While flipping through Allure’s Best of Beauty Issue, one page in particular caught my eye and held my attention. There wasn’t much happening on this page; on it, a pale, dark-haired model was looking down, so that her eyelid – and more importantly, her eyeliner – was in full view. For some reason, the sweep of liquid liner just above her lashes captured my attention. The shade was perfect – dark, but not black – and the slim, even line exuded glamour and sophistication. Though I am an admitted liquid liner flunkee, I knew I had to have it. I scanned the page for product information and discovered what she was wearing: L’Oreal Voluminous Eyeliner in Black Brown.

I’m pretty gifted when it comes to makeup application. I can wear hot pink blush without looking clownish and know how to rock bright eyeshadow without looking like a hooker. But for some reason, try as I might, I cannot get liquid liner right. I never get that seamless line between lashes and liner. Instead, I end up looking completely moronic, walking around with an obvious black dash across my eyelid. I love the look of liquid liner done right. Again, it has a timeless, glamorous appeal, sexy and sophisticated all at once.

Having become slightly obsessed with the eyeliner in the magazine, and still hopeful that I might master the art of the liquid line, I tracked down the L’Oreal liner and returned home. It wasn’t long before I ripped open the package and headed for the closest mirror, convinced that this time it would be different. Miraculously, it was.

Voluminous Eyeliner is basically an eye-marker, which instantly makes it easier to use than classic liquid liner, with its easy-to-screw-up brush. The slant-tipped applicator allows you to choose a thick or thin line, and it deposits a perfect, steady stripe of color as you move it along your lid. It goes on quite watery but quickly dries to that perfect shade I saw in the magazine. Happily, that initial watery texture allows the color to blend more easily into the lash line, giving the seamless look I’ve never before been able to master. Best yet, I’ve been able to replicate the look again and again – and it takes mere seconds to apply.

If, like me, you’ve been longing for liquid-lined lashes and have never been able to get the look quite right, L’Oreal Voluminous Eyeliner is definitely worth a try. And if you’re a veteran liquid liner guru, try it anyway. The black brown color is just lovely.