Texas Fold ‘Em: Cogit Cats Eye Double Eyelid Tape Review

01 Cogit Cats Eye Double Eyelid Tape Review — Real-life quote from a guy

Renee and I recently majorly hauled at oo35mm in New York’s Chinatown. The quirkiest thing I bought was the Cogit Cats Eye Double Eyelid Tape ($16 for 20 pairs at oo35mm). It’s eyelid tape that comes with eyeliner already printed on. (There’s also a version with the eyeliner in a downturned puppy-dog-eye shape.) Brilliant, yeah?

The texture is thin, matte, and papery. The eyeliner aspect is very dramatic, especially because it’s longer than (I suspect) most people’s lashline. If you were so inclined, you could cut it into a shape that fits the width of your eyes better.

The packaging is pretty self-explanatory.Overall: Eyelid tape is definitely not an everyday thing for me. However, I’d consider this for special occasions/nights out/picture-heavy days (Alphabet Lounge, anyone?). For small eyes or hooded eyes, these can be more effective at enlarging and defining eyes than fake lashes, which can’t actually raise the eyelid and sometimes still don’t allow eyeliner to be seen (unless drawn on super thick). Eyeshadow and letting everything (tape and makeup) meld on your skin for a while help make the tape appear more natural.

Ease of use: I placed the eyelid tape directly on top of clean, dry skin (no skincare or primer; oils can diminish adhesiveness). I’m not accustomed to using eyelid tape. For me, it was tricky to place this close to the inner corner of my eye and the base of my lashes. Ultimately, I got them on in a fairly symmetrical way, but they overlapped onto my lashes a little bit. On my second try, I curled my lashes first, which helped avoid the lash overlap but also left a tiny gap between the tape and lashes–something which could be filled in with eyeliner.

Appearance: Eyes instantly look larger and rounder. From a normal viewing distance, eyes look natural (aside from the Cleopatra eyeliner).

But from certain angles, it looks quite unnatural. In particular, looking part way down, there is a strong line across the eyes where the eyelid tape ends. And the beige coloring is somewhat uneven and blotchy and slightly lighter than my skin color. The unevenness is probably intentional, to look more natural than a solid piece of beige.

Also, the tape sort of just tucks up into my eyelid. Without the tape, my eyes look like the “before” picture on the packaging. But my “after” is not nearly as lifted in the inner and middle part of my eyes, probably because my hooded eyelids are thicker than the model’s. My eyes look almost puffier than normal: the lid is flat where the tape is, but the rest of the lid muffin-tops over it.

On my second try (see photos at the bottom), I placed the tape slightly higher because I was trying to make sure that it didn’t touch my lashline. That helped lift the lid higher at the inner and middle parts, but my lids still fell over most of the beige part of the tape.

Comfort: The feeling isn’t completely uncomfortable, but you’re always aware that you’re wearing tape and can feel it pulling your eyelids up. It’s similar to wearing the Eyelid Trainer. Except for hours on end. I do start feeling the urge to rip these off after 7 or 8 hours. Use with makeup: On my first try (all photos above), all I did was curl my lashes and apply mascara after the tape. Honestly, no other makeup is needed!

Eyeshadow does help blend the tape into the skin better. On my second try, I gently patted on some eyeshadow from my Lunasol palette and applied mascara. If I were leaving the house, I would have filled in the tiny gap between the tape and my lashline. Longevity: The adhesive is pretty strong and long-lasting. Applied properly and so long as you don’t rub your eyes, the tape lasts at least 8 hours without moving or signs of losing adhesion. (I took it off after 8 hours.) Makeup didn’t affect longevity.