Courtesy of Ellise Verheyen
I first picked up Kat Von D Beauty’s Tattoo Liner as a high school student in 2011, and I’ve been searching high and low for a liner that could beat it ever since. I never found one — until now.
There was a single contender I flat-out refused to try for my wallet’s sake, but I finally sucked it up and bought it. Luckily for me, it paid off.
This $54 eyeliner is only available online, and it’s the most expensive liner Sephora sells.
“Nicola, why were you so thirsty for this eyeliner to begin with?” I can hear you asking.
Tom Ford’s Eye Defining Pen has been upheld as the be-all and end-all of eyeliners in the beauty world for a long time. This sucker gets endless rave reviews — so many, in fact, that people have gone out of their way just to prove it’s not all its cracked up to be.
There was only one way to find out.
I’ve never had to make a fuss of ordering Tattoo Liner when mine runs dry — I just pop into the Sephora down the street from my office and it’s always there, in plentiful stock, waiting just for me.
In my seven years of wearing it, I’ve noticed that on days I’m not wearing concealer underneath it, or haven’t sealed it with setting spray, Kat Von D will transfer noticeably onto my upper eyelids. If my skin is having a dry day, it can bleed slightly, too.
That means twice as much eyeliner! No wonder this guy is so heavy.
This one has a similar feel to a fine-point Sharpie marker.
This shit glides like Tonya Harding before the triple axle. Like a Ferrari on an Italian mountainside. Like Queen Clarisse Renaldi of Genovia mattress surfing in the iconic film “The Princess Diaries 2.”
You get my point. This stuff is nice.
Kat Von D included. No matter what other products I put on my face, the Eye Defining Pen stays put until I say otherwise. One day, this stuff lasted through five hours in the office, a press event, AND multiple walks in the misty New York City rain.
You will not find an eyeliner with an applicator like Tom Ford’s ANYWHERE else. And if you’re a perfectionist like I am, it’ll be your Kryptonite. A brush tip that small allows for tweaks and touchups on a near microscopic level. I can never go back to how it was before.
Not only that, but it’s also ideal for drawing cute dots, stars, hearts — whatever your creative little heart desires. That’s encouraged me to step outside of the box with my eyeliner, because it’s never been so easy.
This is Revlon’s ColorStay Skinny Liquid Liner in Black Out, which I discovered in a random drugstore during a studio eyeliner emergency.
Kat Von D’s is a clear step up — it’s not as deep a black, but it’s incredibly easy to apply cleanly and has a generally good wear time. Its dryness, however, makes it both susceptible to bleeding AND difficult to remove.
Tom Ford’s is certainly deeper than Kat Von D’s, and it’s even easier to apply because it meets that perfect half-way point between too wet and too dry. It’s hard to rub off once dry but comes off at the first touch of a makeup wipe.
Easy: I’m paying for MORE eyeliner. Tom Ford’s eyeliner has exactly .8mL of product, whereas Kat Von D’s only has .55. I might be spending $62 every five months or so, but that’s not much worse than spending $20 every two months.
Besides, killer eyeliner is a staple of not just my beauty look, but my personal brand. It’s my thing. I’ll bite the bullet and pay the cost to elevate my game even more.
That being said, Tom Ford, I think I love you. Let’s move in together.
