Make-up with colored pencils: it’s possible, but at what risk?

Let those who have never taken advantage of a moment of beating between two classes to cover their nails with a good layer of blanco cast the first stone! In fact, the school kit is a real gold mine for those with a little imagination, and the possibility of diverting school supplies into beauty products can be tempting. Isn’t it singer Taylor Swift who confessed to using a sharpie before to make her iconic eyeliner line of hers?

Over the past few weeks, this more creative hobby seems to have migrated from classrooms to TikTok, where there are countless makeup videos done with colored pencils. And, to be honest, it looks pretty good! But at what cost?

Make up with colored pencils, a technique to be left on the playground

In order to use their colorful case as a makeup bag, TikTok content creators like nourbenh or brynnemarieeee dip their pencils in hot water to soften the lead, then draw directly on their skin. And the result is quite convincing: the material glides easily and the color payoff is present. However, should you throw out all your eyeliners and lip pencils and go do your makeup at an art supply store? Not sure.

While colored pencil makeup can be fun to experiment with in an hour of glue, it’s really not recommended to adopt it on a daily basis. In fact, even if they are completely harmless on a sheet of paper, they are neither dermatologically tested nor evaluated under ophthalmological control, i.e. their safety for the skin and mucous membranes, especially that of the eyes, is not proven, even when they are intended for children!

To avoid allergic reactions and contact dermatitis, it is therefore safer to stick to makeup products labeled as such and save colored pencils for mandala notebooks.

Photo credit image by One: Cup of Couple and Michelle Leman on Pexels