Jung Saem Mool Liners: Comparisons

Monday, August 6, 2018

I purchased my first Jung Saem Mool products last year, like the Essential Star-Cealer Foundation (reviewed here). I was so pleased that I bought some more JSM goodies, including two liners. One is from the colorful High Tinted Eye Color Pencil variety, the other is from the Refining Edge Eye Pencil lineup, which features darker, more subdued colors.

I have some pretty wicked allergies and my eyelids experience a lot of friction between the mobile and the stationary lid, leading to a lot of transferring. I frequently have little ^ ^ marks over my lids with pencil liners. I grabbed a High Tinted Eye Color Pencil in Metal Purple from JSM Beauty with one of my Korean Buddy orders and loved it so much, I wanted another color.

I looked to Refining Edge Eye Pencils for a color I'd use regularly. That line features colors like dark brown, burgundy and beige.

The High Tinted Eye Color Pencil has a thicker "lead". A little too big for me, but I made do. I don't really like to sharpen pencils (a laziness thing and I always break them off, wasting a lot of liner). The thickness of Refining Edge Eye Pencil is absolutely perfect!

The two liners felt about the same on the skin, with Metal Purple skipping just a tiny bit more. However, I opened it more than six months before I opened Forest Khaki, so think I don't think it is a formula difference. Just dried a little over time. Forest Khaki is more pigmented, I don't have to go over the region sometimes twice like I do with Metal Purple.

Both pencils have a built in smudging tip that is kinda useful. If you line your upper lid and quickly take the tip and smear the liner outwards, it makes a nice little wing that tapers off. But you have to work VERY quickly because these are very fast setting formulas (less than 5 seconds). The thicker High Tinted Eye Pencil also has a sharpener on the other side of the smudger.

Metal Purple

Forest Khaki

Now what I love about JSM High Tinted Pencil was how amazing it was at weathering through anything. I could take a walk in the rain, suffer the worst eye watering allergies, or swim in a pool and the liner would still be on! It's also completely smudgeproof. It won't budge for anything - no rainbow shaped transfer marks. My eyelids aren't oily at all any more, so I can't speak to how it fares for oily lidded folks.

Refining Edge is very similar, I can't really find a difference between the two formulas performance wise.

I like Metal Purple's steadfastness enough that I don't mind that I may have to lightly retrace a region of liner. Small price to pay to stay put all day long. Both liners can be removed with cleansers that have an oil phase, but be prepared to spend a little more time massaging while the eyeliner breaks down. It just really wants to stay on the eye.

Now JSM beauty products are making their way over to the US, but the whole range can be hard to find. Bergdorf carries some core products, but no pencil eye liners. You can find the Refining Edge liners on Amazon for around $35, but that's a bit more than retail. KoreaDepart has the High Tinted Eye Pencils for $14, but requires paying for shipping from Korea. This is one of those things that I look to eBay for, I don't think it's a very well known brand so I'm not worried about counterfeit items. Jung Saem Mool makeup also has expiration dates, so it's pretty easy to ascertain how old your liner is.

$24 for High Tinted Eye Pencils on eBay, $23 for the Refining Edge Pencils.

What's your favorite pencil eyeliner that won't budge?

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