Shu Uemura’s Calligraph:Ink eyeliner is modeled after calligraphy brushes, but does that actually translate to a better line on your face?
The other week I found myself in Paris with tickets to see Dita Von Teese perform at the Crazy Horse, but with no liquid eyeliner to my name. My trusty old Lancome Artliner had been stolen with my makeup bag when someone snatched my suitcase off the train last year, and I planned to replace it but had not gotten around to it. I figured I’d get a new one as soon as I passed a Sephora, but then I passed the Shu Uemura store on the Boulevard Saint-Germain, and the whole place was set up to promote their fancy Calligraph: Ink liquid eyeliner.
Passing Shu Uemura was not exactly a fortuitous accident. I always stop by to ogle the false eyelashes. But this time, the whole place was covered in little black line drawings ostensibly designed to show off the calligraphic precision of the eyeliner, and I needed eyeliner anyway, so I decided to branch out and try it.
According to the Shu Uemura website, the Calligraph: Ink liner is inspired by calligraphy brushes and designed to give precise control so you can create a super-narrow .05 mm line to a nice bold 2 mm line. It does offer a nice, wet brush tip that gives a lot of control over the line. Of course, a lot depends on the steadiness of your own hand. I’m sure a calligrapher could get a prettier line than I could. I don’t have the most even hand, but I drew all over myself anyway just to test it out.
It does offer a nice variety of line thicknesses, and the ink itself is dark and shiny. It’s also supposed to be waterproof and sweat-proof.
Here’s what it looks like:
I dig it. I don’t have the world’s steadiest hands in general, but the ink goes on pretty smoothly, and it dries quickly, which is always a plus. The longer it takes to dry, the more likely I am to blink the wrong way and smudge the liner all over my face.
I think this one might be my new favorite. It gives a nice degree of control, which I find very useful because for an everyday look, I like to wear a little flick of eyeliner halfway across my lashes, as pictured above. This one goes on nice and smooth, and it has such a fine tip that I’m usually able to apply it evenly, so I don’t mess it up and have to wear a giant cat-eye every day just because I lost control of my eyeliner.