The Best Eyeliners for Your Holiday Wish List (2015 Edition)
I confess… I LOVE EYELINER! Especially in shades of teal, taupe, and gold. But you knew that, right? I feel like the most obvious favorite of mine is teal eyeliner, because it adds just the right amount of oomph whether it’s paired with no eyeshadow, neutral eyeshadow, or bold eyeshadow! I like eyeliners that have pretty good pigmentation in a single stroke or can be built-up to full intensity in two layers or so, don’t tug on the lash line but don’t slide around easily, and preferably, not a total nightmare to remove.
1. Sephora Contour Eye Pencil ($9.00) | These are my most reached for eyeliners; they come in a huge assortment of colors, wear well, remove without a lot of work (but still stay on when you need them to), and glide on without tugging. I love Flirting Game in particular as it is a nice alternative to black and brown.
Where to Buy: Sephora
2. Milani Liquid Eye Pencil ($6.99) | These are really fun, pigmented shades that go on well and last awhile. I only wish the shade range was larger!
Where to Buy: Drugstore.com
3. MAC Chromagraphic Pencil ($16.00) | It’s an intensely pigmented, long-wearing matte eyeliner formula. Some shades are not safe for the eyes (it is a PRO product), so take care in selecting, but the black and flesh-toned shades are great basics.
Where to Buy: MAC
4. Stila Smudge Stick ($20.00) | It’s a twist-up, fine eyeliner that comes in a variety of shades. They apply well and give you a lot of control with good longevity and color payoff. Mint Julep is one I use often.
Where to Buy: Sephora, ULTA, Beauty.com
5. Sephora Contour Matte Gel Eyeliner ($14.00) | This is a richly pigmented, matte formula that glides on easily and wears well. They have some fun, bright shades to choose from!
Where to Buy: Sephora
6. MAC Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner ($16.00) | For sparkling, shimmery eyeliner with deeper base shades, this is a fun formula. I love Undercurrent and Lord It Up!
Where to Buy: Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s
7. MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline ($16.00) | I’m so glad MAC revamped and released additional shades in the Fluidline family, because now there are a ton of colors and finishes to select from. I find the pearl and matte finishes are the best-performing, while anything that gets really sparkly/glittery is going to be sheerer. Blue Peep and Brassy are favorites.
Where to Buy: Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s
8. Tarina Tarantino Eye Dream Hyperliner ($15.00) | This is still one of my favorite eyeliner formulas, and I wish they’d come out with more shades! Spark of Envy is my all-time favorite.
Where to Buy: Beauty.com
9. Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner Gel Crayon ($25.00) | This one is still on the list with a caveat… it is said that they are working on repackaging or reformulation as recent releases (including newly made batches of long-existing shades) have gone awry (very dry), but when they were manufactured more consistently, they are fantastic. Here’s hoping they get it all sorted out ASAP, as it is one of the longer-lasting eyeliners, particularly for the waterline.
Where to Buy: Sephora
10. Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes ($19.00) | Lots of shade, good wear and pigmentation, and a creamy enough consistency that it doesn’t tug on the lash line–what’s not to love?
Where to Buy: Sephora
11. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil ($19.00) | This was one of the first eyeliner formulas I fell in love with, and I still really like it. Some shades are absolutely fantastic–really pigmented in a single stroke, long-wearing, and creamy–but most shades have more buildable coverage, which I find works just fine for real-life application (I tend to apply in short strokes, back and forth motions). Some of my favorite shades are Deep End, Junkie, and Mushroom. Honey is my all-time favorite, but it was discontinued!
Where to Buy: Sephora, ULTA, Beauty.com
12. L’Oreal Infallible Silkissime Eyeliner ($8.99) | There aren’t too many shades available, but the ones that are available are amazing. These are incredibly rich in pigment, long-wearing, and easy to apply. I am obsessed with True Teal!
Where to Buy: ULTA
I’ll confess with you, I love eye pencils too! I really like the Bourjois Contour Clubbing ones.
I haven’t tried those!
The Sephora ones (#1) are my favorite. Anyone looking for a good, black as night black, check out Loreal Extra Intense Carbon Black “Liquid” eye liner pencil. It’s so soft and glides on with the merest touch. Fully pigmented on the water lines. It smudges well for a while but then it sets for good. I used it to line and tight line for my costume yesterday (I needed no skin peeking through) and brought it with me for touch ups. Didn’t need to, as it didn’t budge until I took it off twelve hours later.
Good to know of a nice, budget-friendly black for the waterline!
I like the ones from UD and L’Oreal. Though I got a purple one from L’Oreal and it barely leaves any pigment!
Was it part of the Silkissime formula or another one?
