Smashbox Heartbreaker Liquid Liner Pen

Liquid liners in a felt pen format have been among my favorite makeup items for over 20 years. I have them in many colors and have found that while some can be quite useless (Nars Stylo), most brands that offer them have done an excellent job both in design and in formula, from the classic Lancome Artliner to my current holy grail Le Metier de Beaute.

Smashbox is now offering a liquid liner pen as part of their just launched Heartbreaker range (Spring 2010). At the moment it only comes in black and Sephora has labeled it as a limited edition (why?), but I hope to see other colors, because this pen is absolutely great. The eyeliner's tip glides smoothly and effortlessly, no pressure is needed. It produces a very exact fine line even for someone like me, whose hand isn't very stable. The line can be winged or thickened, it dries quickly and doesn't smudge and has a rich, glossy finish.

While Smasbox liner pen isn't quite as long lasting as the Bobbi Brown gel that stays on forever, it still keeps in place in good form for 10-12 hours easily. I've found that the quality of the primer I use really matters in this case (more in my next post later today). Urban Decay Primer Potion extends the eyeliner's life from morning to night with very little fading.

Smashbox Heartbreaker Liquid Liner Pen ($24) is available from Sephora, Nordsrom and the company's website. I ordered it from QVC at the pre-launch.

Photos by me.