Sudden explosion of liquid eyeliner population at madokeki HQ.

obviously, this post is dated because now my eyeliner collection has grown from 3 to 4 (addition of dollywink).
this post will do a simple comparison between the qualities that matters to me the most (i assume they matter that much to you too).

THE CONTENDERS //



MAYBELLINE hypersharp liner (black), HEROINE MAKE smooth liquid eyeliner (black), KATE super sharp liner S spider liner II (BK-1).

click on individual link for their respective reviews!

SWATCH//


swatched on my arm, all are one swipe only.

COLOUR: all three of them are jet black. MAYBELLINE seems a little diluted because it was brand new when i swatched it.

FINISH: MAYBELLINE is the only matte black liner, while HEROINE MAKE and KATE both has a slight sheen to it.

RUB TEST//


i think this is self explanatory. you can see the results for yourself.

RUB RESISTANCE: HEROINE MAKE > KATE > MAYBELLINE

WATERPROOF: all claims to be waterproof, but MAYBELLINE is the one with a waterproof formula, while HEROINE MAKE and KATE are film type eyeliners.

OIL PROOF: they all claim to be oil proof, but i think HEROINE MAKE is the only one that really does the job well. MAYBELLINE and KATE might melt when there's oil AND heat.

MAKEUP REMOVAL: both HEROINE MAKE and KATE are film type eyeliners, they can be removed with warm water. HEROINE MAKE can come off easily with an eye makeup remover too, but KATE leaves behind a black stain for some reason. MAYBELLINE must be removed by an eye makeup remover and it cannot be removed by warm water at all.

RELIABILITY: HEROINE MAKE is the only eyeliner i can trust since it never melted or smudged on me. KATE and MAYBELLINE both melted on my eyes before (especially if i didn't powder my eyes).

IN A NUTSHELL
based on the formula alone, i really like heroine make's smooth liquid eyeliner because it can be removed by either water or eye makeup remover. why does this matter? because it means i can use it at all times, whether it's water proof makeup (that requires eye makeup remover) or it's a simple makeup (that can be washed away by just water or micellar water).

however, that doesn't mean there's no value in maybelline's hypersharp liner, because i will definitely use it when wearing waterproof mascara since they will be removed altogether by the eye makeup remover! convenient much! plus i really like it for being matte!

as for kate's super sharp liner, it's just not as reliable as heroine make smooth liquid eyeliner. it doesn't add any value to my life at all.

also, if you haven't seen my 2015 favourites, i explained why i love heroine make smooth liquid eyeliner. :) i don't want to sound like a broken record so.. watch it to find out!

did i miss out any qualities that you're interested in? leave me a comment if i did!

Rekindled my love for liquid eyeliner pen and took a leap of faith

ever since my skin got bad, i tried to avoid gel eyeliners because they would require an eye and lip makeup remover. even though my skin can tolerate some makeup, i'm not sure if they can tolerate the makeup remover! so i've been utilizing my liquid eyeliner pen a lot more. my heroine make smooth liquid eyeliner is running dry soon, and my kate spider liner melted and smudged throughout the day, i figured it's time to try something new to see if it'd work as great as the heroine make smooth liquid eyeliner.

this is totally an impulse buy. i heard how good it is from a girlfriend of mine, she said the pen is really fine, and long lasting on her eyes. while passing by my budget toiletry shops in chinatown, i picked it up considering the lower price. (you see the price tag on the title image! $21.90 is the usual retail price at watsons, and $16.40 is the price at swanston)

looking fancy with a shiny yellow cap and gold lettering on the pen

i picked up the colour "intense black". there is two other shades if i remember correctly - brown and soft black.

CLAIMS

below are its claims on the front of the package:

1. 0.01 tip for super sharp lines
2. water proof
3. easy removal
4. stain free

more claims printed on the package on the back

in summary, it's an eyeliner that will deliver super fine lines that're jet black. formulated to have amazing staying power, it's also easily removed without staining your eyelids.

i just found out it's has a film type formula too, meaning it stays put on the lids really well but easily removed with warm water.

surely, something must be missing here because as far as i know, there's always gonna be a compromise between staying power and ease of removal. one of the claims must be false. which is it? 

INGREDIENTS

maybelline hypersharp liner ingredient list

PEN TIP

since i have other eyeliners of similar type, i can show you a comparison of their tips.

a closer look at the pen tip of the eyeliner pens i own

honestly, the difference is too small and insignificant. heroine make looks the finest at the tip, maybelline might be finer than kate.

the tip is a brush tip, making it very easy to control and contour against your eyes.

