Top Eyeliner Picks-Every Retro Gal's Must Have!

Eyeliner is a massive Godsend, I'm not being over dramatic, it really is. Without it I look a mess, and not a hot mess either, just a mess. See, even Barbie had some killer line-age going on, she knew what was up:

 I remember when I first fell in love with eyeliner, I was about 14 or 15, dressing up as a Go-Go dancer for Halloween. I wore a beautiful "far out" dress (which I still have) handmade by my lovely Mom, and as I did my liquid eyeliner for the first time in the Cabaña bathroom,  it was like a whole new world opened up to me. Immediately I was in love with this dramatic, heavy-eyed look, even the feel of it on my eyelids. It took me a few years to work up my nerve and wear it out in public (remember this was before people became quite so de-sensitized to vintage), but after that I never looked back.



That's exactly what I looked in my dress. Exactly. ---->



Or not. At any rate, over the years I've grown to be really picky about my eyeliners, especially liquid. So I thought I'd save everyone the time, money and frustration of sifting though a ton of brands, and give my favorite picks for pencil and liquid eyeliners. Here is my criteria:

1. Is it tested on animals? (Obviously we are looking for a NO here, and are going off of their website)
2. How good is the formula? (No cracking for the liquids, no raccoon eyes etc)
3. Price
4. Accessibility (All of my picks are drug store brands)


So you are lucky enough to live in the U.K., France, Australia etc (basically most countries aside from the U.S.) pick yourself up one of these little gems, Bourjois Liner Pinceau:

This stuff is the best of the best, has a really thick formula that lasts all day and night without cracking, and is readily available in drug stores (and at corresponding prices!), for the above mentioned countries.




That is not the case here in the U.S., I used to order this from Asos.com but sadly my budget is just not having it anymore, and seeing as it was coming to about $15 for one tube I am inclined to agree. Le sigh.

Thus my new liquid eyeliner of choice,
NYC/New York Color Liquid Eyeliner:

I wish I had discovered this sooner, and honestly I can't tell the difference between this and the above, it stays just as long, doesn't crack, and has a nice thin brush. The brush is the key here, I'm not a fan of the "felt tip". Some people find it easier to work with but I personally prefer the brush, you can get more detailed, and shape the line exactly as you please. These go for about 3 bucks a pop at Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc.  

Now onto pencils. 


The winner in this category is the very budget friendly e.l.f. Eye Brightening Pencil, sells for $1 at Target, and even comes with a little sharpener!  I did not have any problems with it smudging, and as an added bonus it went on very smoothly. So what's not to love really!

There is a third category of eyeliners if neither one of these strikes your fancy, and that is crayon or "gel" eyeliner. Gel usually comes in a little pot and you need a brush to use it, aka too much hassle for me, which is why the crayon is better choice if you are a fan of this formula. My pick of from this category is the Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner Crayon:

Now, when they say "ColorStay" they mean Color. Stay. Sometimes a little bit too much, which in washing off can lead to excessive eye rubbing and wrinkles later on yadda yadda. But it absolutely works and does what it says it will. 

No matter what eyeliner you choose though, these kind of cotton swabs are essential:

 Usually called "cosmetics applicators" for some reason, but that's just a fancy name for a pointed Q-Tip. These are a life saver! All those hours of  swearing and starting all over again could have been severely reduced with these puppies. They sell for $2 at Target for a box of 75 (I use one a day).

Hope this helped narrow down your search for the perfect eyeliner, au revoir darlings!