I just went to the ladies room, only to discover that once again, just a few hours after carefully applying my makeup, my eyeliner is just a big gray smudge unter my eyes. There must be a commercially available eyeliner out there that really works (and is easily available) - but I don’t want to spend a ton of money on the wrong ones trying to run across the right one.
Granted, I am your standard drugstore cosmetics consumer, but if I had some good advice about how to spend a little more and get something that will last, I’d gladly make the investment.
Any estheticians out there? Satisfied customers? People who live in fear of tattoos? Help!
I used to use Avon’s liquid eyeliner, for it is good and pure and smudgeproof (and cheap too, which helps ). I’m not sure they still make it, but it does sound like liquid is the way to go.
The only minor drawback is it’s not good for a more subtle look; “soft and smudged” and “liquid eyeliner” seem unable to coexist.
But I don’t care anyway. I’ll stick with my patchouli oil, liquid eyeliner and hippy skirts, thanks
I haven’t tried the above mentioned, but I have tried some expensive dept. store brands, high end brands, and always end up going back to the Revlon Colorstay. It’s cheaper, it goes on easily, and it smudges less than any other I’ve tried. Not 100% smudge-proof, but more resistant to that ‘smudging for no reason’ that happens with others.
I have to second this - I’ve been using the same Lancome pencil several times a week for almost five years, and am probably about 15-20% of the way into it. I’ll use it for a couple of decades before I’ll need a new one. When I bought it, I think it cost me $20, but it’s probably gone up since then.
I use a quality wet/dry shadow and a liner brush. (I prefer an angled one, especially for feathering and smudging. The intentional kind of smudging.) The liner really stays put.
I have to say that Laua Mercier’s tight line eyeliner is the beat I have ever tried. Although it takes a bit longer to apply, and a bit of practice to figure out how wet the brush should be, but the results are amazing. Its almost impossible to screw up, and it looks very clean and fabulous. I introduced both my step-mom and best friend to it and they are as obsessed as I am. I know Neimann’s carries it, along with a few exclusive boutiques about the country. YMMV, I suppose. . .
And I’ll second THIS. To further insure non-smudginess, you can take a bit of eyeshadow in the same color and “line” over the eyeliner pencil. I use the Colorstay on both top and bottom eyelids, but I put some eyeshadow over it on the bottom lid because I do that “smokey eyes” trick. Never had a problem with smudging even on the top lid, though, and I’m one of those people who used to always have smudge.
I’m going to pick up one of those Lancome pencils (still $20) at their site right now, and I think I’ll try LifeOnWry’s trick on the eyeliner I have until the Lancome pops into my mailbox.
The liquids don’t really work well for me - they aren’t easy for me to apply, and when I do get it on right, in a couple hours it’s all cracked and flaking. I don’t know what it is I do that causes all this trouble - I don’t rub my eyes, but it usually looks like I’ve been grinding my fist into my eye sockets in a couple hours.
I like Almay 16 hour eye pencil. $5.99. It doesn’t come off unless I rub it off (it blurs slightly, but still looks good they next day if I don’t rub it off).
Being one who wears a good deal of black eyeliner (“goth,” apparently), it works well for me.
The Almay 16 Hour and the Revlon Colorstay are pretty much the same product. Manufactured by the same company. (Take a look at the packaging of both, aside from color, they are identical. And, I used to buy my Revlon and Almay products at one of their plants in NJ whenever they had public sales.)
I sometimes have a hard time finding the Revlon pencil (in black) in stores, so I’ll buy the Almay one. It is a couple bucks cheaper, but for some reason the Revlon one seems to have just a little more staying power, and glides on a little easier.
I swear by liquid eyeliner myself. If it flakes off, maybe there was too much oil under it. I tend to avoid putting moisturizer right under my eyes if I’m going to use the liquid eyeliner, or I wash it off first. You really need to wash your face before using liquid eyeliner. Of course, you need to moisturize after washing, but when I’m planning to use the eyeliner I skip that area.
I have no fear of applying liquid eyeliner, because I have painted enough pictures and know how to wield a paintbrush. It’s really no different from painting a picture, except that you yourself are the canvas. It’s easy to make mistakes, but they’re easy to correct since the stuff is water-soluble.
I found a neat way to get that attractive slight smoky smudge effect with liquid eyeliner: I apply kohl powder to the eyelid rims first. Kohl smudges like nobody’s business, but if you’re careful and don’t use too much, it will merge with the liquid eyeliner and result in a nice blurred line, without getting out of control.
I use liquid eyeliner because I like the bold, dark line. But it needs the severely sharp edges to be softened. Kohl powder does that when it teams up with the eyeliner.
I can’t bring myself to use eye pencils, because I fear pointy things getting so close to my eye. Also, they scratch when the point is worn down. It’s bad enough when my lipliner pencil scratches, but the delicate thin skin around the eyes is a place you really want to avoid all damage.
What’s up with eyeliner gel? I haven’t tried that. What’s the advantage of it? insomniactress, I am another fan of patchouli oil and hippie skirts, so it’s nice to know that my choice of eyeliner fits right in.
). I’m not sure they still make it, but it does sound like liquid is the way to go.