MARC JACOBS BEAUTY MAGIC MARC'ER PRECISION PEN WATERPROOF EYELINER, $39
USING IT The felt tip was soft and one stroke gave an even, glossy jet-black line. Extremely smudge-proof and waterproof, I could create lines of different thickness effortlessly.
REMOVING IT Messy and fussy. The liner dissolved and smudged all over my skin as I swiped my cotton pad across it. It also flaked off into tiny black specks, which took even more time to remove.
SCORE 8.5
ESSENCE EYELINER PEN WATERPROOF, $4.90BEST VALUE
USING IT The felt tip was rough and scratchy, but bearable. I could create lines of any thickness and just one layer gave enough colour intensity. It smudged very slightly at the end of the day, and was fairly waterproof.
REMOVING IT Quite easy.
SCORE 8/10
CLIO WATERPROOF PEN LINER KILL BLACK, $22.90
USING IT A more watery formula than the others, it spreads slightly on skin, so it’s not meant for drawing thin lines. To create a solid-black opaque line, I had to apply two layers. It smudged very slightly when I rubbed my eyes but was fairly waterproof – the colour faded slightly but I didn’t get a panda-like black eye.
REMOVING IT Easy to remove even though it was waterproof.
SCORE 8/10
BROWHAUS PRECISION LINER, $17.90
USING IT The slim tip glided on smoothly and comfortably, and created a decent black line, although the ink isn’t as black as the eyeliners in the lineup. It smudged slightly at the end of the day and I only needed a light touch-up.
REMOVING IT Super easy to remove as it isn’t waterproof.
SCORE 7.5
DIOSHOW ART PEN, $49
USING IT The tip felt really comfortable. It didn’t produce a very opaque line but I could create thin and thick lines effortlessly with the firm tip. It did smudge though.
REMOVING IT I love how it was the fastest to come off (it’s not waterproof).
SCORE 7/10
EYEKO SKINNY LIQUID EYELINER, $22
USING IT While it produced jet-black lines, it didn’t glide smoothly across my skin in one stroke – I had to line my eyes in short strokes. The tip was comfortable but the thickness meant I couldn’t create a thin line. The biggest downside: the tip didn’t seem to be properly soaked, so I couldn’t create a cat-eye flick as easily as I could with the rest. But I liked that it didn’t fade throughout the day.
REMOVING IT Easy to remove as it isn’t waterproof (although it is smudge-proof).
SCORE 7/10
This article was originally published in Simply Her February 2015.