A Definitive Ranking of All of the Liquid Eyeliners I've Ever Tried

There are a few things I really want to preface this post with that I think are important. The first thing is that I've been wearing eyeliner (specifically, winged) every single day that I've done a full face of makeup, which is almost every day since 2015. I know how to do winged eyeliner and have my own method of doing so, as I'm sure every single other person on this planet who applies makeup does. That being said, this is my definitive list and my results might not necessarily reflect everyone else's list. Besides the last two on this list, all of these liners served their purpose and were used up until I couldn't get another ounce out of them.

As for what I look for in an eyeliner, these are my usual requirements:

• Must be a liquid eyeliner pen (preferably, brush tip rather than felt tip). I don't like gel liners or liquid eyeliners that have the tiny, thin brushes/wands
• Must be able to wing out into a precise, pointy wing
• Must be easy to navigate along my eyelid with minimal to no tugging
• Must be black and opaque and not too drying
• Lasts all day

I would also like to throw out a disclaimer that I do not have oily eyelids by any means and always wear eyeshadow.

And that's it! Let's talk about eyeliner!

1. Too Faced Better Than Sex Easy Glide Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner

Price: $25
Longlasting: Most definitely. I have to try pretty hair to remove with makeup remover and cleansing balms at night time.
Wingability/Precision: Very much so! This is a brush tip, so it's very easy to get precise lines and tips without too much tugging.
Repurchased: A few times now
Comments: This is the liquid liner that dethroned the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner for me quite a few months ago and has still reigned supreme in my life. The only complaint I have, which I've faced with every single brush tip liner, is the slight fray of the brush hairs towards the end of its lifespan. This one doesn't fray dramatically and it takes a while to get to that point, but it can happen. Doesn't mean this still isn't the most glorious liquid liner to ever have graced my makeup collection.

2. Glossier Pro Tip Liner

Price: $18
Longlasting: Yes!
Wingability/Precision: Super thin tip and very flexible brush fibers. Very easy to get a thin line, maneuver around my lid, and wing out.
Repurchased: No, this is new in my collection
Comments: I'm surprised that I like this, I'm not going to lie. My problems with Glossier aside, I was very curious when I had seen that they launched an eyeliner. Since I have made it my life's mission to test out as many liquid eyeliners as possible, I decided to pretend this was a business expense (I don't not expense things for this blog) and picked it up from the showroom on launch day. Aside from the fact that I do wish it was a biiiiiit more black (it's still black, just not the blackest black, ya know), this liner is a fantastic and fairly affordable pen to add to my collection. Plus, it's cute as helllll.

3. Clinique Pretty Easy Liquid Eyelining Pen

Price: $22
Longlasting: Yes! Stays on very well.
Wingability/Precision: Very easy to get a thin, precise line on your lids and winging it out requires very little patience.
Repurchased: No, this is new in my collection.
Comments: I'm very tough when it comes to eyeliners and historically Clinique has not been my favorite brand. But, with their eyeliner, I stand corrected. It's not the most flexible brush tip I've worked with, which is why this isn't in the #2 spot, but it's still very easy to maneuver and is very matte and black.

4. Kat Von D Tattoo Liner

Price: $20
Longlasting: Totally. I've worn this in the rain without it budging. As long as you don't apply pressure to it and wipe on it hard, it's going to stay put.
Wingability/Precision: The only eyeliner I've ever been able to achieve the perfect wing with throughout its entire lifespan. It's good whether you want a super thin wing, a medium wing that's to a point, or even a thick, dramatic one.
Repurchased: Too many times to count
Comments: I use this so often that I go through a tube every couple of months. I don't like relying on this eyeliner for a couple of reasons, so I'm still desperately trying to replace it (preferably with something cheaper) after a four-year journey.


5. Charlotte Tilbury The Feline Flick Liquid Eyeliner

Price: $30
Longlasting: I've had no issues with it wearing out, but the formula is slightly drier than what I'm used to so it is less black than most other liners I use and therefore looks a tad bit faded by the end of the night.
Wingability/Precision: I could get this to be pretty precise for the first three weeks I had it, but then the tip started to dry out so it was a bit harder to achieve the perfect precise wing that I strive for. However, in terms of liners I've tried, this one while a completely different formula, did more than I expected it to do.
Repurchased: No times
Comments: It's pretty pricey and requires a bit of tugging from time to time, so if that's not your jam, I would pass

6. NYX Epic Ink Liner

Price: ~ $9
Longlasting: Super long-lasting, doesn't move on my lids.
Wingability/Precision: Very easy to maneuver around the lids and if you're precise with your movements, you can almost completely mimic the KVD liner.
Repurchased: Four times
Comments: The reason this isn't number two is because of two things: (1) the formula is super watery and if you're not careful, you're going to get it everywhere during the application process and (2) the fibers of the tip start separating and makes the tip look really janky and makes the application more difficult. However, if you have a light and steady hand, this is a totally viable option in my opinion.

