An old friend of mine suggested I try out a felt tip liner to get my “cat eyes” look. With the promise of single stroke perfection and the precision of a felt tip pen, I was immediately interested. Sephora brand offers them for only $12.

Sephora.com describes their liner as a “long-lasting eyeliner with a precise felt tip to define the eyes in one stroke.” It boasts that it “contains deep pigments and a saturated felt tip so you can achieve perfect application on the first try.” Unfortunately, that was not the case with me.

I noticed a few things about it after a week of use:

- It is difficult to get the same consistency on a single stroke. Generally, the starting point of the stroke is the darkest, while the ends are much lighter. 

- The felt tip makes it a little more difficult to make smaller strokes.

- Maybe I was never that good with a pen

I’m such a huge fan of gel eyeliner that it is really difficult for me to get into anything else. This is no exception. The felt tip was difficult to get a consistent look, even when I stored it with the tip facing down. It seemed like I grabbed an expired or previously used pen.

Additionally, I like applying by doing a long line above my lid, and a separate small stroke for cat eyes. This small stroke was almost impossible to create since when it met the main line, it was obvious. Additionally, the liner was really bad at making small strokes, and I had to constantly re-layer the same stroke until there was a noticeable line.

Perhaps this is just not the right brand to try this kind of pen liner. I’ve heard that Mac and Stila have great felt tip pens, so when my wounds are recovered from making this bad purchase, maybe I’ll try those.

For now, I’m sticking with my gel liner!

We Heart Beauty’s Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

PS — What about YOU? Have you tried felt tip liner? Any brands you would recommend?

Shopping Information: Sephora Collection’s Doe Eyed Felt Eyeliner, $12 at Sephora.com or in stores