Drawing eyes

♫ Helloween – Mr. Torture

Lil' miss lazy blogger strikes back with the eyeliner review post I promised a while ago. I have even tried one new product after I mentioned I could write some reviews, so I will have, um, at least four eyeliners to write about.

If you've been following my blog for a while, you've seen enough photos of my face too and thus, know that I tend to apply quite a lot of eyeliner and it's been my trademark for ten years. Yet it's taken me almost ten years to master a style I'm happy with... :> And still I think my taste is developing constantly and maybe one day I'll look back on the style of make-up I had these days and just *facepalm*. Oh well, the road to success is always under construction!

When it comes to my skin, I suffer from acne and my skin is constantly oily, and it applies to my eyelids as well. It gives a real challenge to eyeliner products and I'm still looking for a perfect one!

I didn't take photos of my products because I lack some at the moment. Instead I'm trying to link to the product web pages on their respective manufacturer's sites. I didn't take photos of sample lines drawn either, because the differences aren't either that remarkable or couldn't be seen in photos. However, I've tried to state whether the finish is matte or shiny.

As for prices, I'm not stating exact sums I paid but an approximate price ratio based on the price per millilitre. Thus, the first product, which I consider "the very basic", shall get the price number 1 and the rest a number in the proportion to that number.

Gosh Eye Liner Pen
This is "the very basic" eyeliner – promised to be quick-drying and tear-proof which stays beautiful for hours, yet is not waterproof. Well, only the last two statements may be true. I'm not sure what slow-drying would be, but in comparison with other products I've tried, I think this is one of those slow-drying ones. At least it's the one I screw up most often by closing my eyes too quickly after applying it. As for tear-proof: I disagree. However, it may stay beautiful, if you're lucky. I've seen worse liquid eyeliners. I used this for years thinking this was very good.
The brush is comfortable and easy to use, works well for both thin and thick lines. I like it so much that I've saved and cleaned some caps to be used later after the contents of the bottle have run out.
Price: 1
Finish: Matte
Durability: ***
Ease of use: ****



Gosh Long Lasting Eye Liner Pen
For a while I thought this product was beyond awesome, but it turned out not to be perfect after all. I am not too fond of the shiny finish, but it stays well. However, lately I've also had to get disappointed with it, having had it melt on my eyelids even with good primer underneath. The tip is very thin, but easy to use. The liquid is also occasionally thin! I've had to shake the bottle a bit, or apply multiple layers. I think I used 1.8 ml in a month and thought it ran out quickly.
Price: 1.26
Finish: Shiny
Durability: ****+
Ease of use: ****


Gosh Intense Eye Liner Pen
I thought an eye liner pen with a marker tip would be awesome and wanted to try it. And yes, a marker tip feels strange at first but nice after a while... Until you would need more paint. Since the container is, like in marker pens, at the base of the pen, you would have to wait for the liquid to flow down and make the tip wet again. Unlike with actual marker pens, you cannot press the tip against the paper—err, your eyelid, because it will hurt. However, the tip is supposed to be tilted slightly in order to make the contents wet the brush tip again. Yet it doesn't quite work like that! At least I have to resort to tilting the tip against the back of my hand or something, and when it starts to get wet again, all the paint is at the base of the tip, and it's difficult to get the very tip of the brush wet so that you could continue drawing neat, thin lines. Sure, the idea was good. However, the lesson learnt: brushes which are dipped into the container work better than markers when it comes to lining your eyes. P.S: It's expensive.
Price: 2.5
Finish: Matte
Durability: ****-
Ease of use: **

Isadora Glossy Eyeliner Waterproof
I have a strange habit of staying very loyal to a certain cosmetics brand even if I hadn't tried many. I may be only relatively satisfied with the products I always use, not knowing if there could be something better out there... Thus, I dared to try this one recently. Said to be "super glossy", but I think it's less glossy than the Gosh Long Lasting one. And yes, it is waterproof – tested in the rain, stayed where it should. However, it's not as oil-resistant as I'd hope! Even with primer and Grimas eyeshadow, it can melt on my eyelids – even before the eye shadow does. Left me slightly disappointed, but it's at least as good as Gosh Eye Liner Pen, and yeah well, more tear-proof too. The brush tip is similar to that basic Gosh one.
Price: 0.97
Finish: Shiny–
Durability: ***+
Ease of use: ****



Extra: Grimas Water Make-Up Pure (palette)
I sometimes use this product as well, it's good for any body painting and works well as eyeliner as well. I mix it with water and apply with an old eye liner cap brush, and it works. Naturally, it's not waterproof but stays well nevertheless, and although it's water-soluble, it's not the easiest to remove with mere water.
Price: I cannot remember the exact price of a 15-millilitre palette, but I guess I won't be lying too much if I give it the number 0.2. Much cheaper than using actual eyeliner products!
Finish: Matte
Durability: ***+
Ease of use: Must be mixed with water or such, you need to get a separate brush. At home with good equipment ***** and on the go **.

I'm willing to try more products since I'm still looking forward to meeting the perfect one. What is your favorite? What would you never recommend to anyone?

Images: Sokos webstore. Finns can go shopping and check out more accurate prices too!

P.S: I think I have tried sleeping with each of these products on my face. :> This is what I call "the ultimate test", although the conditions for the product to endure are not as extreme as in the rain, while working out, sweating on a hot summer day... I never neglect evening beauty routines and removing make-up if I'm at home, but occasionally, when I'm spontaneously sleeping elsewhere, it's easier for me to sleep with make-up and remove it with appropriate products once I get my hands on them again.