Smashbox Soft Effects Powder Eyeliner - Review

I'm a girl who loves her brown liner. Really. I wear brown liner every. single. day. Being pale, black often looks way to harsh, and most the shadows I wear look better with brown liner. I like deep brown liners, because they provide better definition than lighter browns. I don't mine matte liners, but I tend to like some sparkle.

After spending years ignoring Smashbox, I finally gave the line a try about 2 years ago, and I'm fairly impressed with the products they offer. Now that they're part of Estee Lauder's cosmetics empire, I'll be curious to see what changes will be made to their formulas. Anyway, I've been lusting after their Soft Effects Powder Eyeliners since they debuted in Smashbox's Spring 2011 collection, and finally had the $22 to plunk down (and got a nice Let's do Lunch freebie). After some hemming, I decided on the shade named "Brown." Smashbox's description of this product is:

The prettiest eyes nowadays are defined by diffused, never-harsh lines of color. Our unique powder formula makes application easy by mimicking the effect of a soft-focus lens.

This liner comes in a long, cone-shaped package. The applicator is similar to that of Guerlain's Kohl Liners, except it's a sponge tip, not plastic. It's... uhh.. interesting. The sponge-tipped proboscis is stored in a super tiny jar of liner powder. The problem that comes with this product is this: it's fallout prone. I really struggled with applying this liner without getting liner on the tops of my cheeks, and it think it was because I found it sort of hard to shake off enough powder before taking this product to my lid. I did find, however, the length of the applicator made it easy-peasy to make a winged-out liner look.

That'd almost be a saving grace for the Soft Effects liner, except I also noted this product isn't extremely pigmented, nor is it long-lasting on my lids (after the fallout issues, I didn't feel wearing this on my lower lashline was an option. I tried it. Once. I learned very quick it wouldn't work for me). About half way through my day, this liner had faded substantially. By the end of my day, it was gone.

Overall, I really wanted to like this product. It just didn't work, and it extremely expensive for something that doesn't last all day.

Ingredients:

Boron Nitride, Silica, Dimethicone, Polyethylene, Pentylene Glycol, Pumice, Kaolin, Dimethiconol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Phenoxyethanol, Dehydroacetic Acid. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Mica (CI 77019).