We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Compare Any Two
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
44 Comments
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
Comments on this post are closed.
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Hi Christine! Do they work well in the waterline as well? Thanks so much!
The ones that are creamy enough, sure!
Thank you so much for the response!! I’m always on the search for the perfect eyeliner that will stay put in my waterline. Nothing seems to last 😉
Probably the most popular rave is how well the MJB formula does on the waterline, but some shades are drier and, IMO, are painful on the waterline (and some more shimmery/glittery).
I have found this to be so true! The matte ones with no shimmer/glitter are super creamy and go on in the waterline like a dream (and stay all day). The glittery ones are pretty scratchy and you need to press a lot harder to get payoff. I have 5 colors and can only use 2 in the waterline. The rest are ok to use on the lid though so I will finish them up but I will only repurchase the matte ones.
Huma, Marc Jacobs also makes Fineliner Ultra Skinny and they are the most amazing on the waterline. I’ve only used the black one (got it by mistake as a Points Perk, thinking it was the regular sized one). On my upper waterline, it last all day long; I don’t tend to use it on my lower waterline as it’s very black and can look a little harsh (I believe it comes in several other colours though) but for tighlining/lining the upper waterline, I find it amazing.
Thank you so much Mariella! I’ll definitely give it a try 🙂
It’s a tie between Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil in Perversion and IT Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Liner in Black. I’d call them dupes for each other. They stay put till I take them off. They even last several hours in my waterlines.
I like UD 24/7 Perversion too Rachel. I many It Cosmetics products, but have never tried the eyeliners.
I “have” many…
Rimmel Scandaleyes. Lasted 10+ hours at a waterpark
Thanks to this comment I’m going to give them a try 🙂
Agree with Marc Jacobs but they are tied with Trish McEvoy. And McEvoy ones can all be used on the waterline.
The Sephora contour eye pencils last foreeeeever on me. As much as I love UD and Tarina Tarantino pencils, the Sephora pencils out-perform them!
I agree! I preferred the Marc Jacobs until I tried one of these. The Sephora is equal, if not better, and you can’t beat the price!
Sephora eye pencils are super long lasting!
I actually prefer the Marc Jacobs ones for lasting power and for how smoothly they apply (and also that they don’t need sharpening) but the Sephora ones come a really close second because they are so terrific and inexpensive (esp. compared with MJ) and they come in an insane range of shades (even though they discontinued Snakeskin Dress AND Rooftop party).
Tarte Smoldereyes fat pencil. Smudges well for a few seconds but then DOES.NOT.MOVE. until you take it off with an oily remover. I hoarded the heck out of them because they’ve discontinued it, and are selling what’s left til it’s gone.
I like those too, they do wear really well. One shade is an HG for me but now I save it for special occasions since it was discontinued.
I’m just here for the comments to find a good one. LOL
Marc Jacobs followed by Colourpop. I just ordered more Colourpop ones because they are so cheap. Only downside is I’ve found they break easy.
Absolutely nothing compares to the Marc Jacobs Highliner. NOTHING.
I just ran out of mine around a week and a half ago, so I had to use Colourpop Swerve to tightline. Nowhere close. The other day, I decided I would give the Sephora Retractable Waterproof pencil liner a go. Bought it, tried it, no bueno. It goes back. Getting another Blacquer!
I’ve been looking for one that works on the waterline and doesn’t get on my contacts! I’ve tried the Urban Decay and it gets stuck on my contacts and blurs my vision once I put them on the waterline.
Geez, I need to seriously check out those Marc Jacobs Highliners, nothing seems to last on my eyelids with all the primer I use, it would be heaven if they will last past 5 hours on me.
LA Girl Gel Liners hands down for me and I have tired them all including Marc Jacobs, UD, . Affordable and long lasting, best combination ever
About the only eyeliners I use are the original UD 24/7 eyeliner and Sephora original eyeliner, both pencil forms. Both last quite well for me. I don’t often line my waterline so don’t feel I can comment on that.
Thanks for the Marc Jacobs tip! My worst experiences were with Cargo waterproof: NOT waterproof, and Natasha Denona.
Neither had much pigment, dragged horribly and the flaked off after less than an hour.
