Eyeliner Series: Liquid Eyeliner + Cheap Drugstore Formulas

     Here is my third post dedicated to eyeliner and it's staying power! I have already covered pencil liner (here) and felt-tip liner (here) so now we are on to the liquid formulation. Liquid liner can definitely be hard to get the hang of. I know that in the past I got into using felt-tip eyeliner everyday and when I switched back to liquid it would get everywhere during application! One of the pros of using liquid liner is that the line is usually more opaque and dark than pencil and felt-tip liners. As for a con, it can be hard to achieve a really precise wing with some applicators.

     As always, let's begin with the liquid liners you already own. I can honestly say that there aren't many great tips I can give you. Liquid liner tends to be pretty user friendly in the fact that things don't tend to dry out if not stored properly. You get an opaque, dark liner look with liquid liner but here are a few tips that can aid in the process.

Tip #1: Shake

Make sure you shake the product if you are instructed to do so by the directions. This ensures that the product is mixed well and that the line you get will be even and smooth. If the applicator also dips into the product shaking will coat the applicator evenly as well.

Tip #2: Technique

Make sure you work slowly and start in the middle or outer corner of your eye. I understand that for some, your technique of applying might be different but you want the majority of the product to be towards the outer portion of your lash line. If you begin with excess product on the applicator and apply it to your inner corner, too much color will deposit and you will be in trouble. For a beginner, keep the liner very thin towards the inner corner and get thicker as you work your way out- this is the most flattering look for any eye shape. Also make sure to look down into a mirror with your head tilted back. This position helps you to have perfect access to your lash line without getting it everywhere. You need to give the liner about 30 seconds to dry before opening your eye completely as well or you will be faced with liner transferring onto your lids!

Tip #3: Q-Tips

I actually keep a stash of these right next to me on my vanity. They come in handy with almost ANY makeup product but especially for liquid liner. If you mess up your wing or are dealing with transfer on your lids, whip one of these multi-tasking, simple tools out and you are good as gold. If your wing isn't pointy enough after application drag a damp q-tip from the outer corner of your eye to your eyebrow. This will clean things up and make your line very precise. If you have smudges or traces of liner in places that it's not supposed to be wait until it dries. This makes your life way easier! After about 30 seconds (or when you finish your liner look) take a damp q-tip and simply place the tip of it onto the spot and gently twist. This removes it completely without removing all of your foundation or eyeshadow.

     If you aren't satisfied with your current liner after trying the tips listed above here are two drugstore products that are worth trying...

From left to right:

Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eye Liner in Black Vinyl

Maybelline Line Stiletto Ultimate Precision Liquid Eyeliner in Black

 I first swatched the two products and let them set for a good 5 minutes.

Each was then 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 ($7.49)- This liquid liner ranked supreme during this test for sure. I have never seen a liquid liner that performs so well dry and wet! Even though this is the only shade in the line that doesn't contain sparkle it did it's job and outlasted my test. This liner is marketed to be a "long lasting, waterproof formula" and that it was! It didn't budge or smudge in the slightest but there was one downfall. The applicator is a little hard to work with. It is a very short, small, pointed tip that does not have any give to it what-so-ever. This makes application fairly difficult because once you make a line it is hard to go back over it. The applicator is so stiff that it sometimes removes product and leaves a line in the middle of your liner if you go over it again. Removing this was also more difficult as you will see later in this post. In my opinion, the only thing good about Milani's formula is it's staying power and being the topic of this post, I had to rank it #1 in that department.

2. Maybelline ($8.49)- This liner has a cult following for sure. Everyone practically loves it! From the photo above you can see that the liner didn't budge until water was present and that seems to be the story for the majority of these liners. If we weren't testing staying power I would rank this liner higher than Milani's because it is more user friendly. The applicator is more pliable and the line you get from it is easily achievable in one stroke. I will say that getting a pointy wing with this isn't the easiest thing to do so make sure you keep a q-tip within reach.

How well do they remove? Lets find out!

I used one Simple Cleansing Facial Wipe and documented the process from one wipe across - two!

You can see that the Maybelline formula is way easier to remove than Milani's. This is another plus for Maybelline's liner because you never want to have to scrub and tug at your eye area to remove your makeup. Once again though this post was about staying power and as you can see, Milani's does just that.

     I stopped at two wipes across because this swatch wasn't going anywhere. I did have to sit there and really scrub to get this off after this photo. However, I wore this liner once a few weeks ago and didn't find myself scrubbing TOO hard to remove it at the end of the day. Milani's liner comes off in flakes so you will end up with it everywhere but if you use a waterproof eye makeup remover you should be fine. It just takes a few extra minutes to remove but if you are in need of a long lasting liner, that is not a deal breaker.

     So that wraps up my post dedicated to liquid liners and their staying power. I hope this gave you some new information and products to try in the world of these liners. They are really great once you get the hang out them. Last but not least in this series of liner posts will be the cream formulation and I am really excited about it. I know that some of my readers will be unfamiliar with that type of liner and being a lover of it for years, I can't wait to break it down for you! Thanks for reading!

Love, Lacey