Battle of the liquid liner!

I used to be a huge gel liner wearer and went through 2 tubs of MAC's blacktrack fluidline. Recently, however, more and more companies are making liquid liner, and although it takes a while to get used to it, you really can't beat the convenience of not having to use a separate brush.

Here's a look at 4 of the ones I've tried recently:

From top to bottom:

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner in Black (CAD $29)

Maybelline Master Precise in Black (CAD $~8)

Essence Eye Liner Pen in Waterproof in Black (CAD $~3.50)

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper (CAD $23)

The Stila, Maybelline and Essence all sport a spongy felt tip of various shapes, while the Stila is the lone wolf with a brush tip. The brush tip is much better at getting very very thin lines, but I've also found that it dries out faster at the tip.

Swatches of all four are in the same order as the previous picture (Top to bottom): Stila, Maybelline, Essence, Kat Von D. Stila's was definitely the most black but also rather shiny. Second blackest would probably be the Maybelline, with Kat Von D's being a little lighter.

I wet a tissue and wiped the swatches a few times. As you can see Stila is holding up like a champ and Kat Von D is not too shabby as well. Maybelline totally disappeared with the first wipe, although to be fair there is no claim of being waterproof. Essence, being the most affordable of the bunch, performed honorably but didn't quite live up to its "waterproof" label. 

In fact, trying to remove the swatches afterwards I needed to get out an oil-based eye makeup remover to get the Stila liner off.

I guess you get what you pay for. But if you don't have hooded or very oily eyes, I could easily see the Essence and Maybelline last all day on you -- all you need is to set it with a black eyeshadow. 

I wear the Maybelline and Essence on a daily basis and see a little fading but nothing dramatic. On the other hand, if I know i'm going to be out all day in the heat or for a good old 15-hour investment banking day, then Stila is my go-to. 

As a side note, I've also tried the Physicians formula liquid liner and the Dolly Wink (a Japanese brand) liquid liner which both have brush tips. They're both great alternatives to the Kat Von D liner if you prefer a brush tip over a felt tip.

xoxo,

alixirs