What the New Marc Jacobs Beauty Relaunch Is All About
The new Marc Jacobs Beauty relaunch is a designer makeup collection that reimagines the brand’s cult-favorite Highliner and core color products with fresh formulas, playful packaging, and a modern focus on expressive eyes, lips, and cheeks. Rather than a nostalgic reissue, Coty positions this as a separate line from the 2010s original, with every texture and component rebuilt from the ground up. Yet long-time fans will recognize the brand’s love of graphic eyes and cheeky shade names, now filtered through softer, more whimsical packaging that nods to Daisy and the moodier spirit of Heaven by Marc Jacobs. This first drop centers on the new Drawn This Way Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner-style eyeliner, Flashes mascara, Born Star eyeshadow singles, Joystick blush sticks, Legally Bronze bronzers, Money Shot highlighter gel, and Heart On lipsticks, all designed to make color feel playful instead of precious.
Highliner vs. Highliner: A Designer Eyeliner Comparison
For anyone searching for a Marc Jacobs eyeliner review, the biggest question is how the new Drawn This Way compares to the original Highliner. The old gel pencil gained a loyal following for its glide, punchy pigment, and budge-proof wear; some editors even kept expired stubs as souvenirs. The relaunched Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner successor keeps the same spirit but with a cleaner slate. According to Allure, the brand insists, “This is not a reissue of the original line; everything has been reimagined: the formulas, the textures, the performance.” Drawn This Way is a waterproof gel eyeliner available in 21 shades and four finishes, including matte, metallic, and "magical" glitter or duochrome options, making it a serious player in any designer eyeliner comparison. Fans report a kajal-like creaminess that feels softer and more blendable, while still drying down to a set line intended for all-day wear.
Payoff, Play, and Wear: How the New Formulas Perform
Performance-wise, the relaunch leans into joyful color and texture without losing the high-impact payoff that made Marc Jacobs Beauty famous. Eye products remain the stars: the Flashes mascara comes in classic black plus brown and blue, signaling a move toward playful yet wearable color. Born Star single eyeshadows arrive in matte, metallic, and “magical” finishes, designed to echo the pastel washes seen in the Memory Loss runway collection while still offering bolder options. Allure’s OG fans highlight that textures feel creamier and more blendable than they remember, especially in the new gel eyeliner and Joystick blush sticks, which double for lips and cheeks. The ethos is experimentation over perfection—products that can be sheered out or layered for drama rather than locking into one signature look. Longevity remains a priority, but the overall feel is softer, more buildable, and tailored to everyday play.
Vogue’s Top Picks and How They Echo the Brand’s Heritage
Vogue’s early verdict puts the eye category firmly in the spotlight, underscoring how closely the relaunch ties back to Marc Jacobs’s long-time fascination with eyes. The editors single out three standouts: Drawn This Way Long-Wear Waterproof Gel Eyeliner, Flashes Volumizing & Lengthening Panoramic Mascara, and Born Star Cream-to-Powder Long-Wear Eyeshadow. Together, they map a clear through line from the sleek black tubes of the 2013 collection to today’s metallic, balloon-topped packaging. Jacobs describes the aesthetic as a mix of polished femininity and mischievous rebellion, with product names like Heart On and Born Star adding a wink to the sweetness. Across these picks, the focus is on high color payoff, long wear, and textures that shift seamlessly from runway-level drama to daily makeup. The result feels less like a museum piece of the original brand and more like a remix of its greatest hits.
Does the New Collection Live Up to Fan Expectations?
Taken together, the new Marc Jacobs Beauty line manages to feel both familiar and new, which is exactly what many original fans hoped for. The updated Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner-style pencil and the broader eye lineup deliver the bold, graphic potential people associate with the brand, while softer formulas and buildable textures make the products easier for everyday use. The collection’s emphasis on color, whimsy, and joy reflects Jacobs’s own stated priority: he wants each step of a routine to feel playful. For shoppers comparing designer eyeliners or following every liquid eyeliner launch, Drawn This Way positions Marc Jacobs as a serious contender in the high-end market again. While purists may still miss specific discontinued favorites, the consensus from editors and long-time users is that this reinvention stands on its own—and gives the next generation its own version of a cult classic.
