Testing longwear eye pencils: I tested 10 long-wear and waterproof eye pencils to see if they’re really staying put! They range from high-end to drugstore, and I’ve spent now what feels like weeks to compare them. Let’s get on with it and see how that went and what’s my favourite one now.
Also, this is an incredibly long post – thankfully, you can jump to the bits that interest you via the index. Just click on the name of the pencil that you want to read about below!
Why? How? What?
Look, I bought 25 eye pencils in 2023 for this post. Well, not this post. One post. Any post. The plan was initially to find the best high-end ones and dupe them, just like I did with eyeshadow pencils before. There was just one, tiny, insignificant hiccup – they were all garbage.
I’ve got a complicated relationship with eye pencils. I want the look. But I also want them to hold up during the day. They never do.
(I found a hack, kinda, to make most of them work. But honestly, I don’t know my problem. NOTHING ever stays on my waterline, and nearly nothing stays on my lower lashline. Is it me?! But then, my lids and undereye area aren’t even particularly oily. Watery – yes. Kinda.
You’d think at this point I’d have abandoned the whole idea, and use liquid eyeliner and eyeshadow like any other person. But nooooooo, in fact I’m standing there like a 16-year-old wailing ‘whhhhhyyyyyyyyy doesn’t he love me?’ to the skies.)
Looking for longevity!
My problem felt faintly justified when Michelle from Labmuffin brought this up in her 2023 best of video. Apparently, she is researching the issue, and here’s what I took with me from that vid:
I should look for Cyclopentasiloxane, Isododecane and Methyl Trimethicone high on the inci list, while oily ingredients like Dimethicone are a no-no. (Ironically, the products she mentioned from Maybelline and Revlon aren’t available over here. Oh, the travesty!)
For this post, I’ll rate anything above 5hrs of wear as good and below 3hrs as bad. This actually doesn’t reflect my view as a consumer, but here we are.
(There’ll be an extra post with all my K-Beauty pencils.)
(Look at my comparison of Lisa Eldridge’s and Victoria Beckham’s pencils for those two.)
Testing longwear eye pencils: High-end eye pencils
Shiseido Micro Liner Ink
9 shades, 0,8g for 29€, Made in Japan
Shade: 08 Teal
Description
This foolproof eyeliner is infused with high-impact pigments that deliver smudge-proof, saturated, matte colour. The weightless, inky pencil features thermo-sensory technology that allows this formula to transform from a solid to a liquid upon contact with skin, creating a flexible, water-resistant film that lasts up to 24 hours.
Shiseido
Performance
A warning: this is a twist-up liner that can’t be screwed down again. So use it carefully.
It has a super fine tip that can feel uncomfortable when applying, but smudges and blends well with a brush. It holds up well (it has Methyl Trimethicone on second place in the inci list) and the cap forms an extra tight seal. The biggest problem: the colours are all very basic and also matte. But: the piment is amazing, although the price is insane.
Lancome Le Stylo Waterproof
9 shades, 0,35g for 29€, Made in Germany
Shade: 08 Reve Anthracite
Description
This versatile eye pencil smoothly glides onto the lash line for precise application and intense pigmented color that won’t budge or flake. With its creamy texture, Le Stylo allows for seamless blending and smudging with its built-in smudger. After blending, this formula sets to a longwear and waterproof formula to last all day and night. Available in 9 dramatic shades, with two impactful finishes: matte and metallic.
Lancome
Performance
Again a twist-up pencil, so no need for sharpeners. This one is less pointy than Shiseido’s, but very similar in performance, although the first ingredient isn’t Methyl Trimethicone, but Trimethylsiloxisilicate. Again I find the shade range abysmal, but at least it comes in two finishes. Holds up well, blends well. Comes with a smudger. About as exciting as a January day and expensive.
MAC Colour Excess Gel Pencil Eye Liner
12 shades, 0,35g for 28€, Made in Germany
Shade: Gilt Struck
Description
With 12-hour waterline and 24-hour+ lid wear, discover smooth-glide application and saturated colour in a single swipe. Our new hybrid gel formula glides on like a dream for easy, flawless application, and our exclusive Line-Lock Technology provides waterproof and smudge-resistant colour that’s longer wearing and that doesn’t transfer.