COLOUR AND FINISH

swatches of the eyeliner pens i currently own

the maybelline hypersharp liner in intense black wasn't as intense as i hoped for it to be! both the heroine make and kate appears to be blacker than maybelline. however, it's fully matte, so that's something new for me. i've been looking for a matte eyeliner! you will notice heroine make has most sheen.

MY EXPERIENCE:

i got about 2-3 hours of wear time from the eyeliner before it started melting and transferring to my lower lids. BAD NEWS!!! i was so disappointed when it happened. what happened to it being water resistant and sebum resistant!? i used it to line the inner corner of my eyes, which might be a mistake on my part (but heroine make never did that to me).

even after i avoided using it on my inner corners where it's easily in touch with my tears, i noticed the outer half of my eyeliner transferring to my lower lids as well. :( YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THIS!!! now this is acting exactly the same as the kate spider liner. :( what am i going to do with 2 bad eyeliners?

now that the worst thing that can happen is mentioned, i'll talk about the other claims.

the pen tip is indeed very sharp and will be very useful for people who need to draw fine eyeliners. the tip is a brush tip, my favourite kind of tips because they can bend and conform to your eyes so that you get that perfect line.

the ink does not feather into any fine lines even on my arm.

and i like the matte finish because i feel like it enlarges the eyes better than a shiny eyeliner.

lastly, this eyeliner is easily removed with vaseline. i find that it requires a little bit more tugging when i used a makeup remover (bifesta cleansing lotion). i have yet to try removing it with warm water, so i'll give that a try next time. as far as i know, this has a completely different formula as the heroine make, even though both claims to be a film type formula. heroine make will come off in a sheet if i did rub it with vaseline, while this actually melts off in it.

VERDICT

i'm still on a quest to find a matte version of the heroine make smooth liquid liner. if you're not going to use this for your inner corner of your eyes, and you only use this on your outer lid (not even remotely near your lash line), you might like this eyeliner.

for me, it's not water proof enough.

Maybelline ColorShow Crayon Kohl 02 Light Peacock Green and 05 Snow White

august was the month i bought so many new eyeliners. i picked these up when watsons was having a one for one sale for these babies. it's a good chance for me to pick up a while eyeliner for future looks that i'll be doing!

i just realize i can't find any information from its official websites. i did some snooping around e-retailers online and found some of the "claims" these eyeliners have.

creamy, budge proof, long wear, ultra bright colours. we'll see.


the cap is indicative of the shade and finish of the product.


02 light peacock green and 05 snow white.


each pen contains 0.3g of product, it's about 3.2cm long.


it contains the following ingredient. this is for the peacock green in specific.
yup, it's made in china.


swatch over powder foundation. one swipe for the white, multiple swipes for the green.

05 snow white is a matte white.
02 light peacock green changes colour at different angles. from the front it look like a metallic greenish-turquoise-ish colour. this shade tend to go on light, so a few swipes is required.

both are creamy and glides on the back of my hand easily.

light peacock green takes on a bluish hue when viewed at an angle. see below!


when viewed at different angles, peacock green actually looks more bluish. BEAUTIFUL!


vaseline test:

they were pretty budge proof on clean skin, and i'd say they performed pretty well in vaseline too, but they're not as resistant as the makeon and solone eyeliner for sure.

IMHO:

i can only attest for their creaminess for they are really pretty damn creamy. so creamy that if i went a few more layers on my eyes, it starts to deposit stuff unevenly. after it sets the uneven pieces turn hard. if it drops into your eyes unfortunately, it's gonna irritate a little.

i've tried both of them on my lids and on my water line. i actually bought the white for lining my lower water line specifically, but the staying power there isn't very optimal. however, it stayed pretty well on my eyelids.

to elaborate on how snow white felt on my lower lid, it wasn't pleasant. the lead is pretty soft, the products deposited isn't even. it will dry up into hard little bits that eventually goes into my eyes and irritate the hell out of me. :( needless to say, with all that extra tear being generated from that irritation, the waterline is washed clean within half an hour.

i was very impressed by how budge proof they were when i tried them out in watson's. the green is a really pretty shade, i don't see this colour often! it'll make a good "point colour" for some fun :D

sadly, even though the white is really pigmented, it doesn't stay that well on my waterline, once again. what's new? still haven't found that eyeliner that stays on well enough for more than a few hours. can't have it all!

i bought this for $7.90 (for 2) when watson's was having a one-for-one sale.

