LIQUID EYELINER COMPARISON: Maybelline, Heroine Make, Kate

Sudden explosion of liquid eyeliner population at madokeki HQ.

obviously, this post is dated because now my eyeliner collection has grown from 3 to 4 (addition of dollywink).
this post will do a simple comparison between the qualities that matters to me the most (i assume they matter that much to you too).

THE CONTENDERS //



MAYBELLINE hypersharp liner (black), HEROINE MAKE smooth liquid eyeliner (black), KATE super sharp liner S spider liner II (BK-1).

click on individual link for their respective reviews!

SWATCH//


swatched on my arm, all are one swipe only.

COLOUR: all three of them are jet black. MAYBELLINE seems a little diluted because it was brand new when i swatched it.

FINISH: MAYBELLINE is the only matte black liner, while HEROINE MAKE and KATE both has a slight sheen to it.

RUB TEST//


i think this is self explanatory. you can see the results for yourself.

RUB RESISTANCE: HEROINE MAKE > KATE > MAYBELLINE

WATERPROOF: all claims to be waterproof, but MAYBELLINE is the one with a waterproof formula, while HEROINE MAKE and KATE are film type eyeliners.

OIL PROOF: they all claim to be oil proof, but i think HEROINE MAKE is the only one that really does the job well. MAYBELLINE and KATE might melt when there's oil AND heat.

MAKEUP REMOVAL: both HEROINE MAKE and KATE are film type eyeliners, they can be removed with warm water. HEROINE MAKE can come off easily with an eye makeup remover too, but KATE leaves behind a black stain for some reason. MAYBELLINE must be removed by an eye makeup remover and it cannot be removed by warm water at all.

RELIABILITY: HEROINE MAKE is the only eyeliner i can trust since it never melted or smudged on me. KATE and MAYBELLINE both melted on my eyes before (especially if i didn't powder my eyes).

IN A NUTSHELL
based on the formula alone, i really like heroine make's smooth liquid eyeliner because it can be removed by either water or eye makeup remover. why does this matter? because it means i can use it at all times, whether it's water proof makeup (that requires eye makeup remover) or it's a simple makeup (that can be washed away by just water or micellar water).

however, that doesn't mean there's no value in maybelline's hypersharp liner, because i will definitely use it when wearing waterproof mascara since they will be removed altogether by the eye makeup remover! convenient much! plus i really like it for being matte!

as for kate's super sharp liner, it's just not as reliable as heroine make smooth liquid eyeliner. it doesn't add any value to my life at all.

also, if you haven't seen my 2015 favourites, i explained why i love heroine make smooth liquid eyeliner. :) i don't want to sound like a broken record so.. watch it to find out!

did i miss out any qualities that you're interested in? leave me a comment if i did!

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MAYBELLINE HyperSharp Liner (Swatch and Review)

Rekindled my love for liquid eyeliner pen and took a leap of faith

ever since my skin got bad, i tried to avoid gel eyeliners because they would require an eye and lip makeup remover. even though my skin can tolerate some makeup, i'm not sure if they can tolerate the makeup remover! so i've been utilizing my liquid eyeliner pen a lot more. my heroine make smooth liquid eyeliner is running dry soon, and my kate spider liner melted and smudged throughout the day, i figured it's time to try something new to see if it'd work as great as the heroine make smooth liquid eyeliner.

this is totally an impulse buy. i heard how good it is from a girlfriend of mine, she said the pen is really fine, and long lasting on her eyes. while passing by my budget toiletry shops in chinatown, i picked it up considering the lower price. (you see the price tag on the title image! $21.90 is the usual retail price at watsons, and $16.40 is the price at swanston)

looking fancy with a shiny yellow cap and gold lettering on the pen

i picked up the colour "intense black". there is two other shades if i remember correctly - brown and soft black.

CLAIMS

below are its claims on the front of the package:

1. 0.01 tip for super sharp lines
2. water proof
3. easy removal
4. stain free

more claims printed on the package on the back

in summary, it's an eyeliner that will deliver super fine lines that're jet black. formulated to have amazing staying power, it's also easily removed without staining your eyelids.

i just found out it's has a film type formula too, meaning it stays put on the lids really well but easily removed with warm water.

surely, something must be missing here because as far as i know, there's always gonna be a compromise between staying power and ease of removal. one of the claims must be false. which is it? 

