I’m not willing to be too spendy on liquid and gel eyeliners, as I feel that they should be chucked away after 6 – 9 months. Even though there are preservatives used, it’s still something that I don’t want to run the risk of bacteria growth/infection, as they’re used near my eyes that have undergone Lasik. Or otherwise, I’m skint. Either name, it works 🙂
So here’s a lovely gift passed to me from a pal – the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner. Which otherwise I wouldn’t have purchased, since it retails at SGD$40 in Singapore (approximately USD$32! compared to about USD$21 in the US).
It comes in a thick frosted 3g jar with a screw on cap. Pretty classy and functional packaging.
The ingredients taken off Makeupalley:
Ingredients: Isododecane, cyclopentasiloxane, polyethylene, trimethylsiloxysilicate, disteardimonium hectorite, propylene carbonate, lecithin, phenyl trimethicone, hydrogenated polyisobutene, methicone, barium sulfate, bht, phenoxethanol. May contain: iron oxides, mica, titanium dioxide, blue 1 lake, carmine, chromium oxide greens, manganese violet, yellow5 lake, chromium hydroxide green, bismuth oxychloride, ultramarines, ferric ferrocyanide.
It does look a blackish-mauve with fine shimmers in the pot. Does anyone ever hit pan on these gel eyeliners before they dry up or reach their use-by date?
On my skin and when used to line, it appears a rich chocolate brown without any shimmer. Which is fine by me as it’s work-appropriate. I particularly like how it isn’t black nor a flat matte.
The top line drawn shows just 1 coat. The lower line has about 3 coats. This is sufficiently pigmented without needing to keep coating and re-coating for good colour payoff.
The photo on the right shows the rub test, with the swatches rubbed over several times after they’ve set. I think that’s pretty decent as the lines are still obvious though there’s a bit of streaking where my fingers rubbed them so.
On my eyes, the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner is pretty impressive. It manages to last longer on my eyes than the Indelible Gel Eyeliners, with less smudging on the lower lid. The colour also remains pretty rich until it’s time to use the makeup remover – a waterproof eye makeup remover. The texture is smooth and pretty creamy. With the right brush, precision lines will be darn easy.
Quality: 9
Packaging: 7.5
Overall score: 7.8