Battle of the Liners: Who Winged It?

I have a feeling that this is going to be a long post with lots of pictures and I am excited to share it with you. We’re going to look at 6 eyeliners that I have tried and tested over the years.

Just a little introduction for you to understand how I feel about eyeliners. They are #1 on my most used makeup list and I never leave the house without my signature winged liner. I also often do the Arabian-style liner that goes all the way into the inner corners of the eyes, it is my favourite and it suits me really well.

I am sure by now you know that I use a LOT of eyeliner. It is the very first makeup product that I started experimenting with back in my school days.

Some years back I got these two liquid liners (pic above)  from Boots, they are the No7 Stay Precise Liquid Liner (left) and Seventeen Semi Permanent Liquid Liner – Tattoo Me (right). Both in the colour Black. As you can clearly see the No7 one is well used, there’s hardly any product left in it. When I was doing some research for this post, I found out that both these products have been discontinued! I remember loving the No7 liner so much that I finished two tubes of it.

The No7 liner has a really thin brush that can draw on a sweet wing. It’s a pigmented black liner with a semi-matte finish. While the Tattoo Me liner has a similar brush and allows you to draw on a good wing with equal ease, it is one liner that refuses to come off! Staying true to its semi-permanent claim of course.

I had to scrub so hard the first time I used it and only half came off, I had to go to bed with the other half. Not that it’s a bad thing, if you have an event for which you need a long-lasting, hardcore liner then this is the perfect one. Sadly, Boots doesn’t stock either of these good liners anymore. They’re really affordable too. Both within the 10 pound range.

Next up, Colourpop! Colourpop’s Crème Gel Colour in Swerve (Black), to be precise.

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Okay so Colourpop and I have a love-hate relationship. When I first discovered this brand, I was truly excited to try out their extensive range of Ultra Matte liquid lipsticks and their eyeliners. I ordered a whole lot of the Ultra Matte and Ultra Satin liquid lipsticks after watching numerous YouTube videos that claimed they were fabulous, along with the gel liner (pic above), gel pencil and lip liners.

Can I be honest with you? I gave away every single one of the liquid lipsticks. Sad, I know. They Ultra Mattes and Ultra Satins just didn’t work for my Ultra Dry lips.

Back to the gel liner, it was okay at first but it did not impress me at all afterwards. I’ve only used it a few times. Note that it does not come with a brush so you have to get your own liner brush. The real dealbreaker for me was the fact that it dries up so quickly, by the time you draw it  on the way you like, it would have already dried up.  It is hard to work with. Which makes using it frustrating because you have to dip in so many times and I am not a fan of the formula. However the reviews on their website show a 5 star rating for this product.

Next up is The Body Shop’s Liquid Eyeliner in Black. This stuff looked really nice when I tried it out in the shop. I was looking long and hard for a liquid liner with a long thin brush but those are hard to come by so I thought of using this in the meantime.

FullSizeRender (16)It has one of those stiff tips that are alright but not all that great. They’re easy to use if you like a simple liner for daily use. This product is okay and I have used it far more than the Colourpop one, simply because it easy, fast and simple to use. Colour and longevity are not bad too. It’s not the deepest, darkest black out there but its alright. Can’t complain because of the convenience it offers and it’s pretty affordable. Under 10 pounds as well.

All hail the social media star, Tarte. Tarte’s Tarteist Clay Paint Liner in Black is next.

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I have to admit, the formula of this is phenomenal! You can draw on the most matte, perfect winged liner. I save it for special occasions because it truly is beautiful….and time consuming. So, not very practical for daily use and mine arrived with a hole in it (Tarte gave me a full refund) which makes it hard to use because I have to squeeze really hard and when it does come out, way too much comes out and the precious product ends up getting wasted. Maybe, the ones in good condition are fine but I’ll never know.

A little goes a long way with this. No complains about the brush either and the packaging is pretty but it seems like there is so little product in there. I am 50/50 on this one.

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That’s what it looks like inside. The hole I mentioned is on the part where the cap screws on. When I squeeze, the product comes out of the hole instead of the top.

It’s a shame because I adore this formula. It would be perfect if they had a more user-friendly packaging. A plus with this is that it comes with brush!

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Last but not least, MAC. MAC has proven why it is a brand that has stood the test of time, with this product and all of its other great products. I have cooked lunch, washed the dishes, put on a face mask, washed my face and done so much more  and the swatch of this Liquidlast Liner and the Tattoo Me liner we talked about earlier, are still on my hand.

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The brush allows you to draw a fabulously, precise line and it stays on all day, all night.

I only got this recently, the price is a little steep but it was well worth it. I love how my winged liner turns out with this.

Bare with me, we are almost at the end. Let me show you swatches of all the 6 liners.

Left (Bottom to Top) : 1. MAC Liquidlast Liner, 2. The Body Shop Liquid Eyeliner, 3. Colourpop Creme Gel Colour, 4. Tarte Tarteist Clay Paint Liner, 5. No7 Stay Precise Liner, 6. Seventeen Semi Permanent Liquid Eyeliner-Tattoo Me.

Right (Bottom to Top) : Swatches of  MAC Liquidlast Liner and No7 Stay Precise Liner. I did these swatches again on the right because I realised that they looked similar. The only difference was that the No7 liner came off fast once I washed it with water but the MAC liner did not budge.

I really hope you enjoyed this post and got some useful information out of it. I would love to know if you have tried other great eyeliners. xx

 

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