Tom Ford Beauty Eye Defining Pencil in Espresso 01

I'm kind of sick of writing about Tom Ford all the time.  I mean, it looks like that's all I have in my collection and that I don't like variety.  I think my beauty tendency is to focus on specific small number of brands, go insane, buy way too much and then walk away in disgust.  Yes, many other brands have fallen upon this fate and I will not name names.  I think I'm still in the massive buying part of that cycle.  I'm going to have one expensive dent in my wallet when I get tired of this, but I had to put this one in the blog.  I had to.  If I'm wearing something almost every single day, I had to admit that it was special enough to show here.

I've had many attempts at defined eyeliners and had numerous attempts at the cat eye.  I told you about my wonky eyes and it makes it really hard to make a crisp eye lined look work, especially cat eyes or anything with a flick.  I've modified my approach, which is to have a smudged out dark line close to the lashes.

I picked up the eye liner at the Tom Ford counter.  They have a sparkly brown one as well, but I wanted a go-to basic and this really has turned out to be that basic that I go to all the time.  Let's talk texture and its lasting powers first, because I am duly impressed with it.  It makes a super clean line and the texture of it is soft without smearing all over the place when you place that line.

With a blunt tip; I imagine you would surmise a well-sharpened tip would leave a finer line

What makes it work well for me is that it is soft enough to smudge into as smudgy or a defined a line as I like.  And then it sets!  It's not indestructibly immobile.  Eventually it will give into vigorous rubbing and soap and water, but it sets very well and during my regular workday, it will last.  It lasts without smearing where I don't want it to migrate.

It also makes an excellent deep base upon which to layer other eyeshadows.  This is typically the base that I use along my lashes when I'm doing a smokier look.  I've also worn this on my waterline, and it lasts as well on me as the best of them do, which is to say, a few hours with strong intensity and then gradually fading into something softer.  At the end of a long work day, it was still visible on my lower waterline.  Of course, as with waterline use, your milegage most definitely will vary.

Color-wise, it's an excellent dark creamy matte brown, well balanced enough for me to consider slightly warm in tone with out competing too much with a cooler look.  I really like this one.

Do you have an eye liner or a basic item that makes it into your every day makeup routine?  Are there things you were so surprised to find yourself loving?