So there are a lot of different types of eyeliners out there and it can get pretty overwhelming. There are gels that come in pots, pencils, felt-tip liquids, cake liners, and many more. So here I’m going to break down the different types of liners into my perceived pros and cons, as well as give you advice on how to use them. I recommend having one of each to practice with. After, I’ll talk about my favorite specific eyeliners overall.

Gel Liners

Gel liners come in a pot and require a brush to use them. Fan-favorites of this variety include Bobbi Brown, MAC, Igel eyelinernglot, and Maybelline. The great thing about gel liners is they come in a wide range of colors and also double as eyeshadow bases. If you want to do a smokey eye or are using a bold color eyeshadow that you want to pop, lay some of the gel liner down onto your lid first with a flat shader brush in order to give it more vibrancy. The downside to gel liners is that they require a brush (which is a bigger battle than choosing the liner itself) and they can dry out quickly if you aren’t careful to screw the cap back on as soon as your finished with it. Gel liners are also ideal for makeup artists because you can hygienically scoop some out with a spatula or onto the back of your hand so you don’t double dip with the brush. The two brushes to invest in would be a thin, rounded brush to draw basic liner around the eyes, and a thin, sharp angled brush to create wings.

Pencil

pencil eyeliner

Pencil liners are often our first eyeliner because they are so versatile and basic. Similar to gels, they can be used as a base over the lid before eyeshadow. They often must be sharpened, unless they’re a retractable type, but I don’t like those as much because they don’t stay as sharp. With pencil eyeliner, the main dilemma is finding something creamy so it won’t pull at your eye or irritate your waterline but not so creamy that it transfers and smudges. Some well-known and popular brands are MakeUpForever, Urban Decay, and Milani Liquifeye. The downside to pencils is they are a bit less precise and very difficult to execute something like winged liner with.

Liquid 

Within liquid liners, there are different kinds. There is the felt-tip pen style, the longer wand kind that you dip into a pot of eyeliner, and even within those categories the applicators differ so much. Liquid, in my opinion, is a high-risk hliquid eyelinerigh-reward scenario: there are a lot out there that have shitty formulas or are difficult to work with, but the good ones are out of this world and my favorite type of eyeliner. They just get so perfectly black and are often very precise – perfect for winged liner. Some typical favorites are by Stila, Kat Von D, Lancome, and Revlon. My advice is to buy a few different styles from Sephora and play around with them, then return whichever you dislike. Like I said, liquids are great for precise work, but they cannot be used for the smudged-out, smokey look because they set quickly and are too thin.

Cake

I had a cakecake eyeliner liner years before I really understood the benefits of it. A cake liner is basically a glorified eyeshadow. Usually the directions say to use your brush dry or wet if you want a darker, more precise line. Cake liners are cool because they are multipurpose (can work as eyeshadow if need be), smudge-able and very easily smoked out, and can be tailored to meet your desired effect like really opaque and precise or much lighter and softer. The downside here is that you will need a brush – and that brush will make all the difference –  similar to gel liners. The other downside, at least with the pancake liners I’ve tried, is that you risk having fallout over the top of your makeup…this would be a problem for someone like me who does my face makeup first and doesn’t want to have black dots of powder or smudges all over my cheekbones.

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Hopefully that was helpful to you guys. Really, my best advice is to buy a few and play around. But remember: eyeliner is tricky. It’s even trickier if it’s a type you haven’t worked with before. So practice, practice, practice, and try to avoid getting flustered. Now onto the best part, my favorites! The following are my favorite eyeliners overall, in no particular order.

Favorite Eyeliners 

Bobbi Brown Gel Liner – this is HG status for me as far as my professional makeup kit goes. It goes on dark, smooth, and is easy to work with if you have the right brushes. I love that it has a lot of product so one pot will last me months.

Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner – this is another great liner that I use on myself but not as frequently in my professional kit because it’s a bit thinner and more slippery in texture, which is great but it takes a bit longer to set and dry, and I don’t have minutes to spare when I’m on shoots or with brides. If you don’t want to drop money on the BB liner (even though it’s worht it), this is a great alternative.

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner – if I had to rank these liners, this would probably be my #1. It is what I use most frequently on myself, and especially for doing wings. I don’t use it on clients because I think it’s a little gross to put the tip on multiple peoples’ skin and eyes. This stuff goes on dark and precise, lasts a long time, and is water resistant.

Physicians Formula Eye Definer – this is a retractable liner which I didn’t think I’d like that much, but it works really well for me since I’m not trying to be super precise when I use pencils. It’s creamy and goes on easily so I don’t have to pull hard or drag it. It stays on well, and that’s saying something because I have huge, watery eyes and most eyeliners do not stay on me.

Okay, that’s it! Hope you all enjoyed and found something helpful in this. Have questions? Recommendations? Leave them below!

xx