For the example here on my hands I used Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero as the pencil, Eyeko Kinny Liquid Eyeliner in black for the pen, MAC's Blacktrack for the gel and Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner for the liquid liner.
Pencil liners are probably the most popular liner on the market. I know my first eyeliner was a black liner, I think it was Wet'n'Wild... that is neither here nor there. Truth is, no matter which liner I use otherwise, I am always using the pencil to tight line my eyes. The benefits of a pencil is that it is very forgiving. If a mistake occurs you can easily take it off, blend it out or turn it into a nice smokey base to improvise. I find myself using Zero more often these days but I think it is because I haven't repurchased Perversion, which is the blackest black. The cons to the pencil liner is that if you are trying to get a really crisp wing line, it takes a little more time and a sharper pencil and I find no matter how "waterproof" the pencil may be, it does fade out faster than other liners. The pros are that you can find pencils for a relatively cheap price. Some of the nicer drug store ones are Milani Liquif'eye Metallic Liner and in a pinch the Wet'n'Wild ones aren't too bad and I would even give e.l.f. a go if you are just experimenting for the first time.
The first liner is the Hello Kitty Charmmy Kohl Eye-liner in Good Night Dreams, it goes on smoothly and is quite black, it is ever so slightly darker than Urban Decay's Zero. This happened to come from a set of liners that are all quite long lasting, especially for "kohl" which seem to go on the smoothest and often come off the fastest. The Urban Decay pencils, however are my hands down favorite pencil liners. They come in a wide array of colors and offer two shades of black, Zero and Perversion. These glide on pretty nicely and are usually pretty pigmented. Sometimes they are not as smooth but I find this more with the lighter colors. The electric colors, browns, greys and dark vibrant ones are smooth and go on evenly. I would say no matter what, having a pencil liner in your liner arsenal is almost required for any makeup junkie.
Pen liners are a popular alternative to liquid liners. it gives you the ability to apply like a pencil liner but with a darker, sharper and more precise line that is easily achieved with a liquid. Cons: My gripe with these liners is that they don't seem to last as long and then when I want a thicker line, it transfers onto my lid. Another issue with these liners are that they fray easier than a liquid liner tip. Pros: I do like the ease of application and perhaps my issues with these liners are something not many have to experience themselves. You may have a great experience, however I have yet to have one with these but I still use them when I am in a rush to just get a line on my eye.
The Eyeko Skinny liner is a product I got in a monthly subscription service awhile back and the NYX super FAT eye Marker in a pack of items from Hautelook. Not something I would venture to buy for the purpose of having it but I am not throwing them out of my collection as I do use them once a week or so. For easy application I think it is a great buy, for the long lasting aspect.. these ones have left much to be desired.
Gel Liners are my current favorite liners to use. I find the lasting power is awesome and they give me that classic look without having a plastic like shine to the finished product that many liquid liners have. It is not a bad thing for it to be shiny, just an everyday look it is a little distracting for me. The benefits for a gel is lasting power, and versatility that this product provides. The downsides are finding the right liner brush for the look you are wanting to accomplish and of course the application is not as easily mastered as the pen or pencil but I don't think it is far off from either after you get a good handle on how it applies to the eyes. There are some great drugstore buys for gel liners, one nice one is the Wet'n'Wild gel liner as well as the Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner. However, my all time favorite and holy grail gel liner is (and probably will forever be) MAC's Fluidline in Blacktack.
The first picture is the Lorac Pro Cream Eyeliner. I got this to try out from my work, and I wish I could love it but I found this particular liner to not last as long as other gel liners that I have used. Maybe because it says "cream" liner, but I feel I would have better luck using a Color Tattoo as a liner. it doesn't seem to set on itself and I always have to reinforce it with a black powder. I would much rather use the Wet'n'Wild Gel Liner over this product. MAC Fluidline is an all time favorite. I just like the way it applies. People say they have problems with their's drying out but this is my second pot and I have never had that problem. I heard it is a quick spray of Fix Plus to remedy the dried out liner. I like the consistency of this gel liner over others I have tried in the past, it just always seems to apply smoothly and it deposits from the brush evenly. For gel liners I like to use small angled brushes to help go with the curve of my eyes, but I do like the straight edged liner brushes if I want to smudge the line out before it sets, it gives it a nice soft edge that is hard to replicate with other liners.
Last but definitely not least is liquid liners. Liquid liners seem to be the one beauty product that many people feel uncomfortable with until they get the hang of it. The pros: if you want that super sharp, crisp look to your line, liquid is the way to go. I find them to be the longest lasting out of all the liner groups, also to be the most striking when applied to the eye. The cons are that liquid liner is a bit harder to master than the previous three, it is the least forgiving and sometimes it is hard to find the best finish. Some come off very shiny and some dry to a deep charcoal instead of it being black. Also finding one with the right applicator for the type of line you wish to achieve is hard as well. My personal favorite black liquid liner and probably just favorite liquid liner of any color is the Urban Decay 24/7 waterproof liquid liner in perversion. It is a brush applicator but the brush is super thin, so you are able to get a really tight, fine line and make it as big as you like. I also like the Makeup Forever liquid liners. They are a felt tip but it comes to a fine point so you can also apply dimensional lines. On the cheaper end I enjoyed the Maybelline Stiletto liquid liner, also a felt tip.
The NYX liquid liner brush comes to a nice fine tip, however I wish it deposited the color more evenly, maybe I just have a bad one but other than that it is pretty on par with the Urban Decay liner with the two major differences is how black the Urban Decay Perversion is to any other liner and the lasting power. It always amazes me how well the Urban Decay liner stays on my lid. I also like finish of the Urban Decay one better. It isn't overly shiny and the handle is also easier for me to hold than traditional liquid liners where there is a super long brush and a tiny handle. I repurchased the Urban Decay one a few times as it is my favorite liquid liner of all time, for me it is worth the price I paid.
Hopefully that was a somewhat easy guide to liners! I am slowly getting into the swing of things. Going to start something new, I won't say it until I can get it rolling.
