The best eyeliner. ever. seriously.
Sometime in the last couple of years, my eyelids disappeared. I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but I just remember looking in the mirror one day, and *poof* they’d gone. Swallowed by an eyelid hood that had never been there before, succumbing to the inevitable reduction of collagen, and now forever testing my willpower (and bank balance) with targeted adverts for upper blephs. (which until recently, I thought was internet language for throwing up)
I’ve always worn eyeliner – I love a wonky wing – but since the mysterious disappearance of my eyelids, I have discovered that eyeliner now transfers to my eyelids, and whilst I know some people love the double lined look, it’s really not what I’m going for. Within a couple of hours of application, I feel a stickyness that, honestly, grosses me out, and a reflection that shows a Davina Mcall level of smokey eye, which, frankly, is not what I’m aiming for.
And so, it has been my lifelong (two year) mission to find the best eyeliner. One that doesn’t transfer or make my eyes sticky, and one that stays on ALL DAY
First of all, and most importantly, I need an eyeliner that doesn’t transfer to my eyelid. Of all the priorities, this was my number one. I can handle a little smudging, I can cope with reapplication, but I will NOT be ok with a secondary, smudged arc on my eyelid.
So – What have I tested?
And, for transparency, I bought & paid for each of these myself. (unless my husband is reading this, in which case, I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ve had these FOREVERRRRRR, and they were free anyway…)
- NYX epic ink liner – £15
- Pat McGrath Labs Perma Precision Eyeliner – £30
- Fenty Beauty Flylipencil Eyeliner – £22
- Charlotte Tilbury Magic Liner – £30
- Urban Decay 24/7 Inks Eyeliner £22
- Danessa Myricks Waterproof Micropencil Eyeliner £26
- Danessa Myricks Linework Eyeliner £20
- Natasha Denona Work & Set Eyeliner £24
- Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Matte Liquid Eyeliner £20
- Slayfire Cosmetics Splash Liner Matte (void) £23
- Glisten Cosmetics Wet Liners (various colours) £7
Best overall eyeliner
Slayfire Cosmetics Splash Liner £23
I cannot express how much I love this, but let me try. This comes in a square eyeshadow type pot, and you apply it with a wet brush. I bought the brush set from Slayfire at the same time as the eyeshadow, and my favourite is the 11mm brush. This allows for an incredibly smooth application and a perfect wing every. single. time. And because the brush is so thin, you can just keep adding more until you have the desired thickness.
This is the ONLY eyeliner that stayed put all day. And I tested this. I have been on a 10km run with a full wing, I have done a HIT class with a full wing, and the ultimate test – I slept with it on, and it was still there in the morning. Zero transfer to my eyelid, zero smudging. This is my holy grail eyeliner.
That being said, things are never perfect, and this does come with a caveat – this eyeliner is wet activated – which means it is totally dry, until it’s not. So this is not waterproof – it won’t survive a dip in the pool. This is not a problem for me, because pools and I are mortal enemies. However, on a particularly windy day, my eyes have a tendency to water, and in the process of wiping away my windy tears, I have removed my wing. This really doesn’t bother me, because, ultimately, if I’m travelling somewhere through the wind, I’ve already factored in having to sort myself out on arrival – my hair never survives a gust anyway.
Honourable mention to Glisten Cosmetics Wet Liners
The eyeliners from Glisten are honestly just as good as the Slayfire one. They work in the same way, and the product is just as outstanding. I just find the square shape of the Slayfire easier to use with the longer brush, which is my personal preference.
Best Eyeliner Pen
Pat McGrath Labs Precision Perma Pen
If using a wet brush and the possibility of having to reapply from watery eyes is an issue for you, then the Precision Perma eyeliner pen from Pat McGrath is the one for you. The brush stays smooth and glides across your eyelid without tugging at your skin, and is the only eyeliner pen I’ve ever used that hasn’t dried out after a couple of months. Until I discovered Slayfire & Glisten, this was my go-to eyeliner, and I raved about it to everyone. Whilst the application is incredibly smooth, and the pen itself is a delight to use, I found that this would transfer to my eyelid if I didn’t SET it with powder. And it requires a fair amount of setting. I use the Pat McGrath sublime perfection setting powder with it, as the white one is clear and doesn’t wash out the eyeliner. 9 times out of 10, this is enough, but on days when my eyelids are being particularly annoying, I end with the transfer, and it’s incredibly frustrating.
Everything Else
I am lumping my reviews of all the other eyeliners together, because, honestly, I hate them so much that I don’t want to give them the airtime. Every single one of the others transferred to my eyelid. EVERY SINGLE ONE. And to make matters worse, the Urban Decay one dried out so quickly, I barely got a chance to give it a decent go. And the Danessa Myricks one dragged across my eyelid so much that it gave me a complex about sagging skin. Not cool.
I will say, that until my eyelids disappeared, I had zero issues with my eyeliner, so whilst I hate all these other eyeliners, I actually would have loved them before.
What have I Missed? Let me know if you have any recommendations, or if your experiences are the same as mine!
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