Whether you’re a makeup guru, or just beginning to dive down the rabbit hole into makeup wonderland, you probably already know that eyeliner is a staple item that you need in your makeup bag. The classic ‘cat eye’ winged eyeliner never seems to go out of style and adds a bit of vamp to any makeup look you might be sporting. So it’s not surprising that nearly every single beauty brand in existence are selling their own ‘miracle eyeliners’ that promise you the ‘perfect’ and ‘on-point’ eyeliner wing.
But which eyeliner is truly worth the money for the wing it produces?
I put 3 different eyeliners to the test from 3 different (and cruelty-free) beauty brands, to see which one, not only produced the best wing, but also which wing lasted the longest throughout the day. I tested all 3 eyeliners without any eyeshadow on my eyes and applied the same e.l.f. Cosmetics eye primer each time to keep the test as fair as possible. So let the battle of the eyeliners commence!
Eyeliner 1: e.l.f. Cosmetics Expert Liquid Eyeliner £3
Express from the USA, e.l.f. Cosmetics (an abbreviation of eyes, lips, face) is one of the latest additions to the British makeup market and has currently launched at Superdrug stores nationwide. I’d heard quite a lot about this brand before it was available in the UK, with various beauty bloggers raving about the quality of their products as well as the extremely low price points of the cruelty-free brand. So I paid a visit to my local Superdrug store and purchased the Expert Liquid Eyeliner for a grand price of £3 (what a bargain!).
e.l.f. Cosmetics Expert Liquid Eyeliner Jet Black £3 – from www.superdrug.com
Because this eyeliner was at such a low price point, I wasn’t expecting the quality to be amazing, but I was suddenly proven very wrong. The eyeliner applied beautifully without drying down too quickly, meaning you can layer up your liner without the produce beginning to clump and crumble underneath. Throughout the day, the eyeliner stayed pretty well and the wings didn’t crumble around my waterline and didn’t smudge around my eyelid.
However, the eyeliner brush is slightly too thick, meaning that you can’t draw a precise, sharp wing, so this product isn’t the best if you prefer a thin, light layer of liner. However, for the price point of this product, I definitely think it is worth it, plus if you’re new to the eyeliner game, it’s great for beginners!
Eyeliner 2: Charlotte Tilbury Feline Flick Black Eyeliner Pen £22
This second eyeliner comes from the brand created by celebrity makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury. I already own one Charlotte Tilbury product, which is a gorgeous nude lipstick called Nude Kate and this product is a staple item in my makeup bag now. For a nude lipstick, the pigment is amazing and is also super long-wearing without drying out my lips for the whole day, plus it smells like vanilla ice cream!
Anyway, this Feline Flick Eyeliner is a fine-tip pen rather than a brush-and-pot duo like the e.l.f. Cosmetics liquid eyeliner, meaning you can carve out your wings as precise as you want! The first thing about this product is the high price point, compared to the low price of the e.l.f. Cosmetics liner, so I had higher expectations for this product.
Charlotte Tilbury Feline Flick Black Eyeliner Pen £22 – from www.charlottetilbury.com
I really liked the application of this product, the fine tip meant that I could spend some extra time and carve out the wing get the sharpness just right. Also, the precision of this pen meant that I could drag my eyeliner into the inner corners of my eye, without too much product accidentally catching the tear duct and bleeding all over my eye (it’s not a good look). The pigmentation of this eyeliner was OK, but I did feel like I had to layer the liner a few times before I achieved a solid black line all across my eye.
However, I wasn’t impressed with how the eyeliner lasted throughout the day. My wing began to crumble near the waterline halfway through the day and even though I didn’t draw a thick, dramatic wing, I found most of my eyeliner had travelled up my eyelid and was smudged all across the crease of my eye! Luckily I brought the eyeliner pen along with me, so correcting and touching-up my wings didn’t take too much time out of my day. But it was still a disappointment after the e.l.f. Cosmetics eyeliner had worn so well the previous day.
Therefore, for the price point, I don’t think this eyeliner was worth it. If you want a fine-tip eyeliner pen to mark out the basic style of your liner look and your wing before going over top with a more long-lasting, pigmented liner, then this eyeliner pen would work fantastic for that. But on its own, this eyeliner doesn’t pass the test with me, which is a massive shame. I was really rooting for this eyeliner.
Eyeliner 3: NYX Cosmetics Vinyl Liquid Liner £6
NYX Cosmetics is another American beauty brand that has taken the UK by storm. It’s incredibly, high quality products and reasonable price points has had beauty bloggers worldwide raving about the cruelty-free brand. Before I delved into their range of eyeliners, I had sampled a few of the NYX products before, especially their ‘Soft Matte Lip Creams’ which I have raved about in a recent blog post! So I was excited to finally try something from their vast eyeliner collection and chose the ‘Vinyl Liquid Liner’ which came in at a very reasonable price of £6.
NYX Cosmetics Vinyl Liquid Liner £6 – from www.nyxcosmetics.co.uk
This eyeliner has a similar set up to the e.l.f. Cosmetics brush-and-pot duo, but this eyeliner has a finer-tip brush, meaning you get the accuracy of being able to carve out a sharp wing, as well as the ease of gliding the eyeliner on with the brush. In my opinion, this eyeliner applied like a dream and packed a lot more pigment than the Charlotte Tilbury liner. Also, since this isn’t a matte liner, it has a nice sheen that catches the light very nicely and would work extremely well with a glittery eye look!
As for how this eyeliner lasted throughout the day, the stuff never budged! There was no crumbling, no cracking, no smudging or the liner travelling to my crease. It stayed on perfectly and even after a long day, it stayed put. The only issue is, it takes an army to get the liner off! But I guess that’s the price you pay for a long-wearing formula.
So Who Won The Battle?
After testing these eyeliners and seeing how they applied and wore throughout the day, the NYX Cosmetics ‘Vinyl Liquid Liner’ came out victorious. The application was seamless and meant I had a variety of looks I could create due to the fine-tip brush. Also, the formula was packed with pigment and extremely long-wearing. Finally, this little beauty is only £6 which is an absolute BARGAIN!
NYX Cosmetics have a whole feast of wonderful eyeliners to try, from their widely popular ‘Vivd Brights Liner’ to pencil liners and gel liners.
You can shop their whole collection here.
Louiseeanna 