eyeliner overload!
I’ve done black eyeliner swatches before, and even did a post with a wear test way back when my blog was new, but I have different eyeliners now and I wanted to see how they compared.
Instead of trying to keep track of which swatch was which, I wrote an abbreviation for the brand on my arm. The follow table has the abbreviation, name of the eyeliner, and type of eyeliner. Continue reading
I have several NYC products to review – I was looking at the new NYC display at CVS, checking out the new products, and some of the new as well as some of the older products just jumped into my shopping basket! These will be brief reviews.
First up, the NYC High Definition Liquid Eyeliner, which is a felt-tip eyeliner pen. It has a fairly fine point, though not quite as fine as the Dollywink liner (which I have not reviewed, but is swatched in this post). It applies quite smoothly, even over eyeshadow, and though it’s not waterproof, it lasted all day for me. The major downside – and it’s quite a problem for me – is that it’s not black enough for me. Instead, it’s sheer black that looks quite gray.
one swipe // built up swatch
As you can see, even going over the line multiple times doesn’t make it a dark black. Thus, unless you prefer a sheer black (and I’m not sure that anyone does), this eyeliner is miss. My favorite drugstore eyeliner pen was – by far! – Milani’s limited edition Color Play liner from last summer, but unfortunately mine is on its last legs.
What’s your favorite pen-style eyeliner?
All my black eyeliners; gels, liquid, pen-style, pencils |
In looking for the best black eyeliner, I’ve acquired quite a few! So, today I bring you Project Swatch: Black Eyeliner – a mega-swatch-post of 4 gel, 4 pen style, one liquid non-pen-style, and 4 pencil black eyeliners. I’ve written just a little bit about each eyeliner, but please let me know if you’d like a more in-depth review of any of them.
Black gel eyeliner comparison |
This is a Stila Smudge pot, a L’oreal Infallible 24 Hour Laquer liner (reviewed here), a Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel liner, and a Wet n Wild Mega Eyes Creme Liner.
The Stila Smudge pot is a couple years old and still creamy and very black. I love it, it’s one of the best black gel eyeliners I’ve tried. The L’oreal is newer, so the fact that it is very creamy doesn’t mean as much. It’s thin and very black – I really like it as well. Those two are my favorites.
The Maybelline is very black and lasts extremely well. It had a great texture when I initially bought it a little over a year ago, but is now quite dry and doesn’t apply very well – it’s hard to make a thin line. The Wet n Wild was also good when I bought it (less than a year ago!), but as you can see, it’s so dry that it’s not even deep black anymore.
Black Liquid Liner Comparison |
This is the Wet n Wild H2O Proof Liquid Eyeliner; Milani’s LE Color Play eyeliner in Black Line; the Jordana Fabuliner, the Physician’s Formula Lash Boosting Eyeliner in Ultra Black, and Dolly Wink in Deep Black.
The Wet n Wild eyeliner is a mixed bag. It’s very difficult to apply neatly, given the applicator (a not-very-flexible tip) – perhaps a brush would work better, but I haven’t tried very hard. It’s also very, very waterproof – I had a lot of difficulty removing it from my arm. My makeup remover and cleansing oil both left traces, but I finally got it off with straight jojoba oil.
The Milani Color Play eyeliner is FANTASTIC. It’s very deep black (as you can see), and the shape of the tip makes it incredibly easy to use. I reviewed the blue shade here, and I’ve been using both the blue and black frequently since I got them. I’m very sad that this is limited edition!
The Jordana was the first pen-style eyeliner I ever bought, and I’m not a fan. It’s not very black, and it barely shows up over eyeshadow. It’s not waterproof, so it’s very easy to remove, and it’s very cheap – but I wouldn’t recommend it.
The Physician’s Formula eyeliner is fine; it works, it lasts well. I just prefer the Milani, which is darker, and the Dolly Wink, which is more precise.
The Dolly Wink eyeliner is my newest acquisition, and it has the finest tip. It can easily make lines even thinner than what you see here. It’s perfect if I want to add definition to my eyes without the obvious “eyeliner” look. And, this one is permanent.
Black pencil eyeliner comparison |
Finally, the pencils. I have Urban Decay 24/7 liners in Zero and Perversion; Prestige Total Intensity eyeliner in Deepest Black, and Milani Liquif’eye in Black.
All four of these are fairly similar in terms of performance – they all last very well. I find that the Prestige lasts the best, but really they are all fantastic. The one downside of the Prestige is that it’s very soft, so needs to be sharpened frequently – however, since it’s only around $5, I don’t mind that it gets used up fastest!
Clearly, there are differences in color intensity; Zero is a soft black, Perversion and the Milani are very similar deep blackes, and the Prestige is the deepest black.
And this is what my arm looked like with 13 black eyeliners swatched on it:
black eyeliner swatch-a-thon! |
What’s your favorite black eyeliner?
I was at Walgreen’s earlier today, and stumbled upon an almost-full display of Milani’s new, limited edition Color Play felt-tip liquid eyeliner pens. Having read Vampy Varnish’s excellent review a few days ago, I decided to buy the blue – 02 Blue Definition. I think I paid around $6.
Here’s a three word review: I LOVE IT.
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| Milani Blue Definition Color Play Eyeliner |
And the longer review: The tip is very fine, and it’s remarkably easy to get a thin, precise line, which doesn’t feather at all. The blue is a lovely shade, and completely opaque. My current favorite black pen-style liquid liner is the Physician’s Formula’s Eye Booster Eyeliner, but I find this one much easier to use; I’m considering going back and buying the black.
Here is a sample look – this is Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadow in Bad to the Bronze, applied lightly, with Burberry Trench eyeshadow on top. Lined, of course, with Milani Color Play in 02 Blue Definition. I realized when cropping the photo that I forgot to wear mascara and got blue liner on my eyelashes; oops!
And, in some personal news – Zoe’s surgery (my dog; see here) went very well, and she is now home, wearing an enormous cone, and fast asleep. Picture of her glaring at the camera in her cone..
This post is from Project Swatch. All rights reserved.