I love how creamy they are, and how they can be used as a base/cream eyeshadow as well as an eyeliner. I wish they had smaller sizes, though!
— Christine
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The only gel liner I have used is IT Cosmetics. They are nice, easy to apply and last a long time but I don’t use them much anymore as I am into other liners.
I agree Christine I do wish they came in a smaller size.
I recently figured out that I really don’t care for gel liner… I simply find the black ones I’ve tried just aren’t as black as my liquid liners, and I get much more precision when using liquid or cake liners. Plus, they’re a PITA to clean off brushes. Perhaps if I started out with gel liners, or used them at the same time I started with liquid/cake formulas, I’d feel differently, but at this point, they just take too much effort. If I add in a bit of Inglot Duraline, it makes a huge difference, and I’ll continue to do that until I get through what I have, but after that, I’ll just stick to liquid/cake liners.
On the other hand, for those who like color, there tends to be a nice selection; however, I pretty much stick to black. Also, if I want a “softer” look, I’ll use gel liner, as they tend to be more pigmented/longer lasting than pencil. I also use them for brows, which again, if I were to adopt a less “conventional” hair color, there would be options available.
Raves: It’s the only eyeliner that lasts on my extremely oily monolids.
Rant: I hate the pot types because I find I can’t get a straight even line using a brush versus an eyeliner pencil, so I would prefer to get a really excellent gel eyeliner pencil. Haven’t found one yet.
Have you tried using a pencil as a brush? I also find a mixing medium (likenInglot Duraline) makes the product easier to manage, as there is less “drag”.
Ok thanks, I’ll try them!
You may also like the Marc Jacobs Highliners. All the pigment of the gel liners with a pencil application.
I LOVE gel eyeliners!! They are absolutely the BEST for my oily lids. They are pigmented, creamy and long-lasting on their own, but if I put primer and shadow underneath, and I can usually get 12-17 hours of wear with them. My faves are Sephora Matte Contour Gel Eye Liner , Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel (in pot) , and BH Cosmetics Party Girl Gel Eyeliner. I don’t know if BM Round -the- Clock and Prestige Total Intensity are gel Liners or not, but they sure feel like them, and last just as long.
Have you tried Tarte’s? They’re my absolute favorites. They feel like mousse. Soooo smooth.
I got a couple of the BH Party Gil Pencils. I was very impressed. They’re so pretty and convenient.
Rachel, thank for the tip! For Tarte, they have several liners. Is that the one that comes in a pot or is it one of their pencils? And yes, the BH Party Girls are awesome, and SO cheap, and sometime they have special deals too
Sorry, I should have said. The pot eyeliners.
I really like the smolderEyes pencils, too, but I don’t think they’re gel. I have oily lids, but as long as I have a primer on, I’m fine with most liner pencils.
The only eyeliner I use is pencil, and rarely do I do anything but tightline my lashes. I have a nice black pot, and back when I did wear more eyeliner I liked low long lasting gel was, but I preferred how sharp liquid looks!
I believe the hype is kind of over right now. I like how you could choose the brush you like best. But on the other hand, it could be too much work to get your brush clean and ready.
I recently went through my makeup collection and threw out all of my gel liners. I tend to grab something else…
My little pot of Essence Midnight In Paris ( pitch black) is HG eyeliner for me! I wear winged out liner just about every single day, so this one which is nearly bulletproof is my go-to. And I also love my 2 MAC Fluidline liners, Siahi and Waveline, too. But those two shades require 2 coats, ugh!
I loved pencil liners when I was younger, but now that I’m approaching 50 gel liners are the only liners that can provide a consistently good and easy-to-apply line. There are tiny wrinkles that form right by the lashes that cause pencil liners to skip (leaving an uneven line with empty patches) and liquid liners to instantly feather into those tiny wrinkles on contact. My only complaint is how quickly they seem to get dry.
I use gel liners the most. I find them easier to use than a pencil because of the precision I get with a brush, and I like the look better than liquid liner. I also find they last longer than pencil overall.
My rant would be that they dry out long before I get anywhere near to finishing them, so it’s just what you said, Christine – smaller containers would be nice. I also love that they can be used as shadows and as bases – IT Cosmetics Rich Plum and Nars Baalbek Eye Paint are 2 of my favourites for this purpose as well as using them as liners.
I have both of those and love them!
I loovvve gel liner! I have black, brown, purple and dark blue gel liners and I love them all!
Love, Love LOVE! Gel liners! The only stuff that lasts on my lids. Currently Nars eye paints are my HG – I have them in almost all of the colors.
As for gel pencils, the Bobbi Brown gel eye pencils are what I carry with me if I ever need a touchup. Wearing contacts and using dry-eye drops regularly, I need touchups during the day and the BB gel pencils are the best wearing I’ve found.
At first, I was intimidated by the concept of gel liners, and gave in to the hype a bit late in the game 🙂 Even though they glide on so smoothly and creamily, and the paint pots are an excellent eyeshadow base, I actually prefer liquid and pencil eyeliners, gel pots dry out too quickly, do not sit well over glittery eye shadows and are not convenient to travel around with. Am on a no buy for now, but the Marc Jacobs retractable gel pencils are on my wishlist, these just might be the best of both worlds…
I like gel liners a lot. My only problem is that they seem to dry quite quickly, even though I close the lid tightly and never leave them open for more than a minute or so at the time.
The pencil form of gel liners are great because they seem to lay down more smoothly and consistently (in general) than standard wax-based pencil liners. They also seem to last longer, and given that I’m a certain age [ahem] I find that the wrinkles are less apparent under an around gel pencil liners.
The only pot form of gel liner I own is the Inglot 79 (primary red) one. It’s much less convenient for application than the pencil form, but I have plenty of experience with brushes so it isn’t so bad. Really wish there was a pencil form of this, though. I’d probably buy half the Inglot gel liners if I could get them in pencil form.
Sometimes I use black gel liner as a base for dark eyeshadow looks, but I’d rather use liquid liner for actual eyeliner looks because it’s just kind of a pain to use a brush with the pot. I already do that with Dipbrow and it just feels like I’m cutting at least one extra corner by using liquid for liner. 😛
Rant: I love gel liners, and I don’t have much bad to say. You have to use a brush with them, which I don’t mind. Some people might find that inconvenient. Some people have issues with them drying out, but I haven’t run into that.
Rave: They’re easy to use and long wearing. They don’t crack like some of the liquid liners. They can be longer-lasting and gentler on the waterline than a pencil (it depends on the brand as to whether they stay on the waterline, of course).
I find gel liners to be easier to apply than liquid liner because it is easier to manipulate. I always get a little nervous when it’s time to do liquid liner, no matter how many times I’ve done it, because I don’t want to have to redo my whole eye. In the past, they’ve smudged on my because I have monolids, but I find that setting it with a matte black eyeshadow helps a lot. They don’t like as sharp as liquid liner, but it does look more natural.