I am loving these wishlist snapshot compilation posts so, SO much. It’s great fun reviewing it all against what I already own, already put on my wishlist, or deserves a second look.
Thank you for putting them together! One of my favorite things about this website is that it reminds me how much fun makeup is — not just THE newest, trendiest releases but makeup in general!
Anyway, I appreciate it.
Aww, thank you so much, Tessa! 🙂
Thanks for putting this together! Would you recommend any in particular for the waterline, or is there a way you find that liner stays better there?
MAC Chromagraphic goes on the easiest and wears well for me. MJB wears well on the waterline as well but doesn’t always go on quite as readily.
Of these eyeliners, which would you say would be best for oily eyelids? Most eyeliner smudge and fade away on my fairly quick, even UD. I’ve even used eye primer and…nothing -_-
Have you tried one like Stila? UD’s formula has a waxier formula, so it might be worth trying a long-wearing pencil formula that’s pretty different in consistency!
I haven’t. I’ll have to give them a shot 🙂
I have oily lids, and the Sephora Matte Gel Eyeliners are the bomb! Stuff doesn’t move. I put it on at 7 AM, and it’s still there at 11 PM at night, but comes off easily with eye makeup remover
My top two: Sephora pencils, particularly Flirting Game: I bought one and then got afraid it might go away.. so picked up 2 backups. Unheard of for me.
Marc Jacobs: I have most of the collection but two of my favs are Luna(Tic) the best lower waterline brightener in a pale lavender. Also really like Jazz(Berry) which reads almost pinkish berry on me, but surprisingly wearable and fun.
Illamasqua also makes quality pencils, but I want to kick them for getting rid of my holy grail ‘red’ eye line a couple of years ago: The Medium pencil in colour Severe. It’s getting smaller and smaller.. have found nothing that remotely compares. Sigh.
I feel like I need to back-up Flirting Game, because there is a real lack of taupe eyeliner!
I am just getting into eye liner pencils and have purchased the L’Oreal one in Stash – a beautiful olive green. Cannot wait for Sephora to open in Melbourne so I can purchase some of their pencils. I have seen you wear them in numerous looks Christine and they are amazing. The Tarina Tarantino range is stunning too. But you put them on so well and the teals/greens always look beautiful on you.
I hope you get to try the Sephora eyeliners soon!
Hi Christine…. I live in Netherlands and bought some Marc Jacobs jel eye crayons through a friend all the way from US but they swatch on my hand well but not in the eyes !! Can I do something so that it works.Really disappointed. …..
Do they not transfer or are they hard/stiff?
When i try to use them on my waterline or even my lower lash line it doesn’t transfer, but on my hand it swatches well. I really don’t get it 🙂
There are so many on this list I still haven’t tried. My favorite pencils are UD 24/7 pencils (I think Perversion is the best black eyeliner pencil in history), the L’oreal Silkissime, Milani Liquid Eye, Maybelline Master Class and Bh Cosmetics Party Girl.
Perversion is SO rich!
I love the colors and wearability of the UD 24/7 eye liners, but have a heck of a time getting them off. What’s your suggestion of best eye makeup remover for these and other tenacious eye liners? Thanks!
For total removal, I like a q-tip dipped in eye makeup remover (I usually use Lancome Bi-Facil).
Thanks! I, too, am loving these “roundup” posts of yours lately. Only problem is that they make me want more stuff. 😉
I love the Sephora pencil liners but have never tried their gel liners before! My most often reached for liners are my Jordana black pencil and my Rimmel brown retractable pencil, but I could stand to experiment more.
I have to try the Jordana line!
Definitely have a little eyeliner addiction myself going on myself! Totally crazy for both types of Sephora’s Contour eyeliner pencils, fantastic color payoff, lasting power and great price, too. Would love to try the MJ Highliners, one day, once they get them right again! I also love Nyx’s Slide-On Waterproof Pencils, a personal fave is Jewel, such an odd but gorgeous shade!
Favorite colors for me are: purple, plum, teal, warm brown shimmers and of course, black!
Here’s hoping MJB fixes that sooner rather than later!
Me too! Btw, the black Sephora Matte Contour Eye Pencil hasn’t transferred even a smidge from my tightline! PERFECT
Didn’t I tell you the Sephora Matte Gel Eyeliners were awesome on oily lids? I picked up 4 more colors during the Sephora F&F sale, but Navy was sold out. Also going back for Sea If I Care (bright blue) -that goes on like a tattoo!! I swatched it in store on my hand, went home, and cleaned the house/did laundry, washed my hands probably 20x and it was still there, like new. And I use a moisturizing hand soap. I took a hot shower with a moisturizing soap, and it faded only slightly. I finally had to take it off with waterproof eye makeup remover before bed.
