Benefit They're Real Push -up Liner review & swatches

I've had this Benefit They're Real Push-up Liner since last summer, and the reason why it took me so long to write a review is that I can't form an opinion about it. I seem to be having a love and hate relationship with this product and each time I'm ready to send it to hell, it does wonders to my make-up and makes me use it again and again.

The concept of this liner is quite peculiar. It's a gel liner that comes in a pen form with a slanted silicone applicator which distributes the product through a narrow opening. The applicator is soft and flexible to make it possible to reach all areas, but stiff enough to allow fairly precise application. 

I was wondering whether to start with the good or the bad about the product and I thought the disadvantages unfortunately outweigh advantages, so I'll start with these.

First of all, contrary to what this claims, this liner isn't easy to apply at all. One click releases either too much or too little of product. The rubber applicator drags on my lids and I found that it's easier to apply in dabbing motion instead of drawing a line. While lining my lid the product forms little balls which crumble and fall on my cheeks. I find it's quite unreliable as far as drawing a nice and even line is concerned.

On the other hand, this liner offers the most saturated matte black line I can get. I've got a ton of other liners and nothing compares to this one. What's more, once this is on it stays put and doesn't budge all day long (except for some crumbling). 

This liner is a perfect solution when travelling when you don't have the possibility to wash your gel liner brush all the time.

I've noticed that this product glides mych better on bare lids or over cream eyeshadows, so those of us who don't use powder eyeshadows may not experience any issues with this liner. Powder eyeshadow causes friction and dryness which make this liner flake and crumble. 

I do honestly hate how unreliable this eyeliner is and how much effort it takes to make it look decent. But on the other hand I have nothing that would replace this thing in my stash.

I definitely won't repurchase, but I'll make sure to use this up before it dries out.

EDIT: After I'd written this review I used this liner again and it produced the most beautiful, smooth, skip-free and flake-free line ever. I don't know what to think, but it generally seems to get better in time.