Solone Vivid Fantasy Smoody Pencil 04 Grape Cakeroll (Swatch and Review)

this was on my radar for quite some time. solone is a taiwanese brand and they're most well known for their eyeliner pencils that sets in 30s. i believe i first saw it on the yahoo auction website many years ago. they've grown much bigger over the years, and this time round they collaborated with an illustrator to create this alice in wonderland series :)


such a cute illustration!


i got it in shade 04, grape cakeroll, it's a purple colour.


ingredients list if you're interested.
it contains 0.5g of product.


a little translation for those who can't read chinese:

what's special about this product:
1. eyeliner + eyeshadow capabilities, can be used as an eyeliner and blended out into an eyeshadow.
2. twist up mechanism ridding you the need of a pencil sharpener.
3. a sharpener is embedded at the end of the pencil to allow for a more precise application.
4. mousse finish that blends easily. colours are vibrant, waterproof and oil resistant, and a long lasting budge proof experience.


it even comes with instructions on how to use the product.
this is for using it as an eyeshadow.

step 1: use a light colour eyeliner pencil on the eyelid and blend it out as a base colour.
step 2: applying a dark colour eyeliner pencil along the lash line and blend upwards to create a gentle gradient.
step 3: use a bright coloured eyeliner pencil to emphasize the inner corner and the lower lid area.


for use as an eyeliner:

step 1: lift up your eyelid with your finger gently, fill in the lash line for the outer half.
step 2: starting from the start of your eyelids, draw the eyeliner and connect to the second half of the line.
step 3: extend the eyeliner according to your eye shape by 1-3mm, lift it up slightly.
step 4: line the outer third of the lower lash line and connect to the upper eyeliner.


the black little part is actually the eyeliner pencil lead sharpener. it only shaves off the product and not the surrounding plastic (unlike a traditional pencil sharpener).


04 grape cakeroll.


it contains about 4cm of product, which is pretty generous in my opinion. the diameter of the lead is definitely much wider than most other brands out there.


swatched on hand over powder foundation:

grape cakeroll is more of a violet-like-purple. i'd say it leans towards the bluish side of purple under normal lighting. it contains some shimmer as shown in the bottom photo.

it does glide over my skin very easily, the mousse formula does allow it to be blended out pretty easily, but some skill is definitely required if you want to get an even colour out of this darker shade.


vaseline test:

it's definitely more resistant than my maybelline gel eyeliners. those melt into vaseline within a few seconds of rubbing, but these thing stayed on my hands until i wiped it with a tissue paper. i guess it takes some friction to get them off the skin.

in case you're thinking that it's really hard to remove, it is difficult only if you use the wrong thing. i tried it with an eye makeup remover (i used my bifesta eye makeup remover) and it came off really effortlessly after soaking the pad in for a few seconds.

IMHO:

do the eyeliner pencil live up to its claims?

vibrant colour - YES. as with most eyeliners.

budge proof - YES. the first time i tried these in sasa, i tried rubbing my hands to get rid of them. i only got myself some red skin after that. eyeliners still intact. :(

water and oil resistant - yet to test them out for the entire day yet, but the vaseline test speaks volume for its oil resistance.

easy to blend - quite easy i would say, but to get an even application is a little hard. it would required some skills definitely. perhaps loading up on the product instead of a sheer layer will allow more products to be blended out smoothly. i think it blends out a little easier than the makeon season 1 eyeliners (especially the darker shades). currently, i think the clio gelpresso eyeliners still top my list of super blendable eyeliners.

i think the addition of a lead sharpener is a really nice bonus to the twist up mechanism. a lazy bum like me really appreciate this invention.

i bought this for SGD$10 from sasa when it was going on sale. the usual price is $14.90. although it's a little more expensive over here in singapore, but i think it's really worth the buck considering the amount of product you get.

maybelline masterliner cost $9.90 for 0.3g. you do the math.

Kate Super Sharp S Spider Line II (BK-1) (Swatch and Review)

part of my august haul. wait, this was actually from july, but i didn't have time to open it till now. this is my first eyeliner from kate even though i own so many of their eyeshadows. i don't really gravitate towards liquid eyeliner because i need my eyeliner to be rather thick (due to my wider eyelid folds), and these super fine and sharp eyeliners doesn't seem to many any sense to me. but ever since i tried the heroine make super smooth liquid liner, i decided i can still use them because of the convenience. yea, i just need to force the liner to be a thicker eyeliner for me to do its job for me. :P



i never measure how fine the tip is, it claims to be 0.03mm. hmm.. apparently it's finer than the 0.1mm tip of the heroine make's eyeliner? i'll do a comparison post next time.


ingredients list.


i decided to just reference the official website to give you all an idea of what this eyeliner claims to be.

