My favorite eyeliners

As an Asian woman with monolids, finding the best smudge-proof eyeliner has been one of my main beauty missions.  Too many times, I've sported raccoon eyes and went out in public with liner transferred onto my upper lids.  I am pleased to say that it hasn't happened since I've found the following products:

image via amazon.com

 stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner, Intense Black* was the first liquid liner that made me feel confident about my liner... staying all day.  I stopped checking the mirror to see if my liner had migrated to other parts of my eyelid.  I loved it so much that I recommended it to my other friends.  I've had only one complaint from a friend who had been using it with no problems. But when she started putting moisturizer on her eyes before the liner, she said that the liner would come off. That has never happened to me, and I also apply moisturizer/eye cream before putting on my makeup.  I always make sure to put on an eye primer and then powder after I allow my moisturizer to absorb.  I swear those two steps are the key to my liner staying in place.  So if you have any transfer/smudging occurring with eye liners, definitely try adding those steps to your makeup regimen.

This is the eye primer I've used for years.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

I thought that I would stick to Stila forever, but I received the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner as a gift and it was equally as impressive.  It is also a liquid liner that does NOT BUDGE. 

image via sephora.com

 If you can't decide between the Stila one or this one, I would try this one first just because I remember drawing on my hand with the Tattoo liner and it wouldn't come off!  The Stila liner has about 15 color options while the Tattoo liner only has black and brown, so if you're into color, the Stila one would be better.

At a beauty photo shoot, the makeup artist put a whole lotta black liner on me.

She drew the liner on thick! I was afraid that it would slide right off, but she knew what she was doing!  She used Laura Mercier's Tightline Cake Eye Liner, which is a powder you apply with a brush (sold separately).  This stuff doesn't fade or move. 

image via sephora.com

You can either use the powder wet or dry. I have only used it wet since buying, and the makeup artist who introduced me to this also used it wet for the shoot (this is the same liner used for both of the above photos of me!. You can control how opaque you want the line to be with water.  A little water goes a long way.  If you add too much water, then the liner goes on a bit more translucent.  Think of it as painting with water colors; a lot of water means the color won't be as pigmented.  

In the description for the cake eye liner's suggested usage, it says, "Apply the Tightline Cake Eye Liner underneath the root of the upper lash line by wiggling the brush between individual lashes." I've only used it for the area above my upper lashes...like "traditional" eyeliner application? So I can't remark on how well it works for "tightlining". 

Ok, so here is something I discovered very recently.  I thought that lining my waterline would never be a possibility for me.  

image via thebeautymarkgirls.com

It either melted onto my face or just disappeared.  That is until I used Makeup Forever's Aqua Eyes Liners. 

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I just apply this to my lower waterline and set it with some of my Urban Decay eyeshadow.  It has not failed me yet! 

Happy waterlining!

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*I will receive a small commission (thank you!) if you purchase through the affiliate link; however, your cost will be the same (and quite possibly less if I’m highlighting a promotion).