Karadium Products Review: Liquid Liner, Concealer, Brow Pencil
at the beginning of the year, YEF philippines reached out to me and asked if i wanted to try some of their kbeauty offerings. since i’d hardly dabbled in korean cosmetics and skincare, i jumped on the opportunity to broaden my horizons and, fingers crossed, find some new treasures to love.
i browsed YEF (which stands for YEAH! EXCITING! FUN!, in case you were curious) and was pleased to find not only an impressive selection of korean beauty products, but also marked down prices and loads of exciting promos for their shoppers.
my picks from the website included an array of skincare products — masks, mostly — and a few make-up items. today i thought i’d share my thoughts on the latter, which are three things from KARADIUM that piqued my interest.
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KARADIUM flat eyebrow pencil, P220
i’ve always wanted to try this type of brow pencil, with the slanted tip that twists up (no sharpening required!) which supposedly makes filling in brows easier. i got the warm, mid-tone shade called 03 real brown.
on one end you’ll find a nice, fluffy spoolie, which i enjoy using before and after applying color. the texture of the pencil is quite stiff, though not to the point where it becomes a struggle to apply. harder formulas of brow pencils simply guarantee lighter application and a softer, more natural look to the brows. if you prefer to go bolder or more precise with your brows, then you probably won’t appreciate this texture very much.
since i already have full, thick brows and only fill in the tail-end, this formula works well for me. i don’t need a ton of product to create the look of brows–i simply have to even them out. and for that, this tool works perfectly. after i fill in the gaps, i go over the hairs with a tinted brow gel to lighten and set them.
i feel like this pencil is also good for beginners, because it’s impossible to overdo your brows with it. it lasts all day on me (to be fair, i’ve not tested it on extremely hot, humid days when i’m out and about) and i imagine it would work well for just about anyone aiming for low-maintenance brows.
KARADIUM skin perfection concealer, P390
concealer junkie that i am, i couldn’t pass up the chance to try one from a kbeauty brand. i didn’t know what to expect from this though, as most korean cosmetics tend to be on the natural side of the spectrum, while i prefer a good amount of coverage especially where concealer is concerned (unsightly dark circles have plagued me since i was very young).
this is another dual-ended product that has the concealer on one end, and a small, flat blending brush on the other. i’ve tried to work with the brush several times but have come to the conclusion that it does not blend concealer very well. it lifts most of the product from your skin, and leaves streaky patches in its wake. you’re better off using your fingertips in this case.
the concealer itself, though in stick form, is quite creamy and easy to work with. i use it mostly around my eyes, and sometimes over the face when i get blemishes i need to cover up.
i got the shade 01 light beige, which is a really good match for me (i’m about a MAC NC25 in foundation, if that helps at all). color-wise, the concealer blends effortlessly into my skin — so much so that you can hardly see it in my swatch. to better show you its level of coverage, i blended it over a dot of black liquid eyeliner below.
on the left is the liner by itself; on the right, the karadium concealer layered over it (the lighting in my room gave the dots a bit of a blue tinge, but i assure you they are black). as you can see, the concealer lightened the dot somewhat, but not nearly enough to cover it up. personally, i require much more coverage than this, so i really only use the concealer on quick errand days when i’m not out for very long or don’t look for too perfected of a look.
if you have little to no discoloration around your eyes or face and are in need of a creamy, lightweight concealer with a nice yellow undertone to it, this might be a good choice for you. word of warning though: it isn’t the most long-wearing formula (i always set my concealer with powder, fyi) and i only get about 3-4 hours of decent wear before it all goes downhill.
KARADIUM movie star one stroke pen eyeliner, P290
this is probably my favorite product out of the three, especially because of the price, and the fact that it will probably take a long time to dry out.
the karadium liquid eyeliner in 01 black has a fine felt tip that deposits a rich, dark stroke of ink that you can switch from thin to thick with minimal effort. it goes on smoothly — albeit very liquidy — and dries to what i would describe as a satin finish: not the mattest matte, but not glossy either. just somewhere in between.
note: do pardon the crooked swatches below. i had to use my left, non-dominant hand on my right arm to get better lighting for the pictures.
because the formula is thin and watery, there is a bit of bleeding in my arm swatches. i don’t notice that happening on my eyelids, but i can’t guarantee the same for everyone. application of this eyeliner is a bit of a double edged sword: it’s easy to deposit color because of the formula and pigmentation, but it can also get out of hand real quick if you’re not careful. i’ve ended up with winged eyeliner double the size i intended because i wasn’t mindful enough of what i was doing.
still, i like this pen formula because it’s long-wearing and doesn’t smudge or flake on me, but is easy to take off at the end of the day. i would repurchase this when i run out.
overall, my experience with KARADIUM has been quite pleasant and i am now eyeing their adorable pucca collection (would love to try one of the lipsticks or cushion make-up next!). i will also be doing another round of kbeauty reviews here, featuring the three wash-off face masks i got from YEF. i’ve used two of them so far and i can’t wait to share my thoughts with you guys.
in the meantime, i hope you do check out YEF philippines for awesome kbeauty finds. they have ongoing promos to make your shopping experience that much sweeter:
1. REFERRAL PROGRAM – invite friends to register and get free shopping credits!
2. FREEBIES
- mask sheet (all purchases)
- mask sheet + BB Cream (purchases P700 & up)
- mask sheet + BB Cream + eyeliner or eyebrow pencil (purchases P1000 & up)
- mask sheet + LANEIGE or IOPE Kit (purchases P2000 & up)
3. FREE SHIPPING for a minimum purchase of P1500
4. P150 shopping credits for new registrants
5. NEW giveaways and contests to be announced regularly — follow them on facebook so you don’t miss out!
