So, we’ve already heard the in and outs of eyeliner application in our Eyeliner Cheat Sheet, but what if you don’t want to trade your first born son to get an expensive eyeliner from Sephora? Yes, of course the products are great, but dude… I go through a metric ton of eyeliner. I like my wings, okay? I would have to buy a 20 dollar eyeliner every month. That adds up to a pretty penny. So, because I am a slave to my eyeliner, it was a necessity for me to find out which drugstore liners work the best. I’m not made of money, after all.
Pencil Eyeliners
Nyx Slide On Eyeliners are amazing for the price. They are creamy as you put them on, but then set to a pretty transfer proof finish. The best of both worlds, since you won’t have to scrape it onto your eyelid to get any color payoff. I like to use these to tight line my upper lashes, that way I don’t get transfer if I want my lower water line bare. Bonus: LOTS of fun colors.
Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal are my holy grail for a black waterline that will stay on all day! I love to use these with a brush to get a soft cat eye too.
Revlon Colorstay Eyeliners are one of those drugstore finds that you wonder how you lived without it before you got it. Just like it’s foundation counter part- it stays put all day. It lives up to it’s name
Gel Eyeliners
Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner is definitely my go to drugstore gel eyeliner. It even comes with a brush. I find it to dry down to a nice deep black finish, even compared to MAC Fluidline. It also comes with a decent brush!
Nyx Gel Eyeliners are great too. With this one I find that the product does not dry out as quickly as the Maybelline one. That could be a difference in formula or just better packaging. Pro Tip: Store your gel products cap down to keep them from drying out.
Elf Cream Liners are the least expensive of these, but doesn’t sacrifice quality. You won’t get the range of colors that Nyx has, or a brush like with the Maybelline Gel. All in all, those are the only downsides.
Liquid Liners
My favorite liquid eyeliner of all time is NYC liquid liner. Not just drugstore. It’s my favorite of them all. The product is super opaque, you only need one swipe for beautiful black lines. The brush on this is long and thin, so you’re able to be very precise. It dries matte, which is rare for a liquid liner, It also has a flexible formula, so you wont ever have it crack and flake off. It’s literally the best three dollars I’ve ever spent, and I’ll buy it as long as they make it.
Nyx Matte Liquid Liner. This formula is very similar to NYC, however, it dries down a bit more brittle than the former, and will start to flake off at the end of the day (8+ hours). This one was my favorite before I tried the NYC one. Nyx is one of those brands that just kills it at every turn, and that’s probably why they’ve got a product in each of these categories. No, we are not affiliated with Nyx in any way.
Wet N’ Wild Mega Liners are an amazing product. To be honest, Wet N’ Wild is one of those brands that just does not get enough credit. Of course, they have duds, but most of their products are holy grail status. We’ll get more into that in some upcoming Drugstore Favorites posts, but for now, just take my word that this liner is dope.
What are your favorite drugstore liners? Leave them in the comments below!
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