The brush pen eyeliner for producing super fine lines is now even more advanced: it produces stronger blacks, has higher fade resistance, and applies more smoothly to the skin.

and that 0.03mm thing as well. 


this seems to be a limited edition, the packaging is printed with silver spider web! errrr, not my favourite thing in the world since i hate spiders, but it's alright. BK-1 is the blackest black they offer.


taken from the official website.
there are 3 colours available. i never thought of getting BK, which is a watered down version of BK-1. what's the point of having a grey eyeliner!?


the supposedly 0.03mm tip.
the pen is made of a dozen of fine fibres, it's like a brush! it is easy to control as the fibres aren't overly soft. i think they are slighter stiffer than the heroine make eyeliner.


this was the virgin swipe of the eyeliner, that's why the colour is so light. it's worth noting that the eyeliner seem to go on a little "patchy" on bb cream. perhaps the oils in the bb cream don't make a good base for it, so girls, powder up before using this eyeliner.


after the virgin swipe, the ink was flowing a little more freely and appears much more blacker subsequently as i used it throughout the month. (ignore the center part where i added mosaic)
again, notice how the eyeliner seep into the lines on the right hand side (a oily bb cream as a base), while the one on the left appeared sharp and crisp (over powder foundation).

the ink dries really quickly into a matte finish that is budge proof to a certain extent. a few hard rub will result in a sheer layer of black of your skin, but thankfully the eyeliner doesn't flake off.


after removing with vaseline, some stains are visible.


slight staining on my eyelids after removing with an eye makeup remover.

it is easily removed by an eye makeup remover, but it seem to stain the skin. :( i wouldn't mind a lip or cheek stain, but an eye stain is alarming because i'm worried that i'll end up as something permanent.

IMHO:

the eyeliner wasn't as sharp as it claims to be, at least that's what i observed when i put it side by side with the heroine make eyeliner.

the application is pretty smooth, although tip tends to be on the dryer side. perhaps that's why it dries so quickly. no more eyeliners transferring to your eyelid folds when you open your eyes in between eyeliner application!

i've worn this out a few times to test it out, the staying power on my eyelids is great, no signs of fading or budging in the sweltering heat and humidity. however, when used in my inner corners, i notice it will smudge and dissolve and transfer to my lower lids. :( THAT'S BAD NEWS!

after using it a few more times, the ink gets progressively blacker. now it's just jet black like the heroine make eyeliner. :) but i don't know if i'm really liking that staining effect :/ it's not my eye makeup remover's problem. something's up with the formulation.

given a choice, i'd choose heroine make over this, as much as i adore the brand, i think they can change the formula a little to reduce staining.

i purchased this for SGD12.90 when it was on sale.

Eyeliners: Maybelline VS Heroine Make

after seeing the individual review posts, i thought it's about time to put together a comparison post where i outline the main differences between the eyeliners i own.

the contenders are:
MAYBELLINE eye studio creamy gel liner (brown), which i bought MANY years ago. you can tell from the old packaging. BUT THE OLDIE IS A GOODIE!
MAYBELLINE eye studio lasting drama gel eyeliner (black), which i bought in 2013. i suspect they reformulated it.
HEROINE MAKE smooth liquid liner.


first, a colour comparison.

maybelline gel liner in brown has a slight metallic finish to it. it looks like a brown with some reddish hue to me, as compared to the maybelline masterliner in brown.

maybelline gel liner in black is a matte black that is jet black.

BOTH the gel liner were very creamy when it's fresh. right now, it can be creamy if i scrape away the slightly hardened surface to reveal the creamier liner within.

heroine make smooth liquid liner is a jet black with a slightly glossy finish.


the finishes are more obvious in this comparison photo, natural light VS camera flash.


i did a water resistant test.

WATER RESISTANCE:

brown > heroine make > black (most resistant to least resistant)

you see why i say the oldie is a goodie now? it's the most resistant out of all. in fact, the brown is the more reliable one out of the two i own. the black smudged a little, the heroine make flaked off a little.

OIL RESISTANCE:
i forgot to carry out an oil resistant test with vaseline, but i can already tell you the results based on experience.

heroine make > brown > black (most resistant to least resistant)

the gel liner will come off with vaseline, the black one coming off more easily than the brown. the heroine make will stay as it's not soluble in vaseline.

this is part of the reason why i use the gel liner to film my eyeliner tutorials, because it's easy to remove :D

BUDGE RESISTANCE:
brown > black > heroine make (most resistant to least resistant)

the brown is pretty much solid once it sets. i put the black before heroine make because upon rubbing, it did smudge a little, but at least it didn't flake off to reveal my flesh like heroine make did.

but then again, i don't know if the brown is so budge proof because of the age, or the formula.

