So lets start with Pencil :
Pencil liners are probably the easiest for a beginner to use, you don't have to worry as much about messing up with pencil and you can always sharpen the point. I feel like pencil liners are more suited to people who either have mono-lids or larger double eye lid people because pencil liner do not work for me. I always end up looking like a raccoon by the end of the day. I'm not sure if this is just due to the heavy fold in my lid or the fact that I have oily skin so the oily causes the pencil to smudge. I do own several pencil liners though just because I always feel like maybe I can find something that actually works for me, it never works out that way but I do use pencil on my waterline and my lower lashline when I'm going for a dramatic look. Here are some pictures of all the pencil liners I currently own.
Milani Liquif'Eye
I own 5 Milani Liquif'Eye liners which are super creamy and very well pigmented. For some reason the Olive green one I have is in different packaging and is a twist up instead of a pencil you need to sharpen, that olive green is also the least pigmented. The other colors I love and I use the black for my waterline and the others on my lower lashline for different looks. A lot of people compare these to the Urban Decay 24/7 liners but I don't own any of those simply because I can't justify spending the money on a single pencil liner when I know pencils don't work well on me. These Milani ones cost around $7.00 which I don't mind spending because they are really good.
Smashbox Limitless Eye Liner
So I got these last year around Christmas off of QVC. They are mini-sized and I can't really say much about them. They don't help me create a really pigmented line, but they are good for blending. The gold color I like for inner tear duct.
Gel/Cream:
Gel/Cream liner has to be applied with a brush so it does take a bit more technique and a steady hand. Also here is the difference between Gel and Cream liners. Gel liner are water bases whereas some cream liners are not. I wear contacts almost everyday and have tried both gel and cream liners on my waterline and cream liners just do not work, they someone transfer on to my contacts and my vision gets all blurry. So for those of you who wear contacts I would stay away from putting a cream liner in your waterline. If I use gel/cream liner on my upper lash line cream seems to smudge more often then gel. I have used both the Maybelline and L'Oreal HIP cream liners and both of them were really horrible. They just seemed way to gunky and really hard to work with. The only potted liner I keep now is MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack. This works really well for me on bother my upper and lower lash lines. I do need a bit of primer for it to not smudge on my upper lash line but again I don't use it often on my upper lash line. I mainly use it on my lower or on my water line. I find that using gel liner takes probably the most time out of all the different formula of liners there are. I really don't reach for this on a day to day basis because I just don't have the time to sit in from of the mirror and work with it.
MAC Fluidline Blacktrack
Liquid:
I guess you guys can figure out by now that liquid liner is what I prefer to use. I have been using liquid liner every since high school. Like I said I like a really heavy cat eye and I like to make sure my wing ends in a really fine tip and I like the liner to be super pigmented and black. I just love liquid liner and wouldn't know what to do without it. But liquid liner is definitely not for beginners. It really requires a steady hand and you can easily mess up and have to wipe everything off and start over. Even I have to do that sometimes and I can say confidently that I am well seasoned in using liquid liner. Now most liquid liner now a days have a felt tip applicator such as the Lancome Artliner and there is a Maybelline one that is pretty popular but I can't remember the name. I personally do not like felt tip liner at all. I feel like I can't get my wing to end in as sharp of a point with a felt tip applicator. I like a brush tip applicator for my liquid liner and it really does take a lot of precision and a very steady hand for brush tip. It's definitely harder to use than a felt tip but to me it makes a world of difference when I am applying eyeliner. I have mastered applying liquid eye liner with a brush tip and I have been using the same eyeliner to do so for almost 7 years now. I like the L'Oreal Lineur Intense brush tip liquid liner. Now there is currently two versions of this out, the regular one and then the carbon black version which is the one I currently use. I have several back ups of this. The carbon black is just more pigmented and I like it a lot. The only downside to this liner is that it is not waterproof and it does end up flaking on me a bit after a 12 hour day. So I have been on the lookout for another liquid liner that is brush tip. I find liquid liner is the quickest because the pigmentation is far better and for me it takes about two minutes to apply, but then again I have been doing this for basically everyday for the past 7 years. So again liquid takes a lot of practice and if your new to it then I think you should opt for the felt tip liners vs the brush tip that requires more control.
L'Oreal Lineur Intense Carbon Black
So this is my eyeliner overview. If you really want to find the perfect liner it really takes a lot of trial and error. I would say go to the drugstore and pick out one of each and just test them and play with it. Once you find a formula that works well then you can explore it even more. If you think black is too intense for your everyday wear then opt for brown, most liners will always come in black and brown.
I will be following this post with a specific Black Liner review on all the black liners I have tried and which ones I feel are the most pigmented and worth purchasing.
Thanks for reading. Please subscribe.
- amy
