Product Reviews: Benefit Magic Ink

I consider myself a smart girl. I went to college (you can imagine me saying that a la Plankton from Spongebob), I read, I like correcting other people's grammar on Facebook. But. I can be swayed by any kind of above average marketing. Got a product that you think is awesome? Talk to me about it in an excited tone, and get out your wallet. I'll pony up. I'll stand there all bright eyed and accept everything you are saying. Even if I know better. Yup. Couple this with very poor impulse control, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Another thing that I just fall for hook line and sinker is cute packaging. I would buy a three decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich (with arsenic sauce) if it were packaged in a becoming way. Not kidding. Perhaps that is why I am mildly obsessed with Benefit Cosmetics.

Well, I take that back. I came to them because I liked the cheeky packaging. I stayed for dinner because they are actually good. When I lived in CA, I went to their Berkeley store to get my eyebrows done and to purchase goodies fairly regularly. The first time I went in, I had just moved, and I was a 22 year old CA newcomer, fresh out of college. The girl behind the counter took pity on me (she should have--I was a mess) and told me that every bit of make-up I had on was just wrong. Then she redid my face. This, my friends, was a turning point for me. My self-confidence went up about 800,000 points. I will never forget that day. So even though Benefit constantly charms me with their packaging, I can safely say that they back it all up with amazing products and awesome people staffing their stores/counters.

The bad news about all this is that I now live in the Middle of Nowhere. The closest Benefit counter is an hour and a half away. Therefore, as with the case of most of my prestige make-up collection, Benefit has been replaced by things I can just pick up wherever. I know, I know...Sephora order. And I do that for things that are a sure thing. But there is something about picking up make-up when you are seduced by a color, a package, a promise. That is why I prefer doing it in person. Just a personal preference.

However, I got the Ulta mailer last month and saw that Benefit had some new liquid eyeliner out. I immediately thought, "That looks like something that I would have bought back in CA." And then I thought, "And why not buy it here?" No, I haven't been doing my make-up as much as I did before--experimenting with new things, breaking out the smoky eye on the regular. But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't start. I ordered it. And I got a free lipgloss for ordering it through Ulta. Free stuff = awesome stuff.

Benefit Magic Ink is a liquid liner. A stay proof one. This should absolutely scare the pants off of me. But, for some reason, liquid liner to me is very easy. I have a much harder time with an eyeliner pencil. In fact, I think I have just two eyeliner pencils in my whole collection (one from Bourjois and one from Avon), and they don't see the light of day that much. I have used other liquid liners in the past (Maybelline and L'Oreal), and never had that much of an issue. In relation, Magic Ink reminds me of the Maybelline formula. It is the same kind of brush applicator (not the felt pen kind) and goes on just as smoothly. The thing about Magic Ink though, is that it lasts. Forever. It doesn't flake, it doesn't budge. It is just ON. I wore it to a concert and it was still on when I returned home at 4 am the next morning. Plus, the black stays true. It is just as black when you take it off as it when you put it on.

Here's a secret: I am thinking of trying it and doing winged eyeliner. Has anyone else done this? How crazy would that be? I am thinking winged eyeliner, light pink lipstick, black turtleneck and this skirt. Maybe a messy updo on top. Who is with me?