The art of lining- Shu Uemura Calligraph:ink liquid liner

So a couple of months back the Shu Uemura Calligraph:ink eyeliner made it’s way to my hands.

Although I am not someone who wears liquid liner regularly, I have had my fair share of experience with them; more often that not ending with me throwing the liner into my bin in a fit of rage (last victim was the one by Dolly wink).

I believe I speak for many when I say it’s not easy finding that one ’it’  liner.. you really do need to sample a hella lot to get that ideal mix you’re looking for.

So I was pretty pleased when I finally came across something that worked for me, and I am excited to share my findings with you!

First up, let’s start with packaging.

This liner comes in a sleek black barrel with elegant lettering of the Shu Uemura logo in silver.

I really love that the cap shuts close firmly with no danger of spilling. However I did notice a couple of ink splashes when I pull open the cap in a rush. I think it’s to do with the tip being so saturated with ink and the force I used was a bit too much.

Overall I believe the design is quite nice and does have an expensive look, which I quite like.

To make this blog post interesting, I decided to compare it to some of the most hyped up, high end liners that entered the market quite recently.

My choices were, the Marc Jacobs Magic Marc’er and the Tom Ford eye defining pen.

Let’s start with the brush tip.

Shown below are two more brush comparisons for size reference. They depict different ends of the Tom Ford brush tips (felt tip and calligraphy brush tip)

P.S- the Marc Jacobs one is a felt tip.

The Shu Uemura tip is a calligraphy style brush tip.  I love that it’s on the larger side as I prefer to use the side of the brush instead of the tip to draw my lines, this way it’s really easy getting close to the lash line, I just have to rest it along the lashes and follow the contour.

The length of the brush tip makes it more flexible and helps deliver a nice smooth line and I don’t have to keep adjusting the angle of my hand as I go along the eye line. The tip I mainly use at the inner corner and the outer corner to draw the flick.

Shown below are swatches of the three. Please note that I used the Tom Ford calligraphy brush end as it was the most relevant for comparison purposes.

Product performance

When I compare the colour and pigmentation of the Shu Uemura to the TF and Marc Jacobs, there really is no ambiguity as to which was more pigmented. The Calligraph:ink liner wins hands down. One smooth stroke delivers the blackest of black lines with a steady flow of ink throughout.

The Tom Ford was a close second as it did pack a good amount of pigmentation and had the most matte finish. I found the Shu Uemura matte, but a little less compared to the TF. For those who are after a solid matte, I say the TF is better in that sense.

The Marc Jacobs on the other hand was a disappointment compared to the other two. The pigmentation of the ink was the least impressive and I found if I layered it to intensify, the liner got chunky and was prone to emphasizing eyelid wrinkles. I also feared the liner would crack as it looked a bit thick.

Wear wise all three wore very well all day, and didn’t smudge.

 

Here’s a simple eye look with the Shu Uemura Calligraph:ink liner.

Other products i’ve used

Eyeshadow- Burberry Trench, Eyebrows- Anastasia Brow wiz and Shiseido brow powder compact, Under eye concealer- Cle de peau, Mascara- DiorShow Iconic

Final thoughts

From the three, my picks would be the TF and the Shu (Shu Uemura being my favourite if I had to choose).

I find the fact it’s refillable makes it very cost effective. And of course it’s the cheaper of the two.

Other Info-

It also should be noted that the Shu Uemura and the Marc Jacobs are waterproof; however though the TF is not marketed as waterproof this too is pretty similar to the other two. No budging when in contact with water.

Shu Uemura Calligraph:ink liner could be purchased in SG island wide at Shu Uemura counters for SGD 58 (refill cartridge is SGD 29).

*Mine was a sample sent for review by the company.

Worldwide, you can purchase this from the Shu Uemura website.

My Tom Ford liner was purchased from Neiman Marcus for USD 55.

Marc Jacobs from Sephora for USD 30.