Following a brief love affair with liquid liner, I realized that my heart belongs to pencil liners.  They’re a bit easier to apply and re-apply and less messy.  They also don’t dry out like liquid liners do.

I tried the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner, and while I liked the color a lot and the coverage and staying power were top-notch, I couldn’t get the pencil to stay sharp, which made precise application impossible.  But given that I hadn’t found anything better, I kept using it.

Until this week.

Sumita Color Contrast Liners (set of 4 mini-liners, $21)

Given my fruitless search for a new pencil eyeliner, I was glad when Birchbox asked me to try their new Sumita liners.  But when I actually tried to use the pencils, my attitude went from glad, to thrilled.

First off, the color and coverage of these liners is really good.  The pigments are bold, and the coverage is buildable.  Unsurprisingly, my favorite color is the dark purple, but I also tried out the blue hue and was surprised at how much I liked it.  (The kit comes with black, purple, blue and grey.)

Secondly, the ease with which these liners are applied cannot be overstated.  They glide onto the skin with no pulling and little pressure, so your delicate lids don’t feel abused.  And the tip gives you a medium-fine line that you can thicken or pull into a thinner line for perfect “winged” liner.

Additionally, one of my biggest problems with the Bobbi liner was that it was difficult to smudge or blend.  The Sumita liners are easily smudged but also long-wearing, I have no idea how they pulled this off.

As for removal, it did take a little more work to cleanly remove these liners.  Typically, I can take off the Bobbi liner with a sweep of my Say Yes to Blueberries wipes, but for the Sumita liners, I needed a true eye-makeup removing solvent.

I couldn’t be happier with the Sumita liners.  The colors are great, and I can’t get over how the product glides on like velvet.    Plus, the price point on these liners is a lot more palatable than other brands I’ve used.  I think I’m officially converted.

Birchbox sent me a set of Sumita liners to try.  This review reflects my true opinion of the product, and no limitations were placed upon my review. 

Now, we all know that I love my Clarisonic.  I love it so much that I own two: one for home and one for travel.  The acne cleansing wash and the acne brush keep my breakouts under control.  And the body brush keeps the acne from forming on my chest, esp. during the six weeks every year that I decide working out is a good idea (see below for how to save 20% on Clarisonic products).

I know some of you are skeptical about spending a sizeable amount of money on a single beauty tool, but once you have one, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.  Of all the women that I have convinced (berated?) to buy one, only one was just “meh” about it.

The Clarisonic Opal Infusion System ($185)

Because I feel so passionately about the Clarisonic, I was super excited when my blog-pal Meghan Donovan, who reps the company, offered up a free Opal for me to try.  Maybe excited is not the word.  Ecstatic?  Over-the-moon?  Thrilled beyond measure?

The Clarisonic Opal uses the same sonic technology that powers your cleansing brush to apply eye serum.  The oscillating action infuses the serum into the skin better than manual application because the tip “kneads” the product into your epidermis, moving at 7,500 times per minute.  That motion ensures that the serum penetrates deeply and targets the eye area without being spread around, the way your finger would.  (This video explains it better than I do.)

I was a bit skeptical that this product would do what the package claimed.  Not because I don’t trust Clarisonic, but because the skin around my eyes is still in pretty good shape.  (I have wrinkles on my forehead and grey hair, but have been blissfully spared the angst of crow’s feet.  So far.)  How much could the product help someone who doesn’t need much help?

Following the directions on the packet, I filled the infusion tip with a bit of serum and worked the oscillating tip across the area under my eye.  It was surprisingly soothing; it felt a bit like a mini-eye massage.

When the time was up, I massaged in the last of the serum, and compared my right eye (the one I had I Opal’ed) to my left.  Imagine my shock when the skin on the right eye looked noticeable smoother and firmer, not to mention brighter.  At first, I thought that I was hallucinating.  (Maybe this was the Clarisonic version of the placebo effect?) But after several weeks of use, I can honestly say that the skin around my eyes is brighter and firmer than it was before.

There was only one minor drawback.  While I like the serum, it caused my acne-prone skin to breakout a bit, so I simply started using my Kate Sommerville Cytocell instead and it works flawlessly.

I try to be diligent about only recommended beauty products that I am impressed by, esp. when they are an investment piece like the Opal.  But this device has helped firm the skin around my eyes, when I didn’t even know it needed firming.  It’s also reduced puffiness, and brightened my eye area.  So if you’re struggling with crow’s feet, or you just want to start taking better care of the delicate skin around your eye, I would definitely buy an Opal.

P.S. If you want to try an Opal or a Clarisonic for less, I suggest buying them at Skinstore.  You save 20% on the Opal ($148 instead of $185), the Mia ($95 instead of $118) and all Clarisonic brush head refills and soaps.  It’s a great deal.  I always buy the four pack of brush heads ($60 instead of $75) to save a little bit extra.

As mentioned above, I received this Opal for free from the company.  They placed no restrictions on what I could write about or what content the post needed to contain.  I just honestly loved the product and was so grateful they let me try one out for free.