Yep! And it managed to hold up all day as if it were freshly applied! I still want that orange one, Sly As A Fox, too!
I love Sephora Contour Matte Gel, Prestige Total Intensity, BH Cosmetics Party Girl, –they last +10-16 hrs on my oily lids, with primer. I’m surprised Bare Minerals Round -the- Clock didn’t make the list — great colors, pigment, and long wear time
BH Cosmetics Party Girl! I haven’t heard of that one before.
OMG, BH Cosmetics Party Girl Waterproof Gel Eyeliners are awesome!! I have 5 of the 6 colors. They’re $8 each, but they always have sales, so you can get for like $5. Creamy, pigmented, with some shimmer to add a nice sparkle to your eyes but not OTT, lasts up to 16 hrs on my oily lids with primer.
I love the Sephora pencils. And I was a huge fan of the UD ones for a long time. My favorites are Zero and Whiskey. Perversion is too creamy for my preference. But I am upset that these colors aren’t good in the waterline. Would the L’Oreal ones be better for that?
I like UD’s color range, but I find other formulas have become my favorites!
L’Oreal’s could work for water line, but I’ve had the best luck with MJB and MAC Chromagraphic Pencils for waterline! Stila’s do decently, too.
Great list! I’d add Lise Watier and Marcelle waterproof pencils to the list. They are both Canadian brands, but the websites ship to the USA. Sadly nowhere else, so I always plan on stocking up when I visit my family near Toronto!
Good to hear! I’ve heard a lot of raves for Marcelle.
Count me in as another fan of Sephora’s original contour pencil liners – affordable price, wide range of colours (even though they discontinued Snakeskin Dress with NO WARNING!) and they are excellent quality. I also really love the GOSH pencil liners, especially the shade Metallic Brass – it’s one of my every day “go to” shades. The only L’Oreal Silkissime shade I really want – the green one – doesn’t seem to be available in Canada (all the other shades are so there must be “something” in the ingredients of the green one that make it a no go!). I wish I’d been able to get my mitts on Spark of Envy when Sephora was clearing out Tarina Tarantino.
I can’t believe they discontinued Snakeskin Dress. WHY!
This list made me want to go out to buy eyeliners. Good thing the shops are closed 🙂
I really like the liners I have from Sephora. I do think my most used, and most loved eyeliner is UD Perversion. I’m not sure I’ve tried any other form UD, I mostly use black or dark eyeliners, though I love my silvery ones from MJ.
lol! ;D Sephora’s eyeliners are so good. Cheap, huge range, and long-wearing. I end up wearing them even more than MJB, just because they last as long as I need them to but are easier to remove, haha.
I’ve tried all the eyeliners you mentioned except for Tarina Tarantino and the Stila’s smudge sticks. I would really like to try Tarina Tarantino – maybe this holiday season. Her teal liners look so pretty in photos. I love Sephora for affordability and durability, Mac’s Chromagraphics and UD for variety. I was totally disappointed in the Marc Jacobs holiday hi liner set last year. The pencils were dry and patchy. I hope they improve the formula because I love my other MJ products.
I think TT might still be at Beauty.com (who is doing their F&F right now)!
I’m so glad you expressed the caveat regarding the Marc Jacobs liners – I tried a slew of them last year and was in love. The smoothness, the longevity, and the colors were perfection! Then I bought this year’s holiday eyeliner set by Marc Jacobs and was so disappointed – every single one was so dry and stiff I ended up returning the set. I really hope they get it together because they were my favorite eye liners!
It’s so bizarre! Hope they get it under control ASAP.
I’m not a big fan of pencil liners, they don’t work for me. My absolute favourite liner is KVD tattoo liner, I have it in black and brown and it’s awesome, doesn’t budge and super easy to remove with regular face wash
That’s a good liquid eyeliner! I wish it came in more colors.
I really want to try the Sephora ones. I heard good things about the new Colourpop eyeliners too, does anyone know how they compare?
I know this is an old post, but I’m catching up on my reading! You should check out NYC eyeliners. They are the same type as the above and have a teal similar to junkie and a really pretty purple. The brand Essence sold at Ulta has twist up gel liners that work well. Also, NYX slide on pencils are dupes for many UD liners. I also use a dark purple by the brand Prestige sold at Ulta. Rimmel has liners and shadow crayons that are nice and soft but the purple el lacked pigmentation. I am opposite of Christine, irritation and/or smearing if I use liner on lower lashline so I stick to the upper depending on type/kind.
Actually I think it is the Jordana purple that is super gorgeous…sold at Walgreens super cheap and the gel liner type, not NYC. NYC has the teal that looks like UD junkie.