Pardon my snobbery, but you can not be a beauty connoisseur/guru/pro/authority if you do not know your liquid liner. Maybe not everyone had the pleasure of slapping it on without a care at 13, but I sure did. That being said, a decade and a half later I am still testing. When it comes to liquid liners, a formula can be fantastic but if the applicator fails, it's out. I have tried all sorts applicators, but my favorites are still felt and foam tips. They are just so much easier to manipulate than brushes. All liners have their place but with cream/gel you need that extra brush and you have to clean it (me=lazy), with regular pencils there is the need to sharpen and lack of precision, and with mechanical pencils it seems they come with so little product and I also find a lack of precision at times. If you want pencils (mechanical and regular) to be precise you have to sharpen often and waste product too. I find even if I give myself adequate time to get ready, I always seem to be in a rush when it comes down to the end with liner and mascara. That leads me to liquid liner, with its low maintenance properties. This isn't to say I don't have an arsenal of other liners, because I do, but this post is about liquid. There are many fabulous felt tipped liner pens out there, but this does not include them. I have problems with them running out or drying out fast.
Felt or foam tip liquid eye liners:
Lancome Artliner .04 oz. $30
Estee Lauder Pure Color/Double Wear Zero-Smudge Liquid Eyeliner .10 oz. $23
Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Aqua Liner .058 oz. $23
Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner .05 oz. $22
MAC Superslick Liquid Eye Liner .06 oz $19.50
Sephora Long-Lasting 12HR Wear Eye Liner $12
Prestige Total Intensity Against All Odds Liquid Ink Eyeliner .095 oz. $9.49 (Ulta)
L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner .05 oz. $7.94 (Wal-Mart)
Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eye Liner .058 oz. $7.79 (CVS)
Maybelline Line Stiletto Ultimate Precision Liquid Eyeliner $5.97 (Wal-Mart)
Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner .08 oz. $4.97 (Wal-Mart)
Honorable mention
Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner (formula & packaging is similar to MUFE/MAC but it has a brush tip applicator)
Felt or foam tip liquid eye liners:
Lancome Artliner .04 oz. $30
Estee Lauder Pure Color/Double Wear Zero-Smudge Liquid Eyeliner .10 oz. $23
Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Aqua Liner .058 oz. $23
Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner .05 oz. $22
MAC Superslick Liquid Eye Liner .06 oz $19.50
Sephora Long-Lasting 12HR Wear Eye Liner $12
Prestige Total Intensity Against All Odds Liquid Ink Eyeliner .095 oz. $9.49 (Ulta)
L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner .05 oz. $7.94 (Wal-Mart)
Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eye Liner .058 oz. $7.79 (CVS)
Maybelline Line Stiletto Ultimate Precision Liquid Eyeliner $5.97 (Wal-Mart)
Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner .08 oz. $4.97 (Wal-Mart)
Honorable mention
Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner (formula & packaging is similar to MUFE/MAC but it has a brush tip applicator)
Top to bottom: Sephora, Lancôme artliner, L'Oreal, MAC, Estée Lauder, Stila, Prestige Total Intensity, Milani ultrafine liner, Mufe, UD 24/7 liquid, real techniques fine liner brush, MAC 211, 210
These are the liners I would recommend. If you have a suggestion for me to try please comment. I have pictures of all EXCEPT Maybelline Line Stiletto (eye infection, threw away) and L'Oreal Lineur Intense (lost somewhere between Milwaukee and New Orleans). Lately I have only been able to find Prestige at Ulta. I purchase Milani from CVS, milani.com, and cherryculture.com. CVS runs sales from time to time, milani.com usually has great Black Friday sales, and cherry culture often runs 20% sales but you usually need to purchase $50+ to get free shipping. If you don't have a local CVS you can check the website because they do run shipping promotions too.
