Today, I am going to talk to you about one of my dearest friends: liquid eyeliner.
I am a full-fledged addict, believer, follower and missionary for liquid eyeliner. Yeah, I do think it can solve all of your problems and I think it can do it for less than $3.
I wear it absolutely ever day. My daytime look is pretty much my nighttime look, and I’m completely, 100% okay with that. There’s something about thick, cartoon-esque liner that I absolutely love. You can’t duplicate this with a pencil, you just can’t!
I have used Urban Decay, Stila, fancy-shmancy, $20+ eyeliner and I have to say, I’ve been disappointed every time. Some of the best eyeliners that I’ve ever used have been from the local drugstore (in my case, Bartell’s). This goes for skincare, too, now that I think about it! A lot of my favorite products come from the drugstore, and NYC’s Liquid Liner is at the top of the list.
Crazy Low Price
It rings in at about $3 (both in-store and online), is a super-ultra-mega-dark black. There are only two colors of this particular liner – black and pearlized black. I prefer the black because not every day is a glimmery day, you know? Plus, I love the clean lines of a perfect black liquid liner – it’s better than macaroni & cheese on a rainy day.
This is pretty much what I look like every day! Too much eyeliner for daytime and unmanageable hair.
Perfect Applicator Tip
I’m ultra-picky about my liner brushes – I hate sponges. Sponge tips, sponge brush, whatever they’re called, get away from me. I hate them on lip gloss, I hate them on eyeliner – I hate them just about everywhere. That includes the little triangular, conical sponge tips that come with other brands of liner. No sponges ever!
That goes for pens, too! Get out, all of ya!
NYC’s Liquid Liner has a beautiful, very fine brush at the end of a long handle. Perfect!
Application & Formula Quality
The formula isn’t too thick, and it isn’t too thin. I have to wipe of excess before applying, but I can keep using that excess without “refilling” for at least the duration of one eye-line. It dries pretty quickly, as well, so there’s less risk of Twiggy-eye (but there is still risk as this stuff isn’t waterproof).
It dries pretty damn matte, and I don’t get a lot of shininess once it’s set. For extra insurance on some days, I will add some translucent powder over top just-dried eyeliner to set it, but see above! That still doesn’t make it sweat-, rain-, or crying-a-lot-proof.
That being said, if you can hold off on watching My Girl until you’ve already taken your makeup off, you’ll find that this stuff stays on for a long time without bleeding, flaking or smudging around. The swatches that you see below stayed on my hand for the entire day!
Are these good swatches? I have no idea. I just tried to make eye-ish lines.
I kind of wish there were more color options, but I knew if there were, I’d just buy black anyway. I love the idea of colorful liquid liners, but I have absolutely no idea where to start. Have you ever worn colorful, liquid eyeliner?
Three cheers for drugstore beauty finds!
View Comments (4)
I have spent far too much money on eyeliner, too. I totally hear YOU. I am now in love with the wet and wild liquid eyeliner. I think it's pretty much the same thing. A small pot with a brush. Lasts forever, easy to use, and cheap. :)
I tried Wet'n'Wild eyeliner a REALLLLLY long time ago (think, like, a decade) and I think they deserve another look. The price is ALWAYS awesome, and they're still around, so they must be doing something right! You're not the first person I've heard obsess over their liquid eyeliner...
Thank you for inspiring me to try it again! (& so sorry for the EPIC DELAY in response)
this is by far the best drugstore liquid liner out there! so happy to see you posted this!
One of my fav reviews ever :D
you are awesome!