whirl.

    Best,
    DD

    • Isabella Muse

      my pleasure debbi! oh thanks! the purple really is a nice shade 😀 Let me know you do with the Rimmel look!

  • cat

    I’m loving that green, particularly on you, but I wouldn’t know what to do with it. I think there’s a drag queen inside of me that really wants to buy all this outlandish makeup but regular me is too chicken to wear it!

    What’s your policy on crayons, Muse? Lip or eye? How long will you keep them before tossing them out?

    • Isabella Muse

      thanks Cat! if you sharpen eye pencils regularly you can get a year or two out of them. I don’t use lip liners only chubby tinted lip pencils and typically I get a good year out of them before the formula gets denser.

      • cat

        Thanks! I’m so terrible about falling in love with makeup and then never using it. I’ve been cleaning out my stash. Lots of Maybelline lipsticks going in the garbage with bacteria.

      • allison

        hi
        i love the loreal infallible eye crayon but how do i sharpen it? it fits in the eye pencil sharpener i have but it doesn’t sharpen. please advise. thank you so much

    • Isabella Muse

      rimmel has gossip green but it’s pale unfortunately, nyx has sparkle green, not an exact dupe but similar.

  • Kelli

    Ack! Might have to spend a few extra moneys for this then! I am IN LOVE with that shade!

  • sara

    Hi! I really love the rose gold, do you know if the other brands have a dupe for it? Thank you! I was going crazy looking for these & now I can stop lol

  • Senta

    I really like your review.
    How about the sparkle/shimmer in the taupe colour?
    Do you think its useful for mature eyelids?

    I’m loooking for a really neutral taupe cremeshadow: any suggestions?

  • Silvia

    I found several colors last Summer at Big Lots! Got the taupe, aqua blue and purple super cheap forgot the exact price but under $3.00 each or less. I wear them as eyeliner and smudge them and love them! Wish I could find the green and gold! The aqua blue and purple are gorgeous. One thing after hours the bit of glitter does get a bit itchy on eyes but that happens any time i wear any eyeshadow containing glitter but not is not too bad though. I would love to collect all! Almost there! Don’t see them anymore? Will try Milani or Rimmel. I do have a rose one from NYC very pretty also but the crayon falls out from the pencil each time! Lol!

  • Arlene Holman

    I purchased the L’Oreal Paris Infallible Longwear Eye Pencil in Brown. I really like this pencil but cannot figure out how to sharpen it. I used it once and I cannot turn it to raise up more pencil or figure out how to sharpen it I could raise the pencil lead. Please let me know why I cannot get more than one use from this pencil.