Is this the best budget kajal on the market? Yes.
Is it the best kajal full stop? Hmm… Read on to decide.
A few months back, I blogged about the Bourjois Queen Attitude Cone Kohl Kajal (link here). One of the alternatives for those in countries without a Bourjois stockist was Blue Heaven Kajal. I picked one up as a £1.99 basket filler when shopping at Asian clothes store Diya Online (it was a let’s get to £50 for free shipping kind of thing.)
Price: £1.99
Weight/ volume:
Shades: 2 (Black/ Navy)
My shade: Black
Features: cone kajal, waterproof, smudgeproof
Purchased/ sample: Purchased
The kajal is vegan-friendly, and has all-natural ingredients. It’s good for those with sensitive eyes, firstly as it contains no chemicals, and secondly, there’s only 6 ingredients: vegetable colours, honey, camphor, oil, almond oil, desi ghee & vitamin E. As it has desi-ghee, I’m not sure if it is 100% vegan, as the ghee we have at home is from cow’s milk. It may be that they use vegetable fats to make the ghee for this, though.
I didn’t expect much from a £1.99 kajal but I tried it anyway. It went on smoothly, although not as smooth as Bourjois Queen Attitude. I think it’s actually a good thing, as while the Bourjois kajal is very waxy and smooth, it is very smudgeable. That is great for creating smokey eye looks with kajal, but not so great if you just want a subtle water-line rim or for tight-lining. I loved how subtle and natural this looked, and I didn’t get any itching on the waterline either. I expected a little discomfort from suhc a cheap kajal but I experienced nothing of the sort.
I wore it from about midday onwards without any smudging or discomfort. Later that evening, when it came to evening prayers and wudhu (ablution), I forgot to cleanse the kajal off before washing my face. After performing my wuhdu, I suddenly remembered and gingerly stepped up to the mirror expecting to see Kung-Fu-Panda standing before me… but not a smudge or panda-eye in sight. I was stunned. It may be because I only splashed my face with water, I didn’t give the eyes a good rub, hence no smudgeing, but either way, my kajal liner had not washed off or smeared. (I did then take it off with eye cleanser and re-performed my wudhu – for those self-proclaimed moral police officers now tut-tutting at me.)
A few days later, I was rummaging in my handbag for my regular liner and found I’d tossed the Blue Heaven Kajal in there, so I popped it on again. This time I went for a heavier top and bottom waterline and a slightly smudged top line. It looked nice and subtle and again, it lasted all day without melting or smearing.
I have really been surprised by my bargain buy. It really is a fantastic product for at a pocket money price. If you find them on sale in any Asian stores, perhaps on Green Street in East Ham, I would definitely pick a few up. You’ll be glad you did.
