Eye Spy Savings: Should You Save or Splurge on Your Eyeliner?

Eyeliner can easily become a girl’s everyday makeup essential because of its quick-and-easy application (once you get the hang of it), and its instant eye-popping effects. The most basic eyeliner is the pencil, which comes in the shape of an actual writing pencil; however, the cosmetic industry has moved past that. Eyeliner now comes in all sorts of materials and shapes.

These varieties have also lead to the creation of different styles of lining the eyes, such as the commonly-used fancy cat eyes (my personal favorite). In addition to materials and shapes, eyeliner also comes in a variety of colors, from basic black to daring green.

So for such a versatile little stick we carry around, or at least have in our makeup bag, should we save… or should we splurge?

Liquid Liners

If you’re looking to splurge, Kat Von D’s Tattoo Liner gives you benefits for every penny you spend. For $18, the very fine point gives you the power over the thickness you want your eyeliner to be. It also makes it easy for you to be creative with the design of the eyeliner you want to achieve. The smooth feel and silky brush of this tattoo liner makes eyeliner applying far more comfortable than the usual marker-like eyeliner. On top of that, it doesn’t smudge and dries super fast.

To save, Maybelline’s Eye Studio Master Precise Liquid Liner is highly recommended and relatively cheap (available for $6.99). The problem with most cheap eyeliners is that they smudge very easily, and when they stick to the top of your lids even after giving them time to dry… annoying! But Maybelline’s liquid liner is really good at staying on the waterline and lower eyelids. Even though it doesn’t have a fine point brush, its felt tip is good enough to make perfect lines and creative designs. A little tip for using this liquid liner: sometimes the liquid doesn’t come out from the tip, so you have to turn the stick sideways and give it a little shake.

Pencil Liners

To splurge, try Stila’s Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner. It will give you the precise, vivid look you want on your waterlines for $20, and just because the name has “smudge” in it doesn’t mean it will smear easily. It’s called Smudge Stick because it is based on their popular Smudge Pots, which are strong colored cream eyeliners. This pencil eyeliner is worth buying because it has all the important factors needed for a satisfying eyeliner: bold, defining color, smear-free, vibrant and waterproof. This liner also comes in nine different colors!

To save, Maybelline’s Unstoppable Eyeliner will do the job for just $5.64. Even though Maybelline only has five colors available, they are good enough to use on a daily basis. Since eyeliners are one of the most commonly used makeup tools, it wouldn’t hurt to save on them. As long as it has a good tip, a decent color and a smear-free quality to it, it’s acceptable. And Maybelline provides just that.

When looking to buy new eyeliner, it’s up to you as to whether you’d like to save or splurge; however, let me offer a personal tip: don’t buy e.l.f.’s pencil eyeliner. Not only does it not have a fine tip, but it also smears really easily and gets on the top part of your lids (not somewhere you want to have eyeliner, obviously). Even though e.l.f.’s eyeliners are super cheap, they won’t do you any justice. But these four products will be sure to!

This beauty piece is part of Sazanka Idris’ weekly lifestyle column, “Save or Splurge,” which compares products or services to help college students manage their budgets.

By: Sazanka Idris | Images: Source, listed retail stores