MAC
Performance
I mean, they do have a few fun colours. But if I were to rate them, they would get an F: WHO came up with that ridiculous 24hrs wear claim?!!? No surprises – it held up for around 5hrs. My colour, the goldy Gilt Struck, was a bit weak – the texture applies and blends pleasingly easy, but I definitely had to do a few passes. First ingredient is Isododecane, but the glitter in the formula started to migrate pretty immediately. Again, a twist-up pencil. Again, the price is outrageous.
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil
38 shades, 1,2g for 20€, Made in Germany
Shade: Honey
Description
Our eye-conic 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils, come in 38 pigment-packed shades, with 5 different eyeliner finishes: matte, shimmer, glitter, satin, and metallic. With a creamy and bendable formula, these eye pencils glide onto the skin with ease before drying into a waterproof and smudge-proof eyeliner. Enjoy vibrant, long-lasting color that wears for up to 16 hours. Line, wing, and draw outside the lines with one of beauty’s best eyeliners.
Urban Decay
Performance
Here’s the thing: UD is definitely in high water in 2024, and has pulled out of many European markets, including (somewhat) Germany. It’s gotten difficult to buy. Shade range and price point are unmatched for high-end brands, though. A simple pencil you have to sharpen in a sharpener, this formula is ultra-creamy and needs some time to set. Most of them have Cyclopentasiloxane and Isododecane right at the beginning of the inci list. Pigmentation is really, really good. Honey is the only one I still own – the initially drier ones, like Perversion and Gunmetal, have dried out completely since I got them (which was ages ago, to be fair. And I mean ages). It doesn’t hold up that great on me and starts to smudge under my eyes after about 4hrs.
Testing longwear eye pencils: Mid-range
Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen
24 shades, 1,2g for 15€, Made in Germany
Shade: Rose Glam
Description
Waterproof, super-long-wear, no-smudge, no-budge eye liners. They glide on like seamless silk, and in a single sweep motion create a flawless, solid jewel-toned line. No retouching required all day – or night!
Pixi
Performance
Liar liar pants on fire! (At least when it comes to longevity.) The shade range is nice, pigmentation very good, and it’s easy to apply. It glides along the skin very easily, it’s also very smudgeable. It dries out quickly though, due to the abysmally bad clear plastic cap that doesn’t fit very tightly. In hot weather pop it into the fridge before you start even thinking about sharpening it. Weartime is at most average, especially in warmer weather when it has melted off my eyes after 4hrs.
First ingredients: Isododecane, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone. It’s very similar to UD.
Sephora COLLECTION 12 Hour Contour Pencil Eyeliner
21 shades in various finishes (depending on the market), 1,3g for 12€, Made in France
Shade: 59 Golden Hour
Description
What it is: A range of colorful, ultra-pigmented, waterproof pencil eyeliners that feature matte, shimmer, and glitter finishes and provide up to 12 hours of wear.
Sephora
What Else You Need to Know: These classic pencil eyeliners deliver intense and luminous color with just one stroke. Available in a fun array of colors and finishes, the formula creates a flawless line, adding beautiful dimension and definition to your eyes.
Performance
These used to be my holy grail pencil before they reformulated in 2021.
Inci list: Isododecane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate and Dimethicone. For those kinds of inci lists I always think that they wanted to balance the longevity with creaminess and blendability. It’s one of the hardest pencils I own, and needs a few passes for full opacity. Then it holds up well, but honestly, it’s not even comparable to their old formula. Needs a sharpener.
Kiko lasting precision automatic eyeliner and khôl
16 shades (matte and pearl), 0,35g for 8€, Made in Germany
Shade: 14 Shimmering Dark Taupe
Description
Automatic eye pencil for the waterline and lash line that delivers a precise, even and long-lasting stroke.
Kiko
The deep colour is revealed instantly. The soft texture glides on and may be blended using the pencil’s built-in applicator.
Performance
I find this one lacking in pigment, and not particularly long-lasting. Interesting to see that this one hasn’t a ‘waterproof’ label, and that it comes with a ‘soft ergonomic grip section’ that helps with application if you have mobility issues in your hands. I’m whelmed by the quality, longevity and colour range, and think that for the amount of product you get for the price, you can do better. Twist-up mechanism, no sharpener needed, comes with a smudger.
