Help me to sharpen my eye pencil, I must be thick!

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Argh! I’m about to explode with frustration! I’ve gone years sharpening eye pencils (usually Clinique) with normal eye pencil sharpeners and never had a problem.

Then I bought a Maybelline Lasting Drama kohl liner (it actually says on it “sharpenable pencil) and noticed that the “wood” bit looked plasticky and not like a wooden pencil. I assumed I turned the end to push it up somehow but no, it’s just turning round and round.

So I gave up on that and bought another Clinique one (cream shaper for eyes) but this looks the same, not a wooden looking pencil, got a plasticky look to it. Can’t twist the end, it’s not moving .

So I assumed that maybe the plastic is actually soft and sharpenable with an eye pencil sharpener. I have an old Clinique eye pencil sharpener so have tried to use that but it’s just catching and has now broken the sharpener.

What the very fuck am I doing wrong?!?

It’s a thing now apparently! It’s a bloody nightmare. Had to buy a Specialist pencil sharpener, but it’s doing the trick. It’s by makki and hopefully this link willwork

amazon.co.uk/Professional-Cosmetic-Sharpener-Tip-former-pencils/dp/B005QNP6U0]]

Thanks, Hermione. I have ordered one but am really really not happy at a supposedly decent company like Clinique using plastic in their eye pencils. It’s absolute pathetic, both for practical reasons and for the planet!!

Put it in the freezer overnight! Makes it much easier.

I cannot stand those plastic-y pencils. And I've never managed to successfully sharpen one.

It’s just mangled the end of my (not very cheap) pencil completely.

I’m hoping this new one will work. Who the fuck decided that a perfectly good, environmentally friendly medium like wood should be replaced by bloody PLASTIC and why?!

Look, this is what happens. Jagged plastic, it really isn’t good around eyes. god knows what the manufacturers are playing at.

Agree, seems like a completely retrograde step

I think they're hoping you give up and just buy a new one.

Agree with pp. It's much easier if you chill it first.

I can understand how putting it in the freezer would kept the actual inner pencil hard enough to get a good point, but how is freezing plastic going to change the plastic?

I use the Essence pencil sharpener (£1, I think.) This is a good one, because the screw holding the blade down is visible. What I did to make it work with plastic pencils is unscrew it then screw it back down again, I think maybe it tightened it or something.
www.essence.eu/uk/products/tools-accessories/e/product/duo-sharpener/

Another one I use with plastic pencils is the Maped pencil sharpener that I've had for years! I sometimes wonder if using an actual pencil sharpener is better (this one has a little button you press to push out broken lead.) Like this one.
www.amazon.co.uk/Maped-Galactic-Sharpener-Assorted-Colours/dp/B0013T7KWS?tag=mumsnetforum-21

But yes, try the unscrew/screw back on trick first, I found it helped enormously.

Sod that. I'd take it back and if they kick up I'd pack it up and post it back to HO. What's to lose? It's a piece of shite, you can't use.