Too Faced Is Launching a Better Than Sex Eyeliner, and Jerrod Blandino Gave Us All the Details

Karina Hoshikawa

"It took years, and hundreds of different versions, but when we got that hourglass-shaped brush and that one formula, I screamed, 'Oh shit, it’s better than sex!'" Jerrod Blandino, co-founder and chief creative officer of Too Faced, tells me over the phone about the origins of Too Faced's now-iconic Better Than Sex Mascara. Blandino and his team may not have known it at the time (how does one ever anticipate making mascara history?) but six years later, the iconic frosted pink tube continues to top virtually every bestseller list in its category, with one allegedly being sold every seven seconds. And now, as you may have already gleaned from the title of this story, the brand is up to its same tricks with what is sure to be the most salaciously-named liquid eyeliner yet: the Better Than Sex Easy Glide Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner.

"The Better Than Sex Liner was not something we set out to create," Blandino tells Allure, in an exclusive interview. "It was not, 'How do we expand upon Better Than Sex?'. [Instead], we said, 'How do we create the holy-grail eyeliner?'" Over three years and "dozens and dozens" of formulations later, they achieved a winning combo of formula and delivery system that made Blandino exclaim that it was — you guessed it — truly, better than sex.

"The number one thing I wanted to create was the easiest eyeliner to apply that would make every single user look like a total pro," Blandino says. "Too Faced takes the guesswork out of makeup to make you look and feel your best so you walk out of the house thinking, 'I did this. I look amazing.'"

<cite class="credit">Too Faced</cite>
Too Faced

Sure enough, the Better Than Sex liner makes it pretty damn easy to create anything from a barely perceptible feline flick to a dramatic cat-eye to rival one Ariana Grande in a matter of strokes. The formula is an inky black created with a blend of polymers and pigment that sets in seconds and dries to a waterproof finish, and the micro-tip is flexible enough to allow for ultimate control while providing skip-free application. And if the glide of the tip reminds you of playing with fancy calligraphy markers...well, you wouldn't be totally off base. Blandino's pursuit of the perfect eyeliner ended up taking the team to art pen manufacturers in Japan, where the end result featured a mix of firm and flexible bristles unlike anything seen before. "It literally is tomorrow's eyeliner available today," he explains. "They were amazing at reinventing what an eyeliner could be; the weight, the load, the way the product is filled within the component. It’s all of these mechanics."

"Better Than Sex" might be printed on the tube, but if Blandino makes one thing clear over the course of our conversation, it's this: This liner isn't anything but a beauty fling; one's affinity for a glitter eye shadow or mirror-like, glossy lip might be ephemeral, but the perfect mascara and eyeliner likely are not. (The staples are "a power couple," as Blandino refers to the dynamic duo.) At the end of the day, perhaps Blandino described the process — nay, journey — best: "You can hope to create your dream, but you can’t plan on changing the world and creating a phenomenon."

Too Faced's Better Than Sex Easy Glide Liquid Eyeliner will retail for $21 and launches March 17 at Toofaced.com, Sephora, and Ulta.

With additional reporting by Jessica Chia

More things that are arguably better than sex:

And here's one way to take it all off at the end of the day, no matter how much better your eye makeup is than sex:

See the video.