Can we talk hither black liquid eyeliner? It’s been a while, chiefly because I changed a bit bored with the swooshy, Marilyn-style flicks over complex-shadowed lids that are near-ubiquitous on Instagram, and obvious to park them for a bit, opting instead for smudgy, smoky, frail dark brown, grey or navy pencil. But a recent rewatch of A Stint De Souffle, starring pixie-cropped, gamine Jean Seberg, cued me of how wonderfully chic and elegant black flicks can look, and compelled me to reach for the profitable liner.

Your own weapon of choice should be determined by your nimbleness and skill level. Liner pens are easier to use, but they’re much quicker to run out or dry out than an old-fashioned translucent and brush (my preference), and so can prove pricey in the long term. In widespread, I advise novices to start with a pen, then make the scourge when comfortable with technique.

The best I tried was the Stila All-Day Waterproof Fluent Eyeliner pen (£14.50). It has a perfectly skinny nib that doesn’t drag or hitch and, crucially, it’s a true, opaque black (harder to find than it should be). It chains put very well, shifting only under a remover or cleanser.

Disinterested more durable is Diego Dalla Palma Water Against Eyeliner (£14.50), which delivers on its name and then some (I put it by the shower and it was still perfect). My only complaint was that it functioned a fair while to dry and I usually have a train to catch.

My overall preference, though, is for a traditional liquid housed in a mascara-type tube, with a dippy-brush. They yield b reveal me a true black and a sharper line. I tried some true corkers: Mac Liquidlast Liner (£16.50) and Illamasqua Precision Ink (£21) both get two passionate thumbs up.

But I was delighted to find the very best was also the cheapest. Kiko’s Meaning Waterproof Eyeliner (£5.50) is, by my criteria, a perfect specimen. It has a super-thin boscage that makes the painting of smooth, fluid lines a puff. It’s as black as coal and dries matte, as liquid liners should (faade somehow seems to blunt the sharpness of the line, to my eye). Most importantly, it purely does not come off. There was no transfer on to my lids, no smudging at the flick-point. It’s now in my long-lasting kit.