Friday 18 January 2013

Three Flash Performance Eyeliner Swatches

During my holiday in Japan last year, I purchased a few Three Flash Performance Eyeliners which have been garnering excellent reviews. Three is currently sold only in Japan. There are some online retailers but they usually charge a high markup.

Made in Germany, these elegant pencils retail at a whopping 3150yen each. The shade name is printed on a sticker on the pencil. There is also a color stripe running down the length of the pencil that coordinates somewhat with the liner shade. However, these can be tricky to pick out due to the lack of contrast with the black body of the pencils. It would save one quite some time if Three made their pencils easier to distinguish.

There is a smudger at the end of the pencil, which I do not use at all, as the pencils glide on very smoothly without creating any harsh lines that need to be blended out.

Of the eight shades available, I chose 04 Eye Belong, 05 Eye Rock and 07 Eye Doll. These appeared to me to be the most unique and not as easily duped by other brands. As you can see in the swatch photos, all of these have a complex shimmer that does not feel gritty or chunky at all on the skin.

The texture is beautifully creamy without being so soft that they crumble at the slightest pressure. These lay down color on the very first pass without tugging at the skin. They also build up very nicely to an opaque finish, but I think you can achieve a more intense and dramatic finish with liquid eyeliners.

These swatches were done without any primer underneath and with very minimal layering. Once they set, they do not budge at all, even when I rub my finger across them.


For the first look, I used 05 Eye Rock along the upper lashline. I like the subtle definition that it provides. The shimmer shows up as a gentle glint, nothing too distracting or obvious. It lasted well on me throughout the day without smearing.


On the lips, I used Clinique Almost Lipstick in Luscious Honey.

For the second look, I used 04 Eye Belong along the upper and lower lashline. The purple tone is not that obvious as I layered it over Urban Decay's Junkie eyeshadow from the Vice palette.

Overall, while the Three liners are of good quality, I would recommend only getting the more unique shades due to the exorbitant price tag. The more common shades can be duped by more affordable brands. Three is available at the dutyfree area in Terminal 2 of Japan's Narita Airport.

On the lips, I used Clinique Almost Lipstick in Flirty Honey.

See more reviews and swatches on:

So Lonely in Gorgeous

All Made Up Nowhere To Go

Drivol About Frivol

Front Row Beauty

7 comments:

Cutie Fishball said...

I bought a bunch of THREE with my last CP from JAPAN and I must say I love all of the bunch I got (but ouch to the hefty price tag!)

07 Eye Doll can easily become my next replacement for Chanel rose platine which I accidentally dropped and lost most of it.... love to line my lower inner corners with it!

Maria @ Vintage Gulab said...

OMG! These are gorgeous. I have been lemming Eye Rock ever since I saw swatches and your swatches made the lemming grow stronger! MUST. GET.

*_*

The Unprofessional Beauty Blog said...

These are beautiful colors. I love the shimmer in them.

Caroline said...

I personally think that those smudge tips are for the use of creating a smokey look.

THREE has really nice eyeshadows, and I've heard so many raves about these eyeliner pencils, yet I stopped thinking about them every time when I looked at the price tag...

Alexandra said...

THREE is also available at ichibankao - but wow, the prices...

i love 07 eye doll. would this shade be considered as one of the unique shades to buy from THREE or are there cheaper dupes?

Haru said...

hi Alexandra,
I can't think of a dupe for Eye Doll, it's definitely one of the unique shades.

Isolde said...

Oh, they look lovely, but daumn, that's expensive for eyeliner! I'll just admire them from afar :) Look beautiful on you tho!