The Great Eyeliner Hunt II- On the High-End

Eyeliner is without a doubt my "desert island" product. It's the one thing that I can't do without and must have one in every possible color and texture. I don't think that I'm alone in that obsession. Just ask Cleopatra. Or Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes.




In previous posts I've mentioned some of my most frequently used liners. This is a good opportunity to give them center stage.

Sue Devitt's thick pencil in Gold Reef-I usually prefer thin pencils, as they are better as "liners", and I don't like thick, dark lines over my eye. But this color is magical- it does give contour and definition to the lash line, but it's light enough to not look like something out of Courtney Love's makeup drawer. It's a perfect bronze that works well as a shadow as well as a liner, which is why I love it as part of my "no effort" look.

The pencil glides easily over the lid. It's soft enough and doesn't pull the skin, precise despite the thickness and doesn't smudge or bleed. It stays in place for long hours, fades a little by the end of the day (especially if I don't use shadow to keep it in place) but doesn't migrate. It has an eye shadow applicator sponge on its other end that works well for smudging and blending, which I especially like for its narrow tip. It's a great liner and I keep promising myself to get it in some other colors. It didn't work well with the sharpener I had (a cheap one from target), so I had to purchase the Sue Devitt sharpener from Sephora. It was well worth it, because it sharpens well all my other lip and eye pencils.




Another liner in my collection is Chanel Precision Eye Definer (Le Crayon Yeux)in Blue Jean. This color appeared a couple of years ago together with a beautiful eye shadow compact that was also called Blue Jean and contained four different shades of blue. It was the perfect example of how blue eye shadow can be beautiful, flattering and not make you feel like it's 1980 all over again.

The liner is a very dark navy with a slight hint of metallic (that I find unnecessary). It's not very blue and can be easily worn for daytime. It's almost a "light black", so it doesn't scream "I'm wearing blue eye makeup". The color stays put all day, doesn't bleed or smudge, even when I accidentally rub my eyes.

Its two drawbacks are the slanted sponge applicator that isn't very effective (it's of the smooth, rubbery variety. Not the porous one that I think works better for blending and smudging), and the texture of the pencil itself. I'd expect a high-end product to feel better on my skin- it's too hard and unyielding, resulting in some skin pulling when applying it. My personal preference is for creamy pencils, even if it means less staying power. I use it because I like the color, but when it's time, I'll be looking for a navy pencil from another line.