7. Fenty Flyliner Longwear Liquid Eyeliner

Price: $20
Longlasting: Mega long-lasting. Let's just say I accidentally slept in this after wearing it all day before when I didn't have access to makeup remover and left the next morning with my foundation missing but eyeliner still intact.
Wingability/Precision: This happens a lot with most of the eyeliners that I've used, so you'll see this as a trend in the next few...I was able to wing it out for the two weeks of using it and then the tip got super flimsy and the product stopped dispensing to it. I'm not sure if it was my liner specifically, but I loved using this for my regular liner because it was super easy to control.
Repurchased: No times
Comments: This is one I'd be willing to try again in the future because I genuinely enjoyed it, I just wasn't impressed by the fact that the tip became useless at some point and I couldn't be as precise as I wanted to.

8. Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner

Price: $22
Longlasting: Very long lasting, never had any issues with that!
Wingability/Precision: I loved using this for my regular liner, it was really easy to achieve a nice even line. However, the tip was never precise enough for the types of wings that I like.
Repurchased: Three times
Comments: I've tried this one out three separate times, each coming after me thinking that I've gotten even better at winged eyeliner and can handle this one now. It still hasn't replaced the others that I'd reach for before it, so I think it's a lost cause for me. However, this is a cult favorite that everyone and their mother recommend for winged liner so who am I to judge it?

9. L'Oreal Infallible The Super Slim 

Price: ~ $9
Longlasting: Copy and paste everything from the Stila Stay All Day liner!
Wingability/Precision: Precision in terms of the regular lid was great, but much like the Fenty Flyliner, this only allowed me to do a wing of my standards for about a week or two before the product stopped dispensing, sadly.
Repurchased: No times
Comments: Even still, this is still a pretty viable drugstore option for me just because it's easy to clean up liner if you really want to save the money and be precise.

10. Maybelline Eye Studio Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner

Price: ~ $8
Longlasting: I personally didn't have any trouble with this wearing off or transferring onto my lid or anything, but some online reviews beg the difference so!
Wingability/Precision: Not the easiest to wing, but it wasn't a total lost cause either. It just took a little more time and patience!
Repurchased: Twice
Comments: This was a perfectly average eyeliner that I don't really have any complaints about. I should probably test it out again soon to see how I get on with it nowadays.

11. Kat Von D Ink Liner

Price: $20
Longlasting: Yes ma'am! (Who is ma'am in this case?)
Wingability/Precision: Pretty average! I prefer Tattoo liner to Ink liner, which is why I dropped this one further down!
Repurchased: Four times
Comments: A perfectly average eyeliner that I used to use before I switched to the Tattoo liner

12. Wet n Wild ProLine Felt Tip Eyeliner

Price: ~ $4
Longlasting: Not the best staying power, but not bad for the price!
Wingability/Precision: The tip is a little thick, but again, for the price, I can't complain.
Repurchased: Two times
Comments: This liner runs out in like, two seconds on account of it being so small. After like a few weeks I felt like I had to get a new one, which didn't seem very economical for me. But if you're in a pinch and need something cheap and fast, here ya go!

13. Soap and Glory Supercat Skinny Eyeliner

Price: ~ $10
Longlasting: I never had any issues with this one not being longlasting, but the formula leans on the more dry side!
Wingability/Precision: I felt like applying this one was a little jagged at times depending on the tube that I got, so it felt a bit inconsistent. However, if I had patience I was able to wing it out, it was just on the thicker side so if you like thin liner, I'd pass on this!
Repurchased: Three times
Comments: I don't know if they reformulated, but the last tube of this wasn't as good at the ones I had before, so I haven't repurchased since.

14 LORAC Front of the Line PRO Liquid Eyeliner

Price: $23
Longlasting: I don't remember any issues with its lasting power.
Wingability/Precision: This was smooth, but kind of too smooth to the point where wings were a bit of a struggle. I'd peg this more as a liner for your lids, not necessarily for a wing.
Repurchased: No times
Comments: No further comments!

15. Urban Decay Perversion Waterproof Fine-Point Eyeliner

Price: $22
Longlasting: Copy and paste everything from LORAC!
Wingability/Precision: See above!
Repurchased: No times
Comments: No further comments!

16. Pat McGrath Labs Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner

Price: $28
Longlasting: I don't have any issues with this wearing off and it is very black and opaque.
Wingability/Precision: The tip on this is so long I have trouble even using it on my eyelids, let alone trying to navigate it to create a wing.
Repurchased: No times
Comments: I'm disappointed that I don't like this but I'm sure it's just me and not the liner but if you don't like long tips on liquid liners, I'd pass for sure.

17. Bobbi Brown Ink Liner

Price: $32
Longlasting: The fact that it wore all day was about the only good thing about it.
Wingability/Precision: I could barely get this to work on my lids, let alone for winged liner. The tip was super stiff and hard to navigate and it just wasn't pleasant to put on.
Repurchased: No times
Comments: Never again!

18. Physician's Formula Eye Definer Felt Tip Eye Marker

I'm not even going to give this an actual review because I literally touched it to my eyelid, felt a twinge of pain, and immediately knew that it wasn't going to work out and promptly tossed it into the trash. Bad, bad, stiff, and unusable in my opinion.

What's your favorite liquid eyeliner? 

I've been told to try out the ColourPop liquid liner, Lancome Art Liner, and the Rollerliner from Benefit!