So after that long intro, let me dig into my current eyeliners. I have tried a wide assortment of them in my search for something that won't budge and won't tug. I started my teenage years with pencil eyeliners, moved to gel liners in my adult years and this past year I moved to liquid liners. So here goes...
Below is my current collection of eyeliners. I don't know why the picture is portrait when I took it in landscape. Curses to Blogger and their photo attaching!
So top to bottom: Shu Uemura, Sue Devitt, Dior Liquid Eyeliner, Hourglass Trace Eyeliner, Makeup For Ever, Lancome Artliner (Noir and Smoke), my gel liner brushes (Stila and Shu Uemura) and my Stila smudge pots (black and gray).
This past year I delved into the world of liquid liners. After a few shaky starts and wonky uneven eyes, I've gotten used to applying it and can do it pretty quickly. A few swipes on each upper eyelid and a flick at the end and I'm done! The downside to these is that they aren't waterproof so if I get anything in my eye I quickly have a long trail of black goo down my cheek. Also, they're not that great for underye lining (at least for me).
The liquid eyeliners I use the most right now are Noir (black) and Smoke (gray) Lancome Artliners. The brushes on these are a bit thin and soft so it takes several swipes to get it right and sometimes when drawing a line the soft brush will go awry and I'll end up with a crazy line. But I can easily wipe those off.
I spurned pencil eyeliners based on my teenage years of smudged eyes and constantly having to check for raccoon eyes, but I'm loving these MUFE pencil eyeliners. I have several colors but the ones I use most are the black and metallic black. These stay put pretty well and are soft and easy to apply. I use this to tightline my upper lid and sometimes line my lower lid. They're not perfect though for lining my lower lid but they're the best pencil liner I've found for that so far. I have joined the MUFE love bandwagon.
I love many things Shu, but I am not a fan of their pencil eyeliners. They are waxy and hard so I end up having to press pretty hard and going over the line over and over again. And they don't show up that well or last! Plus, the cap ALWAYS comes off in my makeup bag. I have lost many caps and pencil tips in my purse, which sucks. So I stopped carrying them with me.
See, can't you practically see how hard the tip is?
I got the Sue Devitt as a free sample, and wow, epic fail. It goes on super smooth as a great dark black but it does not stay put at all. AT ALL. It's almost like it's an erasable pen or something (Remember those? Are those still around? I used to use them all the time when I was in elementary school and junior high.)
Here's the pencil tip - great color, but smudges so much.
And here's the smudger on the other end - meh, hard and nothing great.
And tada, here are swatches of my various liners! Left to right: Stila smudge pot (gray), Stila smudge pot (black), Lancome Artliner (Smoke), Lancome Artliner (Noir), MAFU, Shu Uemura, Sue Devitt (black), Dior liquid eyeliner, Hourglass
This is after I rubbed my arm right after I applied. The Stila smudge pots look great here but truthfully when I wear it at work, by the end of the day I do have some smudges like I said before. The liquid liners have peeled a bit. This sometimes happens when I first apply but can be fixed easily. And then usually afterwards my liner stays put unless my eyes tear up for any reason. MUFE sticks pretty well. The others have faded a bit.
This is after I wet my arm a bit. As you can see most of the liners are disappearing. The eraser bits are from the liquid liner. But Stila and MUFE still look good!
All of these come off with eye makeup remover. I use the Shu cleansing oil (pink one) and I just let it sit on my eyes a bit and then rub gently. The gel and liquid liners are bit tougher to remove usually.
I still haven't found my perfect eyeliner. I like using liquid because I know it generally won't budge, but since I wear hard contact lenses, if I get something in my eye my eyes water like crazy and then I'm left with all my eyeliner on my cheeks and none on my lids. I went back to the smudge pots for a while but they do smudge by the end of the day and my contact lenses get more irritated throughout the day (I think little pieces come off my brushes and fall into my eyes when I apply). MUFE is pretty good but also smudges a bit by the end of the day for me. So I'm still on the search. I just recently bought a bunch of eyeliners from a website that sells Asian products and so maybe I'll find one there. Until then, I've been lining my upper lids with Lancome Artliner and tightlining and bottom lids with MUFE.
Phew! This was a long post!
