Liquid, gel, pencil, kohl or felt-tip? The right liner depends on your eye shape, your skill level and what you need it to survive. We break it down without the hype.
Find your liner in 60 seconds Compare all typesMost disappointing eyeliner purchases are a formula mismatch, not a quality problem. A superb liquid liner is still the wrong buy for a beginner with watery eyes.
Sharpest lines and the crispest wings, but the least forgiving. Pen-style is easier, dip-brush is more precise.
Compare →Buildable, smudgeable on purpose, great for tightlining. Needs a brush and a little practice.
Compare →Soft, intense, made for the waterline and smoky looks. Expect transfer unless it is set.
Compare →If liner never looks like the tutorial, the tutorial is probably assuming a lid you do not have. Both of these guides start from the geometry.
Why standard tutorials fail on hooded lids, and the batwing technique that does not disappear when you open your eyes.
Read →No crease means no landmark. The graduated band, the long low wing, and why length beats height.
Read →Why a liquid line suddenly arrives as dashes, and the five adjustments that fix it without giving up liner.
Read →Eight eye shapes on one chart, and three questions in a mirror that tell you which you are working with.
See the chart →Pencil first, wing last. The four skills in the order that makes each one easier.
Read →The angle trick that makes wings symmetrical, and the tape method beginners actually finish.
Read →Two techniques people confuse, and only one of them sits on top of your oil glands. Includes what the published eye research found.
Read →Why copper does more for blue eyes than navy ever will, with a contrast chart for all five iris colours.
Read →Four smudge patterns mapped to four different causes. Find yours before you buy anything else.
Read →Most eyeliner problems are not technique problems. They are your tears, your lids, your prescription or your remover.
Tears follow one route across the eye, and liner fails in the same three places. Move it out of the route.
Read →Irritation and allergy are different problems with different answers, and hypoallergenic means nothing.
Read →They are not the same claim. The ingredient chemistry that decides whether liner survives your day.
Read →Dissolve, do not scrub. The 20-second method, and how many lashes you are supposed to lose anyway.
Read →Minus lenses shrink your eyes and plus lenses magnify them, so the two prescriptions need opposite lines.
Read →Oil dissolves the adhesive, so the real rule is about the remover, not the liner.
Read →Lid space shrinks and texture arrives. What to keep, what to change, and the rules to ignore.
Read →Lenses in before liner, out before remover, and the inner rim kept clear of product.
Read →Compiled from published specifications, full ingredient lists and aggregated customer ratings across major retailers. We do not run laboratory tests and we say so, and products are chosen before retailers are attached.
Liquid, gel, pencil and kohl, each with the caveat that matters for that format.
See the picks →Six liners judged on transfer resistance and set speed, which is what a hooded lid actually needs.
Read →Two felt-tip liners at very different prices. What the extra money buys, and when it does not.
Compare →Some links on this site are affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Our type comparisons and technique guides carry no product placements. Full disclosure.