No hate on Dry January, but why does the New Year have to be all about self-deprivation? After months of spending our time, energy, and money on everyone else, we're ready to treat ourselves. Welcome to our series To Me, From Me.
I've always been a sucker for eyeliner. When I first started wearing makeup, I didn't get the memo on any other eye products. Mascara? Can't tell a difference. Eyelash curler? Torture device designed for ants. Eyeshadow? Too complicated.
I got everything I wanted out of eyeliner, like easy definition, a little drama, and a whole lot of look. By high school, my signature makeup was a 10-minute application of the following: emerald-green liquid liner from the inner corners to the center, blue liquid liner from the center to a slight wing, and a healthy sweep of silver glitter liner over both. It looked great with my Catholic school uniform. (In my defense, this was 2004, the same year Britney Spears released "Toxic"—so, really, I'm just a product of my environment.)
Now, as an adult, I know better. So while I'll still mess with a cobalt wing, my daily go-to is black liquid liner—specifically, Tom Ford's Eye Defining Pen. If I ever have to testify for anything, they'd have to swear me in to the proceedings with my right hand on this thing. It's a dual-ended liquid liner; one end has a shorter, finer stroke, like a calligraphy pen, while the other is a longer brush. I use both ends indiscriminately (whichever cap I happen to pop off first), and the result is always good.
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First, it deposits so much ink that there's never any skipping or uneven spots that force you to double up on applications. And the pigment itself dries down to this rich, satiny black that looks luxurious and won't budge, even if your eyelids are oily (a real thing, folks). The color is so impactful that with a single sweep, you don't need any other eye makeup. To be fair: It is high-maintenance, since it's so pigmented that you have to wait a few seconds for it to dry before blinking. But hey, so am I.
What I used to achieve in three separate liners, I can now get in one. It makes all the difference between looking like I just woke up and looking like I've been awake for hours and, in that time, have gone for a run, showered, and enjoyed a breakfast date with my husband, Dev Patel. It makes me look and feel…ready. For the day. For anything.
And the best part? That $58 isn't going to waste, because this won't dry out for years. (Years!) I've been using the same pen since 2014, and only now is the ink starting to look half-hearted. And when I can't get any more out of it? No sweat: I'll put all the money I'm not spending on other makeup toward it. For me, it's a worthy tradeoff.
Tom Ford Eye Defining Pen, $58, Nordstrom.com
