The liquid liner look

Ok, I'm about to admit something pretty embarrassing. I am not, nor have I ever been, coordinated enough to apply liquid liner. In high school I'd see all of my friends sporting the cat's eye look, and try as I may to do the same, I would always come away looking like a raccoon. Luckily, makeup has improved over the years, and I can finally get the look without the raccoon.

To good to be true
NYC Liquid Eyeliner
Where to get it: Any drugstore.
Price: $3.00

The first product I tried was inexpensive enough for me to be willing to take a risk. Ok, it was downright cheap. The premise seemed good. It touted a "mistake free applicator" that seemed right up my alley. The eyeliner comes in a felt pen like package and has a felt type tip. Sounded fool proof to me.

Unfortunately, the tip is very long and this makes for less control when applying. Despite my most valiant of efforts, I once again ended up with the hated raccoon look. The eyeliner itself does have staying power, but if you can't apply it with control this actually works out to be a negative (as I learned). Unless you're quite handy with all things makeup, I wouldn't recommend this product.

The real deal
Smashbox JET SET Waterproof Eye Liner
Where to get it: Beauty Boutiques like Sephora, Shoppers Drug Mart. Also online at Smashbox, and Amazon (link below).
Price: $22.00

After my failure with the NYC eyeliner, I once again gave up on the whole liquid liner idea. That is, until a good friend raved to me about a new product she tried. Smashbox JET SET waterproof eyeliner comes in a gel formula and can be painted on with a brush. The formula stays pliable for about a minute before becoming set and waterproof. 

Because of the condensed consistency of the gel formula, I found it very easy to control the application of this eyeliner. I was actually able to apply it in a subtle way, and add more if I wanted to. The bottom line is that even a makeup flunkie like me can use this product and get a great result. It's on the expensive side, but well worth the money. I love it so much I have two! The brown and copper are my favourites, but a good friend has black and she swears by it.

One thing to note is that to use this eyeliner, you'll need a good eyeliner brush. More on that later. 


The inexpensive alternative
Loreal HiP Colour Truth Cream Eyeliner
Where to get it: Any drug store.
Price: $11
As mentioned, I was so impressed with the Smashbox liner that I splurged on two colours. Since I don't have a huge amount of disposable income, I was interested in seeing if there was a less spendy offering out there.  

I got a pleasant surprise in Loreal's HiP Colour Truth Cream Eyeliner. As the names states, the product comes in the form of a cream. It's slightly softer than Smashbox, so you have to be more careful with the application, but if you ensure that you don't load too much product on the brush it delivers a great result. The other bonus is that it comes with a great slant tipped brush. At half the cost of the Smashbox version it's a winner in my book.