RELIABILITY:
brown, heroine make > black

i know for a fact that the brown and the liquid liner can last me the entire day without doubt. the black is pretty dependent on the situation. it works fine in air conditioned places. there were times when it transferred to my lower lids :( but it was a hot and humid day, i should have known...

EASE OF REMOVAL:
all of them are just as easy to remove to me with an eye makeup remover. from my memory, the micellar lotion will remove the heroine make first, the brown and black gel liner require a few swipes.

did i miss out anything? let me know if there're anything you want to know in specific!

Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eyeliner (Swatch and Review)

this eyeliner is so affordable and good, i bought another 1 after i exhausted my first ever heroine make eyeliner.

the first ever liquid eyeliner i used was the body shop liquid eyeliner, those where you have to dip the felt tip head into the bottle containing the ink. not very beginner friendly at all.

the second one was a maybelline impact express eyeliner. i quite like it back then as it was a hard felt tip, it was rather easy to control. sadly, the ink wasn't very water resistant nor jet black enough.

my third has been my favourite so far, which is why i repurchased it.


IN A NUTSHELL
1) jet black
2) very smooth
3) dries quickly
4) lasts all day on my eyelids
5) easy to remove


each pen contains 0.4ml of ink, and the previous one lasted me for a year (but i use it sporadically, so i can't give a good gauge of how many uses it translates to).

the eyeliner has a few claims:
1. oil, sweat, tear, and water resistant, able to keep for the entire day.
2. even though it's long wear, it's amazingly easy to remove in the shower (washes off in warm water).


the tip of the pen is as fine as 0.01mm, OH WOW. the tip is actually just a very fine fibre.


compared against the maybelline gel eyeliners (on the left), the heroine make smooth liquid liner (the three stripes on the right) appears to be a jet black with a glossy finish. the liquid liner are swiped once with different strength (and hence, thickness).

even though it's a liquid type eyeliner, it doesn't seep into my fine lines on my hands (let alone the folds on my eyes).


you can see the sheen when under flash photography.

IMHO

to address those claims, it actually does what it says.

the eyeliner is very long lasting on my eyelids, once it sets it doesn't budge or smudge even though i perspire. i do get some oils on my eyelids of late, but the eyeliner is still jet black at the end of the day.

it dries pretty fast too, i don't have to worry about it staining my eyelids (but then again, my lash line doesn't get "swallowed" by my double lids). i tried using this on my inner corner, it works fine most of the time unless my eye was tearing up as i line it. the tear will dissolved the freshly drawn eyeliner as it's still in the liquid state. otherwise, it last the entire day on my eyes. on my inner corners, it does soften up and can be wipe off easily with a tissue paper after the entire day, but if i don't touch it at all, the eyeliner will just stay there on the surface of my skin.

is it really waterproof if you can wash it off with warm water? i tried removing it in room temperature water, it takes some rubbing to smudge some of the colour, but most of the line still remains. it's clear that this eyeliner is not water soluble once it sets. with warm water, what happens is this - the eyeliner will come off in a "film", it's very much alike to the film type mascara that washes off with warm water. i'm not very sure of the exact mechanism, but i suppose it loosens the entire sheet of polymer and it gets washed off the skin just like that. no dissolving involved (as with usual makeup remover), and no stains left behind.

as the name suggest, the application is very smooth (unless you dry up the pen that is). if the tip is wet enough, it'll just glide over my skin effortlessly. my past experience with the old eyeliner tells me if it's dry, it'll tug. i also find that some of my eyeshadow do stick onto the pen, it's a good idea to clean the tip between a piece of tissue to get rid of the buildup, or the ink won't flow through as efficiently as it should.

what's worth taking note off is that this eyeliner doesn't smudge or budge, but it does crack if you try pulling your skin taut. but please don't do that to your eyes.

due to the fact that fresh ink does dissolve in my tears, i only use this eyeliner for my eyelid and part of my inner corner, never used it for tight lining my waterline.

while my gel liner may risk smudging on a very hot and oily day, i am perfectly confident that this doesn't do so on my eyes.

i love to bring this with me when i'm have to stay overnight else where as it's convenient to use. though i'd be very careful with the storing as excess ink sometimes bubble through the tip for some unknown reason. maybe it has motion sickness? (just kidding)

the price point is very inviting, at HKD$78, i can't help but want to repurchase this as it's so reliable. but i did try to force myself to try other brands, you'll read about that soon.

i purchased this in HK's sasa.