Rimmel Lasting Finish 8HR Lip Liner Cappuccino Review: the cheap brown pencil everyone keeps talking about

I picked up the Rimmel Lasting Finish 8HR Lip Liner in shade 705 Cappuccino because it kept popping up everywhere as this cult brown liner. It’s dirt cheap, it’s always in stock, and on Amazon it’s sitting at 4.5/5 with a huge number of reviews. So I wanted to see if it’s actually good, or just one of those products people rebuy out of habit. I’ve been using it almost daily for a couple of weeks, sometimes alone with lip balm, sometimes with nude lipsticks.

Right away, the main thing you notice is the shade. Cappuccino is a medium brown with a warm undertone, not too red, not too grey. On my lips it gives that 90s-style outline that you can soften with a lighter nude in the centre. If your skin is fair, it will look quite bold; on medium or deeper skin, it’s more like a natural contour shade. It’s not a "barely there" nude – it definitely shows.

In practice, I used it for going to work, a couple of nights out, and just to fake fuller lips on camera during calls. I lined slightly outside my natural lip line then filled in the corners. Most days I topped it with a clear or slightly tinted gloss. I also tried it alone with just a bit of balm to see how drying it could get over a full day.

Overall, it’s not perfect, but it’s pretty solid for the price. It does what you expect from a basic wooden lip pencil: gives definition, helps your lipstick stay in place, and makes your lips look a bit fuller. It’s not luxury-level creamy or ultra long-wearing to the point you need a chisel to remove it, but for an everyday liner that you don’t mind using up quickly, it gets the job done.

Price-wise, this liner sits firmly in the low-cost drugstore range. For what you pay, you get solid pigmentation, decent longevity, and a very popular shade that works with a lot of nude and brown lipsticks. Compared to higher-end liners I’ve tried (MAC, Charlotte Tilbury, etc.), the texture is slightly less refined and the shade range obviously smaller, but in daily use, the difference isn’t huge enough to justify paying three or four times more if you’re on a budget.

The main trade-offs for the low price: you don’t get a built-in sharpener, the ingredients aren’t particularly “clean”, and the packaging looks basic. Also, because it’s on the creamier side, you’ll finish it faster than a very stiff pencil, so the low price is partially balanced by going through more product. Still, even if you rebuy it a few times a year, it stays affordable.

Where it really delivers on value is if you’re into the whole brown-liner-plus-nude-lip look. Cappuccino is a pretty versatile warm brown that can work for contouring on a lot of skin tones. You can pair it with cheap lipsticks and still get a fairly polished result. If you just want something for occasional use, like nights out or special events, this is more than enough. You don’t need a luxury liner for that.

So in terms of value, I’d say it’s good bang for the buck: not the best formula on earth, not the longest-lasting product physically, but for the price and performance, it’s hard to be too harsh. If you’re very picky about ingredients or want fancy packaging, you’ll probably find it a bit basic. If you just want a reliable brown liner that does the job without draining your wallet, it’s a sensible choice.

The design is as basic as it gets: a sharpenable wooden pencil with a plastic cap. No twist-up mechanism, no rubber grip, nothing fancy. The upside is that you can sharpen it to a very fine point for precise lines, which is great if you like that super clean, overlined look. The downside is you need to own a sharpener that fits and you’ll lose some product every time you sharpen, especially since the formula is on the creamier side.

In terms of size, it’s a standard slim pencil, easy to slip into even a tiny bag or pocket. The cap clicks on well enough; it never popped off in my bag, and I did throw it around a bit on purpose to check. The colour of the pencil body matches the shade fairly well, so if you have several Rimmel liners, you can quickly grab Cappuccino without reading the tiny print every time.

What I like is the balance between firmness and creaminess. It’s not one of those super soft gel-like pencils that break as soon as you press too hard. You can get a sharp tip that doesn’t crumble immediately, but it’s still soft enough not to scratch your lips. Compared to some pricier liners I’ve tried, the control is actually pretty good. You can draw a thin line, smudge it slightly with your finger, or fully fill in the lips without feeling like you’re using a colouring pencil from school.

