Best Eyeliners
It can be classically coquettish or beautifully brazen. Sometimes it’s thin, sometimes seductively curvy. It is at once bold, elegant and attention grabbing. It’s eyeliner, and no other product in your makeup drawer has its versatility or its ability to add drama, glamour or edginess to your look in a single stroke. And since eyeliner can change your entire vibe, for better or for worse, it’s important to choose the right one. We’ve got the line on the best dry, wet and colored eyeliners that can transform your look in one fell swoop.
For more top beauty picks, check out the best mascara, paraben-free beauty, and concealers.
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Dry Liner
Pencils, powders, and crayons are the most variable liners — and the hardest to screw up. Choose any of these easy-to-use eyeliners to get natural-looking shading, smudgy smoky eyes, or a foolproof beginner’s line.
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| Cover Girl Liner $7 Give your eye color a subtle boost by lining all the way around with Cover Girl Exact Eyelights eyeliner. With shades designed specifically to highlight brown, blue, green and hazel eyes, it’s a snap to give your eyes a little extra twinkle. |
Pop Beauty Cat Eyes $16 Get that cute kittenish look with the Cat Eyes Crayon from Pop Beauty. This beveled pencil makes it super easy to get either a thick or a thin line without having to hang on to a sometimes-slippery round pencil. |
Benefit BADgal Eye Pencil $20 Just because pencils make great starter liners doesn’t mean they have to be used to demure ends only. Benefit’s BADgal eye pencil is a chunky, coal-black pencil perfect for drawing a big fat line along your upper lashes. You don’t even need shadow to complete this smoky eye. |
Wet Liner
Control is the name of the game with liquid, cream, and gel eyeliners. Practice, patience and a steady hand are key, but the payoff is mega-dramatic eyes that draw all the attention in the room.
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| Boots No7 Liquid Eyeliner $7 Want a defined lash line that screams Old Hollywood glamour? Boots No7 liquid eyeliner brings the drama in the form of a paint-on liner that’s a deep, classic black. |
Stila Barbie Stay All Day Liner $20 Barbie is lucky enough to have her sexy cat eyes painted right on, but for the rest of us there’s Stila Barbie Stay All Day liquid liner. Inspired by the iconic doll, Stila’s liner goes on super thin thanks to a precise, marker-like brush applicator. |
Jet Set Waterproof Liner $22 If you find that pencils tug and tear at the delicate skin around your eyes, try something a little smoother, like velvety Jet Set waterproof eyeliner from Smashbox. Apply the creamy liner with an eyeliner brush; it glides right on and dries quickly for a stay-the-day look. |
Colored Liner
Using a colored liner is one of the quickest and easiest ways to integrate color into your look. If you’re not ready for wildly colored shadow or out-there lip color, a bold colored liner can give you a noticeable change without taking things over the top (unless, of course, that’s what you’re going for!)
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| L’Oreal HIP Color Rich Cream Crayon $10 With L’Oreal HIP Color Rich cream crayon, you get the control of a pencil, the rich texture of a cream, and the intense-pigment color palette of L’Oreal’s HiP line. This is another product that can double as a shadow, but has a fine point perfect for creating striking lines. |
BareEscentuals bareMinerals Liner Shadow $13 It’s a liquid! It’s a powder! It’s a liner! It’s a shadow! It’s Bare Escentuals bareMinerals liner shadow, a powdery pot of color you can use dry for a smoky look or with a wet liner brush for a more defined line. |
Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes $17 Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes is practically made for mermaids. The glossy pencil comes in 25 vibrant shades (including pistachio green, amethyst and electric blue) and holds its ground even against water and sweat. |
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