Youngblood Eye-Mazing Liquid Liner Pen (Marrón & Noir)

One of the things that makes a really great eyeliner pen is consistency. I expect my liner to perform the same way from one day to another until it dries up. I get cranky when it doesn't. You might remember that a few weeks ago I complained that the brand new Eye-Mazing Liquid Liner Pens I was sent by Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics have dried up after four or five uses. Well, apparently they haven't, but the flow of product in both pens became uneven and less predictable. The key to a good application has become using just the lightest pressure, no less and certainly not more, or the pen would just stop releasing color.

It's a bit of a fuss. Too much fuss, perhaps. But I keep reaching for both Marrón and Noir because I absolutely love the felt tip of these pens. It's perfect for both a thin line across the lashes (as well as tightlining), as well as turning slightly to the side and drawing a thicker more graphic shape, as you can see in the swatch of Marrón. When getting the pressure just right, the line is nice and even. The problem can be if you feel a need to go over what you've drawn. Since the product sets immediately, the very stiff nib rubs it off and almost removes the previous line. It can get annoying rather quickly.

The colors themselves are great. Both Marrón and Noir have a nice matte finish. Noir is adequately black and rtains its intensity throughout the day. Marrón is the perfect dark chocolate brown, not too warm. When applied in a very thin line along the lashes it looks almost black, especially when the pen is brand new. The true color is more evident on subsequent uses. I like Marron a lot, especially when going for a slightly softer look.

As I mentioned above, longevity is excellent, and the line once set doesn't move or flake. The pen design is good, except for the dispensing mechanism, and that can mar the entire experience. I have since figured out how to deal with it and have been using both pen successfully for weeks, but I was very close to giving up and binning them at one point.

Bottom Line: a nice product in need of some reworking.

Youngblood Eye-Mazing Liquid Liner Pen ($26 each, made in USA) is available from select salons and ybskin.com. The products for this review were sent for my consideration free of charge.