Now, just how many American folk have heard of Eyeko?

I certainly wasn't familiar with it until recently, and it was thru a couple randomly found youtube reviews when looking for new lip balms/lip glosses to try. (Again, I love lip balms, glosses and treatments. I have quite the growing collection... If you have a glowing recommendation, please send it my way~ :D)

Upon first hearing the name, you'd think the brand was Japanese with some weird spelling... but in fact, it's a London-based company. The spelling is intentional, but if you check out their site, you'd know exactly whom their target audience is.

Like the Bonne Bell and Wet n' Wild, Eyeko is aimed at the younger teen crowd with cute and bright packaging and budget pricing. Most of the products are basic - eyeliners, mascaras, nail polishes, lip glosses, and creams. Also, most have a bit of shimmer to them.

Because the prices were so affordable and they had a free shipping offer, I jumped at the opportunity to try a few things out.

So I'll be detailing my haul behind the cut~

First up, the "famed" Eyeko Creams:

These are billed as 3-in-1 creams which can be used as an eye cream, a highlighter, and/or a moisturizer. The one in the pink box is the standard cream, while the brown box is the "tinted" cream.

As you can see, both creams have a shimmer to them. I can't say the creams are incredibly "moisturizing" - I'd suggest simply using them as a highlighter and bronzer respectively. The consistency in the tubs are semi-thick and need to be evenly smoothed onto the skin. Once evenly applied, the skin does retain a nice glow. Also use sparingly. A little goes a long long way.

Next up? The Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen:

I picked this one up on a whim. I like eyeliners, but haven't used a liquid one since 2003. (Mostly because I haven't found one that I like.) I'm much more of a pencil or gel type person since I'm rather blind and I'm too lazy to put my contacts in every day. ^^;

This one was appealing just for the fact it had a felt brush nib instead of actual bristles. Like my brush pens for art, I have a much better control over my line with a felt nib.

Although I haven't tested this on my eye-line yet, I did a few sketches on my wrist. The lines are clean and feel similar to drawing with a permanent marker. There's no visible bleeding, but there's also no goopiness or thickness to the line. All you get is ink.

(Expotentially awesome for cosplayers perhaps? :D)

Anyhoo, the ink comes off with a few rubs with an oil-based eye make-up remover... so easy removal!

And finally, the best part of the haul, the Eyeko Fat Balms:

I love my lip balms and when I heard some positive reviews about these, I had to put my order thru. Eyeko has 3 basic types: Raspberry (purple box), Strawberry (Red Box), and Minty (Blue Box).

Each of the tubes look the same - they stand at 2" tall and 1" diameter. They're short little balms, but can I just say -- these are quite amazing.

First of all, these are the best scented balms I have ever come across. I'm currently using the strawberry fat balm and it smells like Häagen-Dazs strawberry sorbet. Seriously. However, they aren't flavored balms, which is why I like them even more~!

The minty fat balm also has a very mild minty feel and scent - not as strong as something like Burt's Bees or Carmex.

Second, they are rather pigmented so they can be used as both a lip and cheek "stain". I think the minty fat balm might be a little too light to be used as a cheek stain, but it does provide a slight pink tint. Unlike stains which tend to dry out the lips, they are much more like balms where they provide a moisturizing cover and even color. When you wipe off, the color comes off too - so just reapply as needed.

Third, they're so affordable! I got these three as part of a promo deal - All 3 for $17, when each are priced at $8. (Somewhat cheaper in euros and pounds tho~)

Although, I should note - all three have shimmer to them, so if that's not your thing, you might want to pass.

My thoughts?

For a economy "drug-store" type brand, I'm quite impressed with the items I picked up! Apparently, their cosmetics line-up also changes seasonally, so new items like powders, eye shadows, and blushes may arrive at any time on their website. They also have weekly deals - be it free international shipping, a discount, or a free item.

Speaking of free items -- before I made my order, I checked out their twitter feed and found a code for an extra strawberry balm!

So instead of keeping this for myself, I figured I should share the love~ XD

Interested in trying out their strawberry fat balm for yourself?

Just leave a comment below and in the message tell me what your favorite makeup item is! (and why, if you feel so inclined!) Anything you'd recommend to a friend~ :D

Entries will close on February 5, Friday evening, and I'll be doing a random drawing for the winner~!

Winner has been selected~! Thanks for everyone's participation! More giveaways in the near future!

Also! If you're interested in purchasing some Eyeko cosmetics for yourself and/or a friend, enter my ambassador code : E7503 at the check out and get a free gift~!