We Tested Dozens of Liquid, Gel, and Pencil Eyeliners — These Are Our Top Picks

One tester, who had been out of practice creating wings with her eye look, found that this was the perfect waterproof liquid pencil to get her right back on track. You’ll also find it easy to get the precise look you want, thanks to a fine tip that gets color into the inner corners of your eye. The tip creates a thin line that’s easily buildable, though the eyeliner is deeply pigmented, and the color is rich upon first application. 

The tester found that the liquid color dried “almost immediately” and that there was no problem at all with smearing or caking. Despite the staying power of this liquid eyeliner, it came off easily with a makeup wipe.

Type: Waterproof liquid | Colors: 8 | Features: Comes in original, micro tip, or dual-ended | Size: 0.5 mL

If you’re looking to try out a new color or simply don’t love spending a ton on makeup, our tester found that this waterproof liquid eyeliner was “flawless” to apply, thanks to a slender tip. Or if you’re attempting to master a cat eye for the first time, this eyeliner will help you easily achieve a sharp, straight line.

It’s highly pigmented, and the vibrant black color dried instantly upon application, our tester notes. The matte finish stayed well (the brand claims it will stay put for 12 hours), though it took just one swipe of a makeup cloth to remove it.

Type: Waterproof liquid | Colors: 3 | Features: Waterproof | Size: 1 mL

Our Ratings

• Ease of Removal

  5/5

• Pigment

  5/5

• Wear

  4/5

• Dry Time

  3.5/5

• Application

  5/5

The application is smooth, and the colors are vibrant and true to what they look like on the website, so you can feel confident that what you see is actually what you’ll get. 

This eyeliner has two things going for it: the pencil tip on one and the blender on the other. The blender is perfect for creating a smokey eye look. It comes with a sharpener, though you can save money and buy one without it.

Be careful when applying, though; it takes about 20 seconds to dry, so smudging is possible. However, our tester found that the liner was very easy to remove. A very “posh” experience overall.

Type: Waterproof pencil | Colors: 9 | Features: Comes with optional sharpener | Size: 1.2 grams

Our Ratings

• Ease of Removal

  5/5

• Pigment

  5/5

• Wear

  5/5

• Dry Time

  5/5

• Application

  5/5

All you need is a flat eyeliner brush to apply Melt Cosmetics. Our tester found the application to be a bit wet, but it did glide on very well. It’s highly pigmented, so you get vibrant color with just one application. The color dries instantly, so there’s no worry about smudging or transfer. It was easy to remove with a swipe of a makeup removal wipe, but make no mistake, it will stay in place until you swipe.

Type: Waterproof gel | Colors: 2 | Size: 0.88 ounce

Our Ratings

• Ease of Removal

  5/5

• Pigment

  5/5

• Wear

  4/5

• Dry Time

  5/5

• Application

  5/5

Our tester loved the smooth and even application of the KVD Beauty Tattoo Waterproof liquid eyeliner. It went on easily in just two strokes, including the end “swoosh” they added for some high drama. 

The color dried nearly immediately without a smudge, though our tester did notice a tiny crack in the outer wing by the corner of the eye just minutes later. Still, she touted it as “one of the easiest liquid eyeliners I’ve used,” which is good news if you’re thinking of trying a liquid liner for the first time. Don’t let the word “tattoo” throw you, though; KVD’s color came off easily with micellar water.

Type: Waterproof liquid | Colors: 2 | Size: 0.55 mL

You’d think that a pencil eyeliner would have some stiff competition among liquid and gel eyeliners, but this one from Charlotte Tilbury is in it to win it.

Our tester found it to have a “super-smooth” application that went on easily and evenly. The liner is heavily pigmented and has a vibrant color — in fact, the tester didn’t need to keep building in order to get the depth of color she wanted. She joked that it was “almost too easy” to apply this pencil to the top lid and the waterline. There’s no need to worry about the color smudging or transferring, either, though — removal was easy with a swipe of a cloth and some makeup remover. 

Type: Waterproof pencil | Colors: 8 | Size: 0.04 ounce

Our Ratings

• Ease of Removal

  5/5

• Pigment

  5/5

• Wear

  5/5

• Dry Time

  5/5

• Application

  5/5

The Hourglass Mechanical Gel Eyeliner is a retractable pencil that only requires two clicks to dispense just the right amount of product. According to our tester, this offering has “amazing application.”

The pigment is rich, and it takes just a light stroke to get the color you want. The color dried instantly without smudging; in fact, the liner “did not budge at all,” which bodes well for the long-lasting wear of this product. It took several gentle swipes of the makeup remover cloth to remove it, but in general, it was fairly easy to do so.

The one drawback our tester noted is that the product doesn’t retract once it comes out of the tube, so keep that in mind when applying.

Type: Waterproof gel | Colors: 5 | Features: Mechanical pencil | Size: 0.06 grams

Our Ratings

• Pigment

  5/5

• Overall Wear

  4.5/5

Kudos to the ultra-thin applicator wand on this Fenty Beauty Flyliner. The “flex tip” helps you precisely apply the sleek, water-resistant formula with ease, due in part also to the “easy grip” triangle shape of the pen. And the product lives up to its name — our tester found that it had a very light feel to it that didn’t make her eyes feel weighed down by the product. 

Creating a cat eye and lining the bottom of the eye were both a cinch. The tester found the black to have excellent pigment that required no reapplication to get the dark look she was going for. It dried instantly with no transfer, according to our tester, who has oily skin and tried this out in the summertime. It did take some time to remove the eyeliner, especially the thicker line on the top lid, but that didn’t stop our tester from giving the Fenty Flyliner high-flying scores.

Type: Water-resistant liquid | Colors: 2 | Features: Ultra-thin applicator | Size: 0.55 mL

Our Ratings

• Ease of Removal

  5/5

• Pigment

  5/5

• Wear

  5/5

• Dry Time

  5/5

• Application

  5/5

Our tester loved the “nice, smooth feel” of this hybrid gel pencil, noting that it didn’t feel hard or tug at the skin at all during the application. 

It was easy to line both the top and bottom lashes with the Lancome Drama Liqui-Pencil. Our tester found the navy blue to be “a lovely shade” that needed only one application to enhance the eyes. It dried instantly and stayed put on our tester’s oily skin, which is why we gave it the best long-wear title on our list. It comes in eight shades, though at this price point, it’s understandable that you might want to stick with just one or two in your collection.

Type: Waterproof gel pencil | Colors: 8 | Features: Waterproof | Size: 12g

Our Ratings

• Ease of Removal

  5/5

• Pigment

  4.5/5

• Wear

  5/5

• Dry Time

  5/5

• Application

  5/5

You’ll need a separate brush to apply this waterproof MAC eyeliner, but our tester found that using one only helped make a more precise application even easier. The color itself was really the only snag—our tester thought it looked black, but it was actually Deep Metal Grey that appeared blue against her eyes. She still loved the color, but keep in mind that you might want to try out the color before purchasing. 

The color did take a few minutes to dry—far longer than the rest on our list—but once it did, there was no budging or smudging. If you are new to this type of application, you might need some practice. It was easy to remove with just a couple of swipes of a makeup remover wipe. 

Type: Waterproof gel | Colors: 5 | Features: Waterproof | Size: 3g