When I first swatched Armani’s Smooth Silk pencil liners (single swipe, back of my hand), I had a very Alice-in-Wonderland moment: “They’re nothing but a bunch of eyeliners.”
Not that I’m not susceptible to the allure of an exclusive brand (especially Armani), but the pencils were of medium softness — definitely not the exceptional softness of MAC’s Pearlglides, Prestige’s Waterproof liners, Urban Decay’s 24/7 liners, or Sephora’s Flashy Liners. They were subtly glowy, but more subdued than Laura Mercier’s kohl pencils (and definitely more than UD’s or Sephora’s).
0 is white; 2 is dark brown; 3 is navy; 4 is black; 5 is purple; 6 is dark green; 8 is grey; 12 is darker brown. 13 is the only shade not approved for tightlining — it’s a sparkly silver shade, and the sparkles gave it a weird, chunky texture that I found hard to work with. It applied much less smoothly than the others.
Smooth Silk Eye Pencils are $26, water-resistant, and have a smudger on the back end.
I also swatched Maestro Liquid Eyeliner, a felt-tipped pen that comes only in black. I found its pigment not as black as some others I’ve swatched (click to compare to MAC’s Penultimate liner). The Maestro liner is $30.
>Thanks for the review. I like the grey one, it’s nice and soft looking but for $26! I think not!
>I’ll stick to Prestige I think but as always thanks for the swatches!
>I must admit that they are expensive but I loved your swatches and ordered the lighter brown and the blue. Thanks, you make ordering online much easier. No guessing the colors. Thanks!!!!!!!