The first thing someone notices when they meet you is your eyes. It’s been said before that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Personally, I’m obsessed with all the different possibilities for eye makeup.
My favorite look is a strong, bold eyeliner. I think this really defines the eyes and can give the illusion of any shape you want. To make your eyes look bigger, you can add bottom liner to your water line. To look more awake and refreshed, add a nude-colored liner to the inner corner of your eyes. And for longer lashes, just pop some liner on the top water line.
Eyeliner was the first makeup that I really started to play with when I was younger, and I think I love it so much because of how many different looks it can really make. Whatever look you’re going for, there’s the perfect liner out there just for you.
1. Maybelline EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner
My personal all-time favorite, this gel liner comes in a pot and you can use a brush to apply. This is very pigmented and doesn’t take a lot of layers to get a strong, dark line. My favorite way to apply liner is with a brush because of its versatility — it can get into the tiniest of niches on my eye. I also like how in-control a brush allows me to apply my liner; with pens it can be a little bit trickier to draw the exact line shape you’re going for. I also like the gel because I find it’s the most forgiving liner. If I mess up my line, I can easily wipe it away without ruining what I already had perfected and without leaving any trace of the imperfection.
2. L’Oréal Infallible Super Slim Liquid Eyeliner
If you are interested in the current trendy cat-eye look, pens are your best bet. Though this is very possible with a brush, pens are the quickest and easiest way to apply this fierce look. This L’Oréal pen is one of my favorites. If I’m not using my Maybelline one, this is what I’m using because it’s got an extremely thin tip and a very thin felt brush. Because it’s long, the brush will do most of the work for you. A thin tip is also preferable for a precise, straight line. This liner is also amazing because I find that, compared to my gel liner, a lot of pens and pencils just aren’t as solid and dark as I like. This one is so opaque that it’s almost as dark as my gel, which is amazing!
3. Essence Eyeliner Pen Waterproof
The only downfall with the previous L’Oréal pen is it’s price — it’s one of the more expensive brands at the drugstore, ringing up at $8.99. Because pens are notorious for drying out quickly, this can add up to be very expensive. I recently found this Essence eyeliner pen that I love almost as much as the L’Oréal one, and it’s much more affordable, costing only $2.99. The Essence one is slightly shorter and wider than the L’Oréal one, which isn’t that annoying because you can still get a pretty precise line. However, the Essence one is not as strong in pigmentation as the L’Oréal one, so I usually find myself applying a second coat to get a very bold line. The other downfall of this one is that it does dry out a little more quickly than the L’Oréal one, but I don’t really mind this so much because the price is so low.
4. Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Liner
This is great for lining the water lines. It’s pretty dark for a pencil, which is usually dull. I also like this because the texture of this liner is very similar to gel, just in pencil form. It goes on very smooth and doesn’t irritate my eyes, unlike most pencils, which I find usually are much harsher. The pencil also claims to be waterproof, and though I’ve never worn it in the pool or harsh rain, it definitely does stay put. This makes it perfect for the water line because, as you could guess by its name, it tends to water a lot throughout the day. This is the perfect eyeliner for making my eyes pop and my lashes look longer and fuller. This eyeliner also comes in a very light peachy nude color, which is perfect on the inner corner of your eyes on those really rough mornings. This is a great tip no matter what eyeliner you use because the inner corner of your eye is the darkest, so it can show the most lack of sleep.
5. Maybelline Define-a-Line Eyeliner
This eyeliner is one that I used back in middle school and in the first years of high school. Though I stopped using it for the most part, I still thought it was worth putting in here for those of you that like smoky eyes. This is almost exactly the consistency of gel liner in a roll-up stick form, so you can get a really thin, precise line. Because it is very similar in texture to gel, you can smudge it out to create a really beautiful smoky eye. This eyeliner is super pigmented so that even when you do a smoky eye, it doesn’t lose most of its color. However, I did find that this one did smudge a little bit, and though this is preferable if you were to use this for a smoky eye, you most likely wouldn’t want this for any other look.
No matter what eye look you’re going for, bold or not, there’s definitely a perfect eyeliner out there for you. The great thing about eyeliner is that there are so many great ones, no matter your budget or style may be. Play around with different eyeliners to see what makeup hacks you can find. Nothing beats those fierce cat eyes, though. Hopefully some of the tips I’ve mentioned above can help you out if you’re on a time crunch or are looking to broaden your makeup trick horizons. Whatever your goal is, I hope these reviews have convinced you why you should love your eyes — and your eyeliner, too.
Photo credit: giphy.com