Oooh, this is a good question. I've never been much for wearing eyeliner...I've always been a mascara junkie myself. But I recently tried Jordana Easyliner for Eyes after reading about it in a magazine and I'm hooked. I've got it in their brown color, which is called something like cappucino or coffee or something like that. Anyway, it goes on really smooth, and you can get a super thin line right next to your lashes. I was always worried I looked kind-of trampy (and not in a good, fun way...more like in a cheap way) whenever I tried wearing eyeliner, but with this stuff, I can't fail. And it's incredibly inexpensive, too. It's like 2 for $3 at Walgreens, so if you don't like it, you are only out a few bucks.

I definitely agree with purplerules about trying a softer color than black. I think that's the best way to go if you want to keep it looking subtle and low-key. I prefer using brown over gray, but I think it really depends on your coloring. If you are after a more noticeable and dramatic look, black is probably the best bet.

My only gripe about the Jordana Easyliner is it doesn't hold up well to water. I wore it to a party where I was out in the sun alot (and getting sweaty...ick) and it just gave out. Does anyone know of a good waterproof or water resistant eyeliner? I could definitely use something like that.

It is hard to get eyeliner that won't smudge. I read it somewhere that you can put eyeshadow on top of liners to stop it from smudging.

Laura Mercier has this powder that you wet to make it into a paste, and it doesn't smudge as much imo. I got it in navy blue, but it looks black.

I haven't really found one pencil liner that does not smudge, so it's something that I just deal with. And I found tauting my eyelids to be the easiest way to apply eyeliner. I normally always wear eyeliner since I have smaller eyes.

You guys have been so awesomely helpful. Perhaps when the new job starts I can go out and try some of these! Thank you. :smile:

Taiwanesegurl is right, you can find tutorials online. If you just search YouTube for eye makeup, you'll find tons. Once you actually see different techniques as opposed to reading about them, it will be super-easy to learn to apply eyeliner.

As for a liner that stays put, try Liquidlast liner by MAC; that stuff is crazy. I found it by accident on a recent trip to MAC. I was trying all sorts of things on the back of my hand and when I was done, I used some makeup remover to take off all the stuff I tried. Well, everything came off... except the Liquidlast. Since all the salesgirls were busy, I figured I'd just try the sanitation alcohol they have out to get it off, thinking that of course alcohol will take it off... didn't budge. When I got a sales girl to help me, she said it needed to be removed with an oil-based makeup remover and, sure enough, it came right off. I was amazed and bought it immediately. When I got home, I decided to give it a real test and tried rubbing it, rubbing it under water, hand soap, dish soap, face soap and it stayed put. I bought Neutrogena eye makeup remover to take it off. Even though that remover is actually oil-free, it has an oily consistency and the eyeliner swiped right off. It's definitely not for beginners, though, because it's harder to fix if you screw up and it doesn't really have the best consistency. It's very thick and gooey, which makes it hard to apply, especially with the brush that comes with it (it's in a tube with a brush in the cap). I haven't tried it yet, but I think next time I'll use a thinner, clean brush. It might just be gooey because the brush is so saturated with liner from being in the tube.

And yes to Smudge Pots! I LOVE it for smokey and winged liner looks.

Stupid stupid internet connection! Youtube sucks when the wireless is wigging out!

Another vote for the Stila smudge pot. I've only used it once at my sister's place, but well.. here's a pic of her with the smudge pot on.



It's really easy to apply, and it looks absolutely gorgeous..

I'm currently using the Colorstay Eyeliner by Revlon. I got it at a discount and I thought it was worth trying. And it surely is. It comes with a tiny hard pointed brush and it's very easy to use, even if you're a liquid liner virgin ;-) For a more dramatic effect I use a cream liner by Clinique, I forgot it's name. It comes in a little pot with a brush and after some practice it's perfect for the classic Bombshell Look. Some nice classic red lipstick and I'm good to go!

I've heard a lot of rave reviews about the staying power of MAC's Liquidlast Liners (http://www.epinions.com/review/MAC_Liquidlast_Liner/content_273049685636) and I was wondering if anyone has the ingredient list for it.

Cate: Take a pic and share if you can! It sounds very pretty!

I finally tried my MAC Liquidlast liner with a clean brush (it had been sitting, neglected, in my makeup drawer). Yay! It was so great. I used it last weekend when going out to celebrate my birthday, which was a long, drunken night, and it looked great all night! What a difference a clean brush makes! I kept trying to use it with the brush that is in the cap, but it was sooooooo gooey and gloppy that it was useless. That night, I wanted something really good to use to help camoflage the line of my false eyelashes. I also wanted something a bit darker and smoother than the smudgepot tends to go on. The Liquidlast looked perfect! And I used it with a super cheap brush. I just picked up a $1 eyeliner brush at Target to use with it, since it's really hard to get off the brush and I was worried about ruining one of my good brushes.
So yay again for MAC's liquidlast liners! I have it in black and this really cool turqoise with gold shimmer.

Ooooh, yes, definitely put the eyeliner on the back of your hand. It works so much better that way because it gets warmed up a bit. I find this especially useful when using a smudgepot. I just scoop out a little bit with the back of the brush and mash it up on my hand. With the liquidlast, I just wiped whatever was on the brush on the back of my hand and went from there. Soooooo much easier.
How do you like the glambox?? I was thinking about buying it because it had so many goodies in it, but really couldn't justify spending the money. I was especially interested in the bronze eyeliner. If you're still looking for colored eyeliners, you may want to see if the Ulta near you still has the Urban Decay 24/7 travel pack. It's a great deal to get 4 colors (and one black) of eyeliner to add to your collection.

The glambox is box is nice. I'm having lots of fun playing with all the stuff. The bronze eye liner is definitely the winner in the bunch. I also like both the lipglosses and of course the primer (this time, they included the primer with sunscreen!) There's a shadow quad that I still haven't figured out how to best use. It includes a very bright gold and I'm never sure what to do with bright shadows. I also like the softlights palette but wish it had just a little bit of shimmer. It was definitely worth the money.
Unfortunately, Nordstroms screwed up and didn't send the gift with purchase and that was part of the reason I bought it. It included two of their cream eye liners, which I wanted to try. Now they're out of the Smashbox gift so they're sending me another gift, which they promise will be "really nice" but probably won't contain anything that I'll use. In general, I haven't had good luck when ordering stuff from Nordstroms so I don't think I'll order anything else from them on-line. I don't understand how the store can be so nice and so well run and the mail order division can be so bad.
*** Update ***
I finally got my GWP from Nordstom's. They were able to send me the Smashbox gift so I got the creme eye liners. (Actually, they sent me two packages, one was the Smashbox gift and one was an eye pencil for someone in Washington. I am less and less impressed with Norstrom's mail order division.) Anyway, the creme eye liners are very nice. They're, well, creamier than the gel liners. You apply them the same way but the line is a little softer and less dramatic. It's not a huge difference; I did a comparison on my hand and took a picture but you can't see the difference in the photo. I think it would be a matter of preference if you were deciding between the two since the application is the same and the results are so similar.
My cats are driving me nuts. I just thought you should know.