On the flip side, the design does feel a bit dated. A twist-up mechanism with a built-in sharpener would be more practical for travel or on-the-go touch-ups. Also, there’s no info on the pencil about being vegan or SPF, so you basically have to trust the listing or remember it. Overall, the design is basic but functional: nothing special, but it works, and at this price I can live with the old-school format.

On the lips, the liner feels creamy enough to glide but not so soft that it slides all over the place. When I first applied it, I was expecting it to tug a bit because of the wooden pencil format, but it actually goes on pretty smoothly, especially if your lips aren’t bone dry. I’d still recommend putting a thin layer of balm, letting it sink in, and blotting before applying. That combo gave me the best comfort and precision.

Worn alone, fully filling in my lips, it’s slightly drying after a few hours, but nothing dramatic. My lips felt a bit tight by late afternoon if I didn’t add a gloss or balm on top. With a creamy lipstick or gloss layered over it, the comfort is much better and I pretty much forgot I had it on. Compared to some high-end liners I’ve tried, it’s not the softest, but it’s also less crumbly and easier to control. For a cheap pencil, I’d call the comfort level “good enough for daily use”.

After a workday (around 7–8 hours, with coffee and lunch), the outer line was still there, but the colour inside had faded. My lips weren’t cracked or flaky, just slightly dehydrated, like after wearing any long-wear lip product. If you already have very dry or chapped lips, this liner will cling to dry patches and won’t feel great unless you prep really well. It’s not a miracle product that makes bad lips look smooth.

So overall, in terms of comfort, it’s fine but not hydrating. It won’t replace a lip balm, it’s not cushiony or super soft, but for defining and slightly overlining, it works without feeling harsh. If you’re used to liquid mattes that suck the life out of your lips, this will feel much kinder. If you’re used to creamy bullet lipsticks only, you’ll notice it’s a bit more drying than that.

In terms of how fast you go through the actual pencil, it’s on the softer side, so you do sharpen it fairly often. If you like a super sharp tip every time, you’ll see the pencil shrinking faster than with a very hard, waxy formula. After about two weeks of almost daily use (mostly lining, sometimes filling the whole lip), I’d say I’ve used up roughly a quarter of the pencil. So you’ll probably get a couple of months of heavy use out of it, maybe longer if you’re not as obsessed with a razor-sharp line as I am.

The good news is the wood doesn’t splinter easily when sharpening. I used a cheap double sharpener and didn’t get any nasty jagged edges. The core itself doesn’t snap off unless you’re really heavy-handed. I tossed it in my bag without a makeup pouch a few times; the cap stayed in place and the tip didn’t break, which is honestly all I ask from a pencil at this price.

The print on the pencil (shade name, brand) does start to rub off with use, especially if you keep it in a crowded makeup bag. After a while, you might end up with a mostly brown stick where you can barely read the text. The colour is obvious enough that it’s not a huge deal, but it does make it feel a bit cheap over time. Nothing dramatic, just cosmetic wear.

Overall durability: the product itself holds up well to normal abuse, but because it’s creamy, you’ll burn through it faster than a very hard liner. For the price, that doesn’t bother me, but if you want a liner that lasts ages physically, this might feel a bit short-lived. On the flip side, the formula doesn’t dry out or go crumbly after a few weeks, which I’ve had with some other cheap pencils, so that’s a plus.

The ingredient list reads like a classic wax-based lip pencil: hydrogenated palm oil, hydrogenated coco-glycerides, microcrystalline wax, lanolin derivatives, parabens, pigments, and some antioxidants like tocopherol (vitamin E). So if you’re into super clean, all-natural formulas, this isn’t it. It’s very much a standard, functional formula built for performance and price, not for being the greenest product on your shelf.

