Revlon Emerald/Empire PhotoReady Kajal Review, Photos, Swatches
Revlon Emerald PhotoReady Kajal
Revlon Emerald/Empire PhotoReady Kajal ($8.99 for 0.08 oz.) is a dual-ended eyeliner with a bolder, deeper shade on one end for lining and defining, and then a brightening shade on the opposite end. Revlon says both shades can be applied to the water line as well as the lower lash line and should last all-day long and have a creamy formula. I found both ends to be creamy, nicely pigmented (Empire was fully opaque, while Emerald was mostly opaque), and they glided across the lash line easily without tugging, dragging, or skipping.
I wore both on the lower lash line as well as water line, and both applied with opaque color on the water line well.  The bad news is that I had terrible wear with both shades, but it was most distressing to see Empire dragged out about half an inch past my lash line like I had gone swimming for the past hour and a half, maybe with a few crying fits afterward!  I even had bits of the eyeliner on my actual lid–that’s transfer from the lower lash line onto the lid!  I didn’t see as much bleeding with Empire, but because it blended it out to my skin tone, it was hard to tell; but it had clearly faded/migrated.  NARS’ Kaliste actually looks a lot like Emerald (no, it had the exact same wear, so you can see what I mean!), and I had the same experience with that eyeliner formula as well–and it felt like a dream to apply but was a nightmare to wear.
All of this happened within an hour of wearing them.  I looked at my notes, and I thought, “Well, let’s just test it one more time,” and in fact, I tested both shades twice more today, and I had the same bleeding, smudged wear after an hour or less of wear.  It’s really a shame, because the creaminess, coupled with the rich color payoff, made this an eyeliner I wanted to rave about.
Emerald is a blue-tinted teal with a mostly matte finish–there is a smidgen of micro-shimmer, but it doesn’t appear visible applied (looks matte). MAC Blue Noon is greener. Estee Lauder Dramatic Teal is bluer. See comparison swatches. You can also see additional blue-based teal eyeliner swatches.
Empire is a lightened, warm-toned, light beige with a matte finish. Sephora Blonde Ambition is more shimmery, while NARS Rue Bonaparte is more neutral. See comparison swatches. It would also be comparable to MAC NC15/NW20.
Emerald/Empire
PPermanent. $8.99.
Emerald
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Empire
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Revlon Emerald PhotoReady Kajal
Revlon Emerald/Empire PhotoReady Kajal
Revlon Emerald/Empire PhotoReady Kajal
Revlon Empire PhotoReady Kajal
Revlon Empire PhotoReady Kajal
Revlon Emerald PhotoReady Kajal
Revlon Emerald/Empire PhotoReady Kajal + Revlon Pinkissimo Lipgloss
Too bad about Empire, I wear nude liner everyday on my waterline.
What nude eyeliner do you usually wear?
I do, as well. I wear Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner in nude, but I’ve heard L’Oreal’s True Match concealor crayon actually works as a great nude on the waterline. I’ve yet to try it.
I had the same experience with with Purple Reign! So disappointing.
Bummer! I’m glad I wasn’t alone, though!
LOL. Welcome to 95% of every eyeliner experience in my life, Christine. 😀
What is the 5% that works? 🙂
MAC Blacktrack and UD’s 24hour liners are the closest I’ve come to long lasting liner, but they come with caveats attached. I can’t tightline on my eyes at all – Blacktrack only lasted 2-3 hours on the waterline, and UD was faded by the second hour and gone by the third. UD’s pencils are notable in the regard that they don’t smudge off my lower lash line into my undereye area (all pencil liner does, regardless if it’s set with powder or not), but my outer corner tends to collect oil, so I have to be careful to end the line about 1-2mm before the edge to avoid smudging. Blacktrack fares better over all, but it will smudge in my outer corner. I usually stick to liquid liner on my top lid alone and then carry the tube with me – within 4 hours or so, I wind up having to touch up or completely redo the edges of winged liner. 9_9
Too bad, Emerald is stunning. It’s hit or miss with me with it comes to lining my waterline. Sometimes something will stay, another day the same product will not work for me.
That is so funny! I have this pencil and I wore the emerald on my lower lash line (A lot more than you had on) and I didn’t notice any smudging. I wore it for maybe 5 hours top without any issues.
Yay! I’m happy to hear it worked well for you, Kim!
I really wish you’d show us pictures of how poorly the D and F ranked products performed. You give such negative reviews but then show us pictures of the products looking great and it’s just hard to believe they’re SO bad.
Hey Claire!
If you click the NARS review – it looked EXACTLY the same, to give you an idea 🙂
i was interested in the nude end of the eyeliner. Too bad it didn’t work out. Does anyone have any other recommendations for a nude liner for the waterline. I’ve been trying to buy NYX’s Wonderpencil in light but it’s always sold out when I get to Ulta. Any ideas? tyvm
Rimmel has a good one. As long as you don’t have a slipper waterline, it should stay put. 🙂