What makes this mission difficult is the fact that I have a couple of issues working against me. First and foremost, I have hooded lids which make it extremely difficult to create the same look as others even when I use the same technique. Because my eyelid droops, the longevity of my liner is at stake as the skin constantly rubs against it. Plus the fact that my eyelids tend to get oily only makes my situation even more dire.
If that weren't bad enough, I also have naturally dark lids which lessen the intensity of the color. No matter how black the liner is, it still doesn't appear as bold on me as it would on others. Determined that I would find my answer I sought out and purchased 3 products. The first was from L'Oreal Paris (Lineur Intense). It was good, but not good enough. Then I visited my MAC store and pick up their liquid liner. Again, I liked it but I had this nagging feeling, deep down, that something even better awaited me.
Finally, I walked into Sephora and asked some of the ladies for some help. "I need high intensity and long lasting" I said, looking directly into the woman's eyes. Immediately she nodded then quickly made her way through the shoppers as she went to fulfill my request. Moments later, she returned with a small black/white box in hand. "This is from the new Marc Jacobs collection" she stated. "It's the first ever gel pencil liner. It's waterproof and the color payoff is insane!"
She took out the pencil and drew a line on my hand. I liked the creamy texture and the boldness of the black color. The best part came when I tried wipe it off with my finger. It wouldn't budge. As a matter of fact, the swatch stayed in place until I walked to the bathroom later and proceeded to scrub my hand using soap, water and elbow grease. After I got home, I drew three little black lines on my hand using each of the three liners and tried rubbing them off with my fingertips. The L'Oreal Instense came off so easily, it wasn't even funny. The MAC liner stayed on but was smudged to the point where the line was distorted. My beloved Marc Jacobs Highliner gel-pencil stood firm.
This gel-pencil twists to expose more product. Unlike other pencils with the twisty motion, it goes both ways. Meaning I can twist counter clockwise to retract the pencil tip if necessary. Plus it also comes with this nifty little sharpener I can use to create a sharper point. If I had to give this gel-pencil a "con" it would have to do with the size of the tip. I really wish I could get as fine as a point as I do with my liquid liners. But honestly, I'm not trippin' because this liner is so good that I'm just grateful to have it. I later found out that Marc does have a liquid version in Blaquer which I will be picking up on my next trip to Sephora.
The first day after my purchase I experimented with my winged liner look and was so pleased with the results. I stopped by the post office to ask a question and my mail carrier was like, "wow, you look different, I like it!" I told him that I was experimenting with my makeup and thanked him for the compliment. I've been having lots of fun experimenting ever since.
This liner is a bit pricey but I fully align with the saying that you get what you pay for. To me this liner is definitely worth it's weight in gold and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to step their game up. It seems like I'm not the only one loving this gel-pencil. You can check out other reviews here.
