To call today’s weather in NYC merely “rain” would be an understatement—it’s a sideways-blowing monsoon that assaults your eyes worse than a Heidi Montag music video. Realizing as I got ready this morning that I’d have to put on my dreaded rubber rain boots (I don’t care if they’re made by Lanvin, all rain boots are goofy-looking) and that a good hair day was clearly out of the question, I instead focused on pumping up my makeup. I know what you’re thinking—what’s the point in trying to look good when it’s pouring, but a girl’s gotta do something to feel pulled together on a day like this!

To combat the foul weather, I set aside my usual daytime black eye pencil and broke out my waterproof Maybelline New York Eye Studio Gel Eyeliner. Back when I first received a sample of this product, I was wary of trying it. I’d test driven other gel liners before and always found them to be merely so-so—a lot of them are dry and too thick, so the line never comes out even. But being a diligent beauty editor, I finally caved and gave the Maybelline one a whirl, and bam—all it took was one swipe for me to be hooked. The formula licks all the problems I’d experienced with other gel liners: It’s super creamy so it glides on easily, and you only need two layers to create a smooth, solid line (we’re talking not a trace of gaps). The black shade is intensely dark, and you can make a line that’s either perfectly crisp or—because the texture is so soft—smudged for a smoky look. Best of all, once the color dries (which only takes a minute or so), it truly doesn’t budge all day—not even after being pelted by a monsoon.

My only quip: The brush that comes with it is a little too stiff, but I found that the Shu Uemura Synthetic Brush 5F works like a charm with the formula.