Let's begin with the pencils you already own! We all love using what we have since we already spent our hard earned money on it. Sometimes we are not happy with a particular brand or formulation but we can combat that with these tricks of the trade! Maybe it's too hard to glide on easily, or maybe it fades/disappears during the day. Here are my four tips that you can try today!
Tip #1: Finding Your Lid Type and Choosing a Primer
Oily Lids: If you tend to have oily skin and shiny eyelids that are slick to the touch, you have oily lids. I have heard that the NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base works well at absorbing the extra oil and making your eye makeup last longer. It is a little pricey but you can buy it at Sephora and return it if you aren't satisfied! If you are not wanting to spend $24 on a high-end primer no worries! Just go with Wet N Wild's version that you can find at your local drugstore.
Normal Lids: Normal lids are just that, normal! If you aren't over oily or dry then you have normal lids. Any eyeshadow primer will work for you, from Wet N Wild's Take on the Day Primer to Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion (review here). All you need it to do is create a smooth and even surface for your shadow and liner.
Dry Lids: If you tend to have dry skin and eyelids that aren't smooth to the touch, you have dry lids like me! You could have patches of extra dry skin along your lash line or outer corner that make it difficult to apply shadow or eyeliner smoothly. I find that applying a lotion to just my lid area helps or using a very heavy moisturizer over night. I have yet to find a perfect moisturizing eyeshadow primer (do they even market one?!) but have had success with the two options above for normal lids.
Tip #2: Prime
Whether you are priming your entire face before foundation, your eyelids before shadow, or your lash line before eyeliner it is an important step you should not skip. Using a primer evens out your skins texture to prevent creasing and helps the product adhere better to the eye area. This helps boost color pay off and creates staying power instantly. Remember to also prime under the eyelid and onto the lower lash line if you plan on applying liner there as well.
Tip #3: Setting the Product
In the beauty community "setting" your makeup means applying a powder over top of a creamier product to improve its longevity. You can do this with products for your entire face: liquid foundation+pressed powder, cream eyeshadow+powder eyeshadow, cream blush+powder blush, and even lipstick! With eyeliner the idea is exactly the same: you want to set the liner with a dark shadow to prevent it from moving. Apply your liner as you normally would then pick up a similar color shadow from the drugstore. I would recommend the black shadow in L'Oreal's Hip Duo in Dashing or Rimmel's single eyeshadow in Jet Black for those of you who wear black liner. Apply this shadow directly on top of your liner with an angled brush pushing it into the lash line.
Tip #4: Heat it Up!
Turn to your trusty old blow drier to help make that hard eyeliner glide on easily. Simply take your drier and blow some warm air onto the tip of your eyeliner anywhere from 10-20 seconds. This may take some trial and error but you will find that once you get the perfect amount of heat on that baby it will glide right on. This is also a great technique for cleaning off your eyelash curler. Just heat it up for a few seconds and the gunk comes right off with a tissue!
Now, if these ideas don't do much for you and your personal hatred towards your current eyeliner have no fear! I have picked up a few different brands (along with others I already had) and put them to the test. Here were the results for the ones I tested...
From left to right:
Maybelline Eyestudio Master Drama Eye Liner in Vibrant Violet 405
Neutrogena Nourishing Eye Liner in Cosmic Black
Almay Intense I-Color Eyeliner in Brown Topaz for Blue Eyes
Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Peacock
Rimmel London Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in 031 Jungle Green
Sephora Nano Eyeliner in 11 Silver Green
I first swatched the products, then let them set for a good 5 minutes.
Each was tested on how the product smudged (top 1/2) as well as how it preformed while wet (lower 1/2). I did this by rubbing the top portion with medium pressure 3-5 times and doing the same with the lower portion but adding water to my finger.
Ranking Best-Worst:
1. Milani ($6.99)- This was the hands down winner! It stood up very well against smudging and moisture. It was very opaque and glided on very easily which is essential for pencil eyeliners. It claims to provide all day wear as well as being smudge-proof and during the test, that rang true! You can easily smudge this out with a q-tip before it sets for a nice smokey look also. This brand comes in many shades which is great for those of you who like pops of color.