Testing longwear eye pencils: Drugstore
NYX Epic Wear Waterproof Eyeliner Stick
33 shades, depending on the market, 1,22g for 10€, Made in Germany
Shade: Rose Gold
Description
These waterproof eyeliner pencils are available in 33 matte and metallic-finish shades that deliver up to 36 hours of smudge-proof, fade-proof color. Use the highly-pigmented, long-lasting eyeliner pencil in black to create a classic wing, or experiment with color and rock a head-turning graphic eye look.
NYX
Performance
This is the formulation Michelle warned about, with Dimethicone as a first ingredient. And so it glides on skin awesomely, is easily smudgeable, and then – vanishes after around 4hrs. It’s even worse when it’s warmer, or wetter weather. Different colours have different amounts of pigmentation (my Rose Gold one goes on better than the purple one I own), but the cap is egregious in every iteration. It just doesn’t stay put?!?! Very high risk of the pencil drying out quickly.
Bourjois Contour Clubbing Waterproof EyeLiner
12 shades in three finishes, 1,2g, 8€, Made in Germany
Shade: 46 bleu neon
Description
Contour Clubbing Waterproof is a colourful, long lasting & waterproof eye pencil. Its ultra-soft texture glides along the lash line for an intense and vibrant effect. Once set, the colour won’t budge until you take it off with waterproof make-up remover. The formula, enhanced by jojoba and cotton oils, offers absolute comfort even for contact lens wearers. The pencil can be used as a liner or can be smudged as an eyeshadow.
Bourjois
Performance
I honestly expected more from the blue colour I got: this one is a bit on the weaker side. It’s one of those pencils that are ok: it applies ok, it holds up ok-ish. Sure, go for it if a colour strikes your fancy, but if it’s difficult to buy Bourjois where you are, you don’t need to go out of your way for it. Forgettable.
Makeup Revolution Streamline Waterline Eyeliner Pencil
15 shades in both metallic and matte finishes, 1,3g for 4,50€
Shade: Purple
The only pencil that doesn’t disclose where it’s made, so I guess it’s China.
Description
Ultra-creamy, ultra-pigmented, ultra-smudgeable!
Makeup Revolution
Revolution Streamline Waterline Eyeliner Pencils effortlessly glide across the waterline with intense colour pay off. With 15 highly pigmented shades including a smudger on the end, there are endless possibilities! Use the smudger to blend the colour across as eye as a cream shadow or for a smoky liner look.
Performance
I heard that this one hold up great in the waterline, and so I thought it’d work even better on my lower lashline. Ehhhhh. The first ingredient, unsurprisingly, is Dimethicone, which helps it glide smoothly on the waterline. It’s super creamy and very pigmented, and yeah, it was one from my waterline after one hour, but we’re not testing that. The line on my lower lashline though held up decently for 5+ hours, but broke down at my inner and outer corners. Which made me think: maybeeeee I like it better when liners break down evenly and completely?! For the price though, it’s very good. Comes with a smudger.
Testing longwear eye pencils: my favourites
Note: when doing the arm swatches for the pics in this post, Kiko’s tip broke off, the purple NYX pencil (which lost its cap frequently because it was so loose) was completely dried out (hence, no pics), and Bourjois swatched really crumbly.
When deciding on a pencil, I’d advise to pay extra attention to the amount of product you get, and also to the closing mechanism. Does it keep air out well?
It’s not totally fair though that I swatched dark and really light colours together, but those are the ones I actually wear, though. *shrug*
My arm swatch experience also didn’t really reflect how each pencil performs on the eye. I mean, obviously, an arm isn’t an eye. My arm doesn’t water like my eyes, and also don’t get oily. So keep all that in mind.
Recommendations
Of the higher priced pencils, Shiseido’s holds up the longest on me. Acknowledging the miserly 0.35g, it’s ICREDIBLY pricey though, and also comes only in a few colours – all of them matte. MAC comes with the same amount of product and the same price and can only be called mediocre in both colour saturation and longevity. Mid-range I’d go for either Pixi or Sephora Collection, while I think that the drugstore ones are easily interchangeable and come with their own pros and cons. IF you go for NYX, pay extra attention to the cap.
Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way! Twindly is an independent blog, and our reviews reflect that. Sometimes we’ll use affiliate links that will be clearly marked. Affiliate links mean that if you choose to buy a product through this link, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost for you. If you decide to do that, thank you for helping to keep the blog afloat! (No matter if the link is affiliate or not, the reviews will always truthfully reflect how any product performed when I tested it.)
1 Comment