Estée Lauder Magic Smoky™ Powder Shadow Stick

I am completely enchanted with these Magic Smoky sticks. There's so much depth and dimension in the pigments, that with just one pencil, I can create that eponymous magic smoky look, and even - as another reviewer noted - a highlighter of sorts for the lips. It's as beautiful an eyeliner as it is an eyeshadow. The formula is exquisite - like silky pressed powder in pencil form. Smooth and blendable, with minimum waxiness, it glides over the lids smoothly without tugging, and the colour stays put once set. Apart from being richly pigmented, these are also long-wearing. I have them in the colours Slow Burn, which is a lovely bronze, and Charred Plum, which is a stunning burgundy that's very on-trend right now. I've learned to create the easiest smoky eye with just three products: An eyeliner, a mascara, and the Magic Smoky stick. This combination never fails to give me a sultry, smouldering look that looks like it took more effort than it actually did. To me, that's where the magic of this stick lies. I'm not a fan of having to sharpen the pencil, as it feels like there's a lot of wastage, not to mention the inconvenience of it. However, that's my only gripe with this otherwise wonderful product. The only other way these sticks could be better is if it came in a sparkly black shade.

These sticks are amazingly versatile - I use one colour (burnt black) in place of eyeshadow/eyeliner & one colour on my lips for definition (scorched gold dotted in the centre of my lips over a creamy matt rose lipstick). Being Estee Lauder products they do look beautifully sophisticated & glam in terms of packaging with iconic gold print, but I was even more impressed with Estee Lauder's formulation of the product, the texture of the powder is soft and silky on your skin but builds to some serious pigmented colour (and is surprisingly easy to blend). I generally find the pencil works best with two layers of colour, you first apply a line of the powder stick close to your lashes and then use an eyesadow brush to blend it across your eyelid (you can even add a splash of another colour or some shimmer depending on the look you're after). Then apply another thicker line of the same pencil right along your lashes finishing with whatever large/small wing shape you prefer (you can add a few more strokes to insensify the colour pigment), it will match any liquid or gel eyeliner in terms of staying power & colour intensity, it's quite a revolutionary product! I've been using these sticks for about 6 months and I'm still not even close to three quarters of the product so I would definitely recommend them as value for money, it may seem like a large amount to spend on an eye pencil but you get many product uses in one and the quality is just beautiful!