2. Maybelline ($6.39)- This and Stila's liner were neck and neck! This one came out on top just because I saw a TINY bit more smudging toward the top of Stilas swatch. This product claims to be sumdgeproof and waterproof for 16 hours but I didn't find that to be true. Even though it didn't smudge considerably, it still faded in both tests and that's enough evidence for me to dismiss those claims. Even though this is the purple option it still has very nice color payoff and is really creamy. It is a liner that requires no sharpener which is awesome for people on the go.
3. Stila ($20.00)- I received this liner in my Birchbox a few months back and loved it's color! I decided to include it in this test because it claims to be waterproof and of course there is a black option. I saw a little smudging towards the upper portion of the swatch but it held up very well regarding the wet portion. For pops of color during summertime wear this product would be ideal.
4. Urban Decay ($19.00)- This was not as black as the Milani version but held up fairly well. This is a cult favorite and there is even now a darker more opaque black option called Perversion. It claims to be waterproof and says that it "dries down to a long-lasting finish that WILL NOT budge". I found that even though this product didn't smear or smudge, it faded and I consider that budging!
5. Neutrogena ($7.49)- This product claims to "transform into a long-lasting finish that won't budge". I will say that this did okay in the smudging department but I ranked it at #5 because of the opacity! I bought the black shade and it come off as more of a charcoal grey. Just compare the color payoff to Milani's formula! In the beauty community, we all look for the blackest most opaque black eyeliners and that is the main reason I ranked it as low as I did. However, this would be a good choice for you if you prefer a softer looking liner for your lash line.
6. Rimmel ($3.99)- Being that this was the least expensive option out of all eight... at least it's not last! This was an old formula that I had in my collection from many years ago so make sure to take that into consideration as well as the fact that it is not marketed as a long wearing product. This products selling points are that it's supposed to "not tug or skip on the delicate skin around your eyes". This color was gorgeous and would be another one that would be perfect for summer- as long as your not swimming! It faded and smudged with and without moisture so this wouldn't be suitable for all day wear especially for someone with oily lids.
7. Sephora ($5.00)- I will admit, I have not gotten into Sephora's makeup line hardly at all. I actually received this liner with either a 100 or 500 point perk a few years ago. This is another product that is not marketed as a long-lasting product and I can see why. It nearly disappeared after being rubbed and smudged all over the place after the second test getting color everywhere. They do have a wide variety of 21 shades, including both neutral shades and fun, colorful ones.
8. Almay ($7.99)- Rounding up this list of eight is poor Almay. This was another one of those liners that I had in my collection that I had nearly forgot about and I wonder why?! This product did not set at all even after giving it a whole five minutes. It completely moved and smudged during the test with and without water. I will say that the initial color of this liner is very beautiful and perfect for my blue eyes but that is my only compliment.
How well do they remove? Lets find out!
I used one Simple Cleansing Facial Wipe and documented the process from one wipe across - four.
Milani, Urban Decay, Maybelline, Stila, and Rimmel are still fairly intact.
Milani and Stila have made it through another round!
Going, going....
GONE!
(well, for the most part)
As you can see, even though many of these liners are marketed as long-wearing products that won't budge they are still pretty easy to remove with a makeup wipe. This is a great aspect because even though you want them to last your entire workday, you can still remove them without blinding yourself before bed.
So that my friends was my first huge eyeliner testing spree that took weeks to execute and write. Thank you for being so patient with me and this process. I want to make sure that with each of my posts I am sharing my honest and final decisions with all of you. Sometimes I can make decisions quickly and other times I can't, so thank you for holding in there. Within the next week I will be posting the second blog in this series all about felt-tip liners and I'll let you in on a little secret- it won't be nearly this long! As always leave me any questions or comments below and please share this with friends and family. Everyone can use a few eyeliner tips!
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Love, Lacey
This was a very good blog, very helpful...thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome! XOX
DeleteThanks for sharing your experience and it’s very helpful for new comers to learn. You gave here full detailed technique for perfect eyeliner. Airbrush Makeup Melbourne
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome and thank you for your kind words! :)
DeleteThanks I love the first tip resting your elbow before applying so simple but I never even thought about it definitely gonna try these. eyeliner tips
ReplyDeleteYay! I glad I could help! :)
DeleteI'm finding the eyeliner I need to use for my prom look and this is AMAZING! thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat! I am so glad this was helpful! Have an amazing time at prom!!! :)
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