I have super oily lids and have tried dozens and dozens of brands. MUFE, UD, IT, Tarte, L’Oreal Infallible, Marc Jacobs etc etc all smudge and smear on me, but the following pencil eyeliners last +12-17 hrs– BH Cosmetics Waterproof Party Girl, Prestige Total Intensity, Charlotte Tilbury Rock N Roll Kohl, Bare Minerals Round -The- Clock, and Sephora Contour Matte Gel Eyeliners. For my wet waterline, the longest lasting has been Sephora Inner Rim Contour by far ( about 4 hrs), and it also works on my lashline as well, but it’s a very small pencil, probably because it’s meant for waterline.
For me it’s Shu Uemura Play & Remix Drawing Pencil in M plum and I have no problems throughout the day. I don’t use it in the waterline though as they mention “avoid use on inner eyes”.
Party pooper here for MJ. Love the colors, but half of it is gone in under 2 minutes on the waterline. They don’t stay particularly well on the lash line, either. Sephora, Stila, and UD are all better options for me. Even Catrice and Ulta. I think that my eyes, like my skin, are oily, but dehydrated (not enough tears, too much Meibomian gland production (iirc.) The overproduction of oil simply goes to lunch on MJ liners. For me, prob the Sephora matte gels are best. Liners are my weakness, even beyond l/s at this point. Undoubtedly have >100, just on the dining room table! Kohl style formulas usually outlast other formulas on the waterline, too.
Nars Larger than Life are my all time favorites. Stay put and don’t bother my super sensitive eyes.
I am just discovering the Highliners, but I notice that some of your previous reviews give them low grades.
Pamyla, since I’m a fan and have experimented with most of these, in case this helps: I’ve found them consistently quite good performers. I have a sunset (the gold one) that dried out unreasonably quickly, but I gather that was a temporary formulation issue they’ve since fixed; I love the color though, and it lasts. I love Jazzberry, which got a poor review for good reason, as the main color (a berry purple) doesn’t apply well and fades quickly, but the other color in the mix — a shimmery pink purple — lasts all day and I just love it. Brownout lasts forever and ever.
I’ve had good luck with Stila Smudge Stick. I do use liquid eyeliner first and this combo lasts a really long time.
Definitely Marc Jacobs. Also, a (I think) Korean brand… it says Wholly Deep peripera on the liners. I did not expect much from them and they blew me away! But, really, any waterproof eyeliner I’ve tried has worn really well on me throughout the day. I guess the drier skin around my eyes is actually a plus at times.
Eyeliner is the very first makeup product that I started using at age 12 I think and I’ve tried a lot, I also wear contact lenses all day and I always line my waterline and I had the same trouble with UD’s Perversion eyeliner, it blurs my vision so badly and I really don’t like it, I have the same problem with Maybelline’s Master Drama, I’ve used Revlon Colorstay eyeliner for years and it’s one of my faves, my HG is NYX TRÉS JOLIE I use it almost everyday in Brown. Recently I’ve discovered the Marc Jacobs highliners and I also love love love them, my fav is Navy Noir, such an amazing color and it lasts super well on me and on my waterline, I totally recommend those
Agreed on MJ Highliners. Also, MAC fluidline (DC, sadly) and Sephora.
I agree – the Marc Jacobs Highliners really are the best I’ve tried in terms of long wear.
Marc Jacobs Highliner
Oh that’s good to know! I recently got one but I haven’t used it yet!
I have some Stila and Cargo Swimmables pencil liners that do not move on me, but because of the price I think Essence Gel waterproof pencils need to be mentioned. I mostly use them for the waterline and tightlining and they stay there all day.
The new MUFE liners (Aqua XL I think?) last in my waterline. Love them. Wish they came in more matte neutrals.
Guess I need the MJ more than I thought! I have had ok luck with L’Oreal but they don’t work on the waterline for me AT ALL.
Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Waterproof Eye Pencil & Eyeliner!!!
It wears better than any liners I’ve ever tried (Urban Decay, MUFE, Stila, tarte, Senna, etc). I think UD liners is a bit overrated, their underrated and sadly discontinued shadow pencil surprisingly wears better, even on waterline!
Pros:
Creamy, smooth, and very pigmented liners that stay put through storm and hell on my oily lids, watery eyes and hyperhidrosis syndrome. Oh, I also have hooded lids to boot!
Cons:
In this blue lipstick-era, it irks me the fact that they only have black & brown liners. Seriously, we need more colors, Armani!