One thing that stands out is the presence of methylparaben and propylparaben. The Amazon listing claims the pencil is paraben free, which doesn’t really match the ingredient list that’s displayed. So either the formula changed and the listing wasn’t updated, or the description is just sloppy. If you avoid parabens for personal reasons, this is something to be aware of. Personally, my lips didn’t react badly, no burning or irritation, but I don’t have very sensitive skin.

There’s also lanolin-related ingredients, which can be an issue if you’re allergic or avoid animal-derived components. This is where the “vegan” claim in the listing becomes questionable. Again, there seems to be a disconnect between the marketing blurb and the actual INCI. For someone who just wants a cheap liner that works, this won’t matter much. But if you’re strict about vegan products, I’d double-check the latest packaging or the brand’s official site before trusting the Amazon description.

In practice, the formula feels fine on the lips: no weird smell, no plasticky taste, and it didn’t dry my lips out dramatically. The waxes help it cling well and last a few hours. It’s not a skincare product; it’s makeup that stays put and does its job. So from a performance standpoint, the ingredients make sense. From a “clean beauty” or transparency point of view, it’s a bit messy and definitely not the purest option out there.

The product is very straightforward: a classic wooden lip pencil, shade name and brand printed on the side, and that’s basically it. No fancy twist-up mechanism, no built-in sharpener, no sponge, nothing. You’re getting 1.2 g of product, which is standard for this kind of pencil. The shade Cappuccino is clearly labelled, and the pencil itself is colour-coded so you can spot it quickly in a makeup bag, which is handy if you own several liners.

On paper, Rimmel sells it as an 8-hour long-wearing lip liner with a creamy, gliding texture and full coverage. It’s also marketed as vegan and cruelty free in the listing, which is a plus if you watch that kind of thing, although the ingredient list looks like a typical drugstore pencil: waxes, oils, and pigments. The brand claims it’s transfer-proof and has SPF 15, which honestly I wouldn’t rely on for proper sun protection, but it’s not a bad extra.

In real life, the product feels like a basic, everyday tool rather than a fancy piece of makeup. It doesn’t look expensive, but it doesn’t look cheap in an embarrassing way either. Just simple and functional. For the price point, that’s what I expect: a pencil I can throw in a bag, lend to a friend without crying, and not worry if it breaks or goes missing on a night out.

If you’re expecting a luxurious unboxing experience, you’ll be disappointed. If you just want a brown liner that works and doesn’t cost as much as your foundation, this is pretty much aligned with what’s advertised. No surprises, good or bad, on the presentation side – and honestly, that’s fine for something this basic.

Let’s talk about what matters: does it last and does it help with that fuller lip look they push in the description. On longevity, I’d say the 8-hour claim is optimistic but not completely made up. On me, the outline stays visible for around 4–6 hours depending on what I’m doing. If I’m just working, drinking water and coffee, it holds up really well. After a proper meal, the intensity fades, especially on the inner part of the lips, but the contour is still there enough that you don’t look weird.

Transfer-wise, it’s not 100% transfer-proof, but it clings better than a creamy lipstick. I still saw some colour on cups, but nothing crazy. The nice thing is that it fades more evenly than some cheap liners that disappear in patches. It doesn’t crumble or peel off; it just gradually softens. A quick top-up on the corners and Cupid’s bow is usually enough to freshen it up after lunch.

For the “big & plump lips” claim, there’s no actual plumping ingredient like mint or capsicum. The “plump” effect is purely visual: the brown contour plus a lighter shade or gloss in the centre gives that fuller lip illusion. In that sense, it works. The shade is dark enough to create depth, and because the pencil is precise, you can overline slightly without it looking fake, as long as you blend the edges with a lighter colour or your finger.

In day-to-day use, I found it very effective for:

• Stopping creamy lipsticks from bleeding into fine lines
• Adding definition to a basic nude lipstick
• Wearing alone with gloss for a 90s-style brown lip