3 Mechanicals & A Brush… Which Liner Are You?

It has been a while since I last reviewed some eyeliners, and it seems this time round I have accumulated a few mechanical liners, so I thought I’d put them together for a comparative review. Mechanical pencils are nice because I’m too lazy to bother with sharpening. And for some mysterious reason, all my pencils break the moment I try to sharpen them. Which is partly the reason how I can live (have learnt to live) with blunt pencils. In any case, the 3 I have to share today are quite different in their own right, so a case may be made for having all 3 of them!

I must confess that I’m a little bit embarrassed to be showing you these blunted heads…. It doesn’t make for a very pretty picture. However, I take it as photo evidence that I really do use my makeup, and report based on real life experience! And unfortunately, none of these pencils came with built-in sharpeners (not that I could ever get any of those things to work anyway!).

Rouge Bunny Rouge Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in Feline Gaze [approx. USD24 for 0.23gm] is the most exciting mechanical pencil I own with its gooorgeous blue & silver shimmers over a deep black base! It is easy to blend out but once it sets, it stays put all day long! On my often wet lower lash line, this one performed the best with minimal fading and absolutely no smudging. However, it is the least smooth out of the 3 being shown here, so the best way to use it is to do short, light repetitive strokes to minimize tugging. The only real problem I faced with this is that it does not retract back down, and I would inevitably smush the tip with the cap after every use.

Addiction Eyeliner Pencil in Black Jack [approx. USD23] has the best mechanism here, twisting up and retracting back down smoothly. The formula is also much smoother, gliding over my lash line easily in 1 swift stroke. However, the tip is also the fattest out of the 3 here, just marginally bigger than the RBR, but it makes a noticeable difference on my tiny eyes. It also is not completely budge-proof, and disappears from my lower lash line within 4-5 hours.

Hourglass 1.5mm Mechanical Gel Eye Liner [USD16 for 0.06gm] is the thinnest, and most pigmented of them all.  The softest, lightest touch will get you an intense black line, and is my weapon of choice for tight-lining!  There is enough time to blend and smudge this one out, and after it sets it stays put all day, just the way I like it!  It has a click-mechanism, which prevents the tip from swiveling back down while you’re working, but on the other hand it doesn’t retract. Given how expensive this is, please proceed with prudence and don’t get all trigger happy when clicking away!

And just as I was digging through my stash, I found this 1 lone liquid brush liner. Instead of abandoning it for its lack of mechanical qualities, I thought I’d keep it with its other sibling. Rouge Bunny Rouge Devotion Ink Quartz Eyeliner in Tanzanite Essence [USD30 for 2.5ml] is one of those dipping brush type of liquid liner. I may be over-analyzing things here, but the brush head feels different – it is most certainly a brush instead of those stiff, unwielding points (used by Lancome); yet it doesn’t splay out and get all floppy like most brushes.

Tanzanite Essence is a beautiful shimmery blue with the most amazing high-shine finish.  My only issue with this is that I wished the formula was more opaque. As it is, I find myself having to redip the brush 2-3 times just to complete 1 eye as the color sheers out when applied. For the swatch above I pretty much used a fully saturated brush, and went over the line several times. It works better when applied over a dark liner base, but make sure to use a liner that is very budge-proof with minimal slip, because otherwise Tanzanite Essence may wash out the dark liner base in spots. But when it works, Tanzanite Essence is beautiful beyond belief.

Have you tried any of the liners here? Between liquid and pencils (mechanical or otherwise), which do you prefer?