Granted I have oily lids that seem to have something against having a cat flick drawn on them (or any look that involves heavy use of black cosmetic gel or liquid). But when I buy a liner that tells me it’s totally waterproof and smudge-proof for 24hrs (or more), I expect it to be just that, no matter how challenging my eyelids.
I love a swoosh of black liner nestled against my top lashline, finished off with a small up and out flick. It looks great for all of… and that’s the problem. Just an hour or so after I’ve applied it, my erstwhile neatly drawn densely black straight line has become a watered down wobbly mess that’s smudged onto my upper lids (no primer has managed to prevent this happening).
I struck gold last year with Bourjois’ Erasable Liner (review) but I’ve had trouble locating another tube, and so am forced to search anew.
Just before Christmas I bought four affordable liners from Maybelline, Rimmel London, Collection and Seventeen. They got a lot of road testing over the festive period, with my new Sigma E06 Brush Winged Eyeliner Brush (I didn’t do much partying but I was out and about a lot and wore makeup more than usual). Two liners failed the test, two passed but in the end it came down to one clear winner.
Rimmel London Scandal Gel Eye Liner (£6.99) and Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24hr – Intense Black (£7.99)
I’m grouping these together as they both failed the acid test! Things started off well, with them both easy to apply (although the included Rimmel brush was too stubby for drawing a fine line), and having good intensity of colour. But within a few hours of wear both had smudged onto my top lids.
Collection Waterproof Fast Stroke Eyeliner - £2.99
This is a liquid and comes with an integrated brush. There’s good density to the colour. But it’s not the easiest of liners to apply. I had to re-draw my line a few times to get it even and it also flaked a bit as it dried. Though once I got the line perfected and the formula had dried completely, this stayed in place without a smudge or smear. Available at Superdrug here.
Seventeen Tattoo Me – £3.99 (offer price)
The clear winner. Another liquid formula supplied with its own integrated brush. It was a doddle to apply (relatively speaking as I never find cat eyes easy to draw), and delivered a smooth intensely pigmented line. There was no problem doing touch-ups - I use a cotton bud loaded with eyemake-up remover or cream cleanser to do this.
Tattoo Me claims up to 48 hour wear. I never keep mine on for that length of time but this didn’t smudge or smear all day. Available at Boots here.