Below are my Stila smudge pots. For some reason the black one isn't as soft as the gray and so I end up using the gray one more often. I was obsessed with these for a few years. They are waterproof but they do smudge a tiny bit. Because of my monolids a little bit of it will transfer onto my bottom lid or collect in the outer corners of my eyes. They are super quick and easy to apply, but you have to clean your brush often which is a pain.
This past year I delved into the world of liquid liners. After a few shaky starts and wonky uneven eyes, I've gotten used to applying it and can do it pretty quickly. A few swipes on each upper eyelid and a flick at the end and I'm done! The downside to these is that they aren't waterproof so if I get anything in my eye I quickly have a long trail of black goo down my cheek. Also, they're not that great for underye lining (at least for me).
The liquid eyeliners I use the most right now are Noir (black) and Smoke (gray) Lancome Artliners. The brushes on these are a bit thin and soft so it takes several swipes to get it right and sometimes when drawing a line the soft brush will go awry and I'll end up with a crazy line. But I can easily wipe those off.
I also bought the Dior liquid liner recently but haven't used it really yet. I was hoping the tip would be a bit firmer, but it's not.
I spurned pencil eyeliners based on my teenage years of smudged eyes and constantly having to check for raccoon eyes, but I'm loving these MUFE pencil eyeliners. I have several colors but the ones I use most are the black and metallic black. These stay put pretty well and are soft and easy to apply. I use this to tightline my upper lid and sometimes line my lower lid. They're not perfect though for lining my lower lid but they're the best pencil liner I've found for that so far. I have joined the MUFE love bandwagon.
I love many things Shu, but I am not a fan of their pencil eyeliners. They are waxy and hard so I end up having to press pretty hard and going over the line over and over again. And they don't show up that well or last! Plus, the cap ALWAYS comes off in my makeup bag. I have lost many caps and pencil tips in my purse, which sucks. So I stopped carrying them with me.
See, can't you practically see how hard the tip is?
I got the Sue Devitt as a free sample, and wow, epic fail. It goes on super smooth as a great dark black but it does not stay put at all. AT ALL. It's almost like it's an erasable pen or something (Remember those? Are those still around? I used to use them all the time when I was in elementary school and junior high.)
Here's the pencil tip - great color, but smudges so much.
And here's the smudger on the other end - meh, hard and nothing great.
I also got this Hourglass liner as a free sample in gray. I loved the packaging and it has the liner on one end and a smudger on the other end. The liner looks great and is smooth to apply but doesn't last at all.
And tada, here are swatches of my various liners! Left to right: Stila smudge pot (gray), Stila smudge pot (black), Lancome Artliner (Smoke), Lancome Artliner (Noir), MAFU, Shu Uemura, Sue Devitt (black), Dior liquid eyeliner, Hourglass
This is after I rubbed my arm right after I applied. The Stila smudge pots look great here but truthfully when I wear it at work, by the end of the day I do have some smudges like I said before. The liquid liners have peeled a bit. This sometimes happens when I first apply but can be fixed easily. And then usually afterwards my liner stays put unless my eyes tear up for any reason. MUFE sticks pretty well. The others have faded a bit.
This is after I wet my arm a bit. As you can see most of the liners are disappearing. The eraser bits are from the liquid liner. But Stila and MUFE still look good!
All of these come off with eye makeup remover. I use the Shu cleansing oil (pink one) and I just let it sit on my eyes a bit and then rub gently. The gel and liquid liners are bit tougher to remove usually.
I still haven't found my perfect eyeliner. I like using liquid because I know it generally won't budge, but since I wear hard contact lenses, if I get something in my eye my eyes water like crazy and then I'm left with all my eyeliner on my cheeks and none on my lids. I went back to the smudge pots for a while but they do smudge by the end of the day and my contact lenses get more irritated throughout the day (I think little pieces come off my brushes and fall into my eyes when I apply). MUFE is pretty good but also smudges a bit by the end of the day for me. So I'm still on the search. I just recently bought a bunch of eyeliners from a website that sells Asian products and so maybe I'll find one there. Until then, I've been lining my upper lids with Lancome Artliner and tightlining and bottom lids with MUFE.
Phew! This was a long post!
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