INGREDIENTS

maybelline hypersharp liner ingredient list

PEN TIP

since i have other eyeliners of similar type, i can show you a comparison of their tips.

a closer look at the pen tip of the eyeliner pens i own

honestly, the difference is too small and insignificant. heroine make looks the finest at the tip, maybelline might be finer than kate.

the tip is a brush tip, making it very easy to control and contour against your eyes.

COLOUR AND FINISH

swatches of the eyeliner pens i currently own

the maybelline hypersharp liner in intense black wasn't as intense as i hoped for it to be! both the heroine make and kate appears to be blacker than maybelline. however, it's fully matte, so that's something new for me. i've been looking for a matte eyeliner! you will notice heroine make has most sheen.

MY EXPERIENCE:

i got about 2-3 hours of wear time from the eyeliner before it started melting and transferring to my lower lids. BAD NEWS!!! i was so disappointed when it happened. what happened to it being water resistant and sebum resistant!? i used it to line the inner corner of my eyes, which might be a mistake on my part (but heroine make never did that to me).

even after i avoided using it on my inner corners where it's easily in touch with my tears, i noticed the outer half of my eyeliner transferring to my lower lids as well. :( YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THIS!!! now this is acting exactly the same as the kate spider liner. :( what am i going to do with 2 bad eyeliners?

now that the worst thing that can happen is mentioned, i'll talk about the other claims.

the pen tip is indeed very sharp and will be very useful for people who need to draw fine eyeliners. the tip is a brush tip, my favourite kind of tips because they can bend and conform to your eyes so that you get that perfect line.

the ink does not feather into any fine lines even on my arm.

and i like the matte finish because i feel like it enlarges the eyes better than a shiny eyeliner.

lastly, this eyeliner is easily removed with vaseline. i find that it requires a little bit more tugging when i used a makeup remover (bifesta cleansing lotion). i have yet to try removing it with warm water, so i'll give that a try next time. as far as i know, this has a completely different formula as the heroine make, even though both claims to be a film type formula. heroine make will come off in a sheet if i did rub it with vaseline, while this actually melts off in it.

VERDICT

i'm still on a quest to find a matte version of the heroine make smooth liquid liner. if you're not going to use this for your inner corner of your eyes, and you only use this on your outer lid (not even remotely near your lash line), you might like this eyeliner.

for me, it's not water proof enough.

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GET IT BEAUTY Blind Test #1 Eyeliners 2015

Top 3 Eyeliner Pencil For Deep, Clear Eyes

what is "get it beauty"? and why do their blind test matter to me?
get it beauty is a korean beauty talk show, i first heard of them through their "get it beauty self" beauty videos on youtube :P it's similar to taiwan's 女人我最大 to a certain extent, in which they will invite experts from the relevant fields to share insights with beauty lovers.

one of the things they do is the blind test, and it is what you think it is.

i read that they changed the format slightly this year. instead of pitting random products against each other, they now pit previous year's champion against new challengers.

i like any ranking that's powered by the community, because the chances of picking a bad item is lower if most people find it to be working well! it's kind of a herd mindset i suppose, but it's helpful for foreign products because there're little reviews available online for some of the korean brands. i take these rankings into consideration when choosing new items to try.

let's take a look at the eyeliner ranking!

1. SHU UEMURA | DRAWING PENCIL | 1.2g | 27,000 won

long wearing and has a huge range of colour selection.

2. STILA | SMUDGE STICK WATERPROOF EYELINER | 0.28g | 27,000 won

previous year's #1!

can be used without the worry of touching up as it lasts all day.

3. BANILA CO | SEOUL WONDER SMOOTH GEL EYELINER | 0.5g | 12,000 won

the soft gel eyeliner is easy for make up beginners to pick up. also comes with a built in sharpener to get ultra precise lines.

firstly, korean domestic brands are much more affordable. secondly, stila is hella expensive! for the same price you can get shu uemura which gives you almost 4 times the amount of product. i've never tried any of them, paying ~27USD for an eyeliner is blowing my mind.

have you tried any of the above? are they really as good as their ranking?

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