Cigarette lighter + eyeliner pencil = most amazing eyeliner ever?

I didn't even bother to read the full story about warming your eyeliner pencil with a lighter when I saw it on Bellasugar recently, because my eyes started to water when I saw the gist of it.

Thinking of "fire" and "eyes" in such close proximity will do that to a person, I guess. I could nearly smell the singed lashes.

A few days later, though, I randomly stumbled upon the same tip in a Yahoo Answer... and then came across it again last night on Make Up And Beauty Blog.

The whole thing was starting to feel a bit Truman Show; it seemed like time to investigate exactly what this mental-sounding procedure involved.

The idea, of course, is that warming any eyeliner pencil makes it more malleable and easier to use, and that a slightly softened nib won't drag on skin but will give a smooth, intense line. Advocates of the lighter method (including Lucy Liu and make-up artist Scott Barnes, apparently) recommend rolling the nib of the pencil through the lighter flame for just two-to-three seconds and testing it on your arm to make sure it's not too hot before using. Applying almost immediately - provided it's cool enough - will gives the most intense, smudgeable line.

Now, I've heard of rubbing it between your fingertips, drawing it across the back of your hand, blasting it with a hairdryer, or leaving it on top of a radiator to do that job, but bringing a flame into the equation just seems like overkill.

I've got to be honest: this is one beauty tip that I just couldn't bring myself to try it out.

Is lighting your liner something you've tried, or would you be tempted to give it a whirl?