Battle of the liquid pen eyeliners

I love black eyeliner. It should be a staple in anyone’s makeup bag. Over the years, I’ve used pencil, liquid, liquid pen, cream and gel liners. Liquid pen liners are, without a doubt, the easiest to use, even for a novice.

Just because the concept is simple though, it doesn’t mean that every liquid pen eyeliner is easy to use. If the brush is too soft or too stiff, if there isn’t enough product coming out, or the color payoff isn’t too great- your eyeliner will not look as clean and crisp and you’d like it to. Let’s talk about few of my favorite, and not-so-favorite liquid pen eyeliners.

Best liquid pen eyeliners. From left to right: Stila All-Day Water Proof Liquid Eye Liner, Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen, Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, NYC High Definition Liquid Eyeliner, L’Oreal Infallible The Super Slim Liquid Eyeliner, Maybelline Master Precise by EyeStudio

Stila All-Day Water Proof Liquid Eye Liner. This is my favorite liner of this kind, hands down. A jet-black color, waterproof formula and soft applicator, this literally glides on skin and allows for an easy and smooth application. Lasts all day, without smudging.

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen. I love the Colorstay range from Revlon, but I’m not a huge fan of this liquid eye pen. The applicator is nice because it’s stiff which makes it easy to control, but the color isn’t very black; it’s more like faded black. I find that when using this liner I have to keep going over and over a single line in order to have a decent color payoff, since it comes out a bit faded. It also doesn’t last nearly as long as I’d expect it to and was a bit disappointed to find that it smudged easily as well.

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner. This is another favorite of mine. Love the deep, black color, the applicator and the staying power. I didn’t really get along with this liner at first, because I thought that it dried oddly quick and layering it or fixing a bit here and there was an issue, but the more I use it, the better it works. The tip of the applicator is really thin, which allows for a precise application.

NYC High Definition Liquid Eyeliner. I was so excited when I first got this NYC liner, just because I freaking love their original liquid liner. This liner is awful. I love the applicator, but the liner itself is awful, watery and pretty much a waste of money. I feel so horrible writing this because I love NYC, but I gotta be honest with you.

L’Oreal Infallible The Super Slim Liquid Eyeliner. I really like this slim eyeliner, but whenever I do use it, I have to use a different liquid liner for bringing out the wing. This is great to use on your lash line, the product payoff is nice when the brush is put to the side, but you won’t be able to create any precise looks with this one (like thin lines, small wing, etc.). The applicator simply does not dispense any product when the tip is pointed straight-on.

Maybelline Master Precise by EyeStudio. This one is a bit similar to L’Oreal’s Super Slim Liquid Eyeliner. It’s great for defining the lash line, the color is very black, highly pigmented, but it’s not great at creating thin and very precise lines.

This is after wiping my arm down with an eye makeup remover. From left to right: Stila All-Day Water Proof Liquid Eye Liner, Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen, Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, NYC High Definition Liquid Eyeliner, L’Oreal Infallible The Super Slim Liquid Eyeliner, Maybelline Master Precise by EyeStudio.

Tried any of these? Have other favorites? Let me know down below!