Cover Girl LineExact liquid liner

I think Amy Winehouse has done more for the eyeliner than anyone else in the twenty-first century:

How I choose to remember her. Sigh.

I've frequently wondered about the brand and type of eyeliner this talented young chanteuse uses to create her iconic look. I believe it's created using liquid or gel liner, but definitely not kohl, but given how she's such a mess right now, I wouldn't be surprised if they were drawn on with a permanent marker. I don't see how she can get up every morning (or evening...) and draw those exaggerated but symmetrical wings on with a steady hand.

There is only one Amy Winehouse, however, so while I love and applaud her for standing out in a sea of bottle blond mermaid artistes, there are ways of wearing cat's eye-liner there are just as dramatic but less Bride of Frankenstein-y such as Pat McGrath's version for Louis Vuitton's Fall 2007 collection. The look was created with a liquid liner McGrath had developed for Cover Girl called LineExact, which actually resembles a felt-tip pen:

Sharpie, or eyeliner?

Maybe both.

As one would expect of a pen liner, the LineExact is simple to use - the ink is evenly distributed (remember to shake it first) which makes drawing a continuous line easier than usual, and the fine tip allows you to control the thickness of the line with greater precision. Mistakes are easily erased with a dampened Q-tip as the liner is not waterproof. If you like to blend and smudge your eyeliner, LineExact is not the liner for you as the smudgeproof formula dries within seconds of application.

My complaint is that the liner "feathers" a little upon application, although I have been unable to determine whether that is due to the formula or the texture of my eyelids. A single tube doesn't last for long either - I purchased mine last December and used it very sparingly, but when I tried it on the back of my hand this morning, it had dried out. Otherwise, this is an ideal product for a liquid liner novice to practise winging out her eyeliner and a safe, non-irritating option for drawing whiskers or zebra stripes on faces.

Cover Girl LineExact Liquid Liner comes in four shades - very black, smoke, brown and brown black - and retails for about US$6.50 in drug stores.