Linda Hallberg Cosmetics Mood Crayons Kit Review #indiefeature
Prior to writing/ publishing my reviews, I will normally test a product for a two week period to assure that my reviews are as thorough as possible. When it came to the Mood Crayons Kit, my testing period ended up taking a little bit longer than I hoped considering that I've had the kit since May. For this reason, it should come as no surprise when I say that this review is well over due.
Originally, when Linda Hallberg Cosmetics first launched the Mood Crayons Kit, it included a purple crayon named "Daring." While I don't have an exact date for this, the "Daring" shade was later removed from the kit and replaced with the red crayon named "Anger,"making the kit fully vegan. "Daring" to the best of my knowledge will be re-released sometime in the near future.
The Mood Crayons Kit which costs $45, includes five fragrance free multipurpose pencils, they can be used on your eyes, lips, eyebrows, and body. The pencils will dry down with a water resistant matte finish in minutes, according to the company and can be removed using an oil based cleanser. As mentioned above, this kit is now fully vegan and Linda Hallberg Cosmetics is a cruelty free company.
About the Brand:
Linda Hallberg Cosmetics was created by professional makeup artist and beauty blogger Linda Hallberg; the brand was officially launched on October 7, 2016. With her brand, Linda Hallberg set out to create products that she found were missing from the beauty market with an emphasis on her products being multi-use. From the beginning, Linda Hallberg Cosmetics have been a cruelty free company with aspirations of becoming fully vegan; they've been working hard to reformulate their non-vegan products since their launch. The brand ships world wide excluding Mexico, Russia, North Korea, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. They offer free shipping on orders over 100 USD / 85 EUR / 85 GBP / 599 DKK. They're products are manufactured in the EU with the exception of their brush hairs which are produced in China.
Shipping:
I placed my order on May 3rd, 2019 using Paypal and later that same day, I received an email notifying me that my order had been shipped. The package was shipped through FedEx International Economy and cost me an additional $10. Much to my surprise, the package was delivered by May 5th, 2019. For full disclosure, I cannot remember if the package came in a box or a padded envelope. What matters, is that it arrived undamaged at a speed that gives Amazon Prime a run for its money.
Description/ Initial Thoughts:
When I removed the kit out of it's packaging, I found that it's box was placed in a small plastic bag. Furthermore, the kit was inside a thin box with the company's logo printed on it. The actual container that held the crayons, had the exact same printing as the thin protective box on the outside . The backside included a description of the product, list of awards, and ingredients among other things. The inside of the kit features a large mirror framed by a beautiful rainbow swirl print. The crayons are set in cardboard padded grooves, with a diamond cut out in the middle featuring more of the rainbow print swirls. The pencils were well secured in these grooves as indicate by their names remaining right side up during their travel. I'm personally a fan of keeping the packaging products arrive in, but I will be the first to admit that the box while pretty, wastes a substantial amount of space. Opening the lids of the pencil, I noticed that the tubes holding the product are not made of wood, but some sort of plastic material. When sharpening these pencils, I do have to recommend that you use sharpeners made for delicate products. While they're not the most fragile pencils I've ever used, they still need to be handled with care.
Review:
When Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC) closed during April of last year, many amazing products were lost including their highly covenant Lip & Eye Pencils. Finding colorful liners can be a difficult task, let alone vegan ones. I was thrilled to have come across Linda Hallberg's vegan crayons for this reason.
The crayons are all very pigmented, the only shades that need some layering are "Calm" and "Happy." From my experience, the crayons dry much faster than a few minutes. After they've been applied, it feels like only a few seconds till they're dry. This can a bit a troublesome I must admit. When I've tried to go over areas, it feels like the crayons are forming layers making them slightly uncomfortable to wear. Furthermore, its difficult to use these crayons as base colors on the eyes because they don't blend well due to their dry time (it helps to use them on a wet base). On the other hand, the water resistant finish definitely helps with the durability. When I've worn the crayons on my waterline, the pigment will stay in place all evening, even with my watery eyes and the color is extremely vibrant which I love! Much like the Kat Von D Anti-precision Eyeliner I reviewed, I found that if I shut my eyes a little too hard, it feels as though my eyes want to stick together and the color will lift in certain areas making it patchy, but that's something easy to avoid. I have to applaud Linda Hallberg Cosmetics on their yellow shade "Happy." Despite needing some layering, it's extreme pigmented for yellow makeup. I've never owned a yellow liner before, this product is not only unique to my kit, but pretty unique to the beauty market.
The crayons are all very pigmented, the only shades that need some layering are "Calm" and "Happy." From my experience, the crayons dry much faster than a few minutes. After they've been applied, it feels like only a few seconds till they're dry. This can a bit a troublesome I must admit. When I've tried to go over areas, it feels like the crayons are forming layers making them slightly uncomfortable to wear. Furthermore, its difficult to use these crayons as base colors on the eyes because they don't blend well due to their dry time (it helps to use them on a wet base). On the other hand, the water resistant finish definitely helps with the durability. When I've worn the crayons on my waterline, the pigment will stay in place all evening, even with my watery eyes and the color is extremely vibrant which I love! Much like the Kat Von D Anti-precision Eyeliner I reviewed, I found that if I shut my eyes a little too hard, it feels as though my eyes want to stick together and the color will lift in certain areas making it patchy, but that's something easy to avoid. I have to applaud Linda Hallberg Cosmetics on their yellow shade "Happy." Despite needing some layering, it's extreme pigmented for yellow makeup. I've never owned a yellow liner before, this product is not only unique to my kit, but pretty unique to the beauty market.
Conclusion:
One of the reasons why I fell in love with OCC was their unique shade offerings especially among their Lip & Eye Pencils. Going through Linda Hallberg Cosmetics site, it's plain to see that they too are making strides toward being a truly unique brand. Despite the cons that I experienced, I do think that the crayons are good products, you just need to know how to work with their matte formula. I may purchase some of their metallic crayons in the future to see how the formulas compare, but I do believe the crayons are worth trying.
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