I’ve Tested Hundreds of Liquid Liners—And This Is Easiest One To Apply By Far

In eighth grade, my tried-and-true eyeliner technique involved igniting the tip of the pencil with a lighter and doing my best to draw a straight line above my lashes, while the castor oil and wax formula was still soft, but not hot enough to burn me. Back in the day (i.e., the early 2000s), there wasn’t nearly as much variety when it came to eyeliner. You likely either had a pencil or a liquid liner with a brush as thick as a few strands of hair, and since the latter was harder to master, you had to come up with some, uh, questionable application tricks.

Luckily, there’s now a plethora of eyeliners on the market. In fact, it can be hard to choose between all the brands, each promising easy and smooth application, quality formula, and longevity. I’ve personally gone through countless eyeliners in the last couple years, and a jet black cat eye has been my signature look since, well, I was melting down eyeliner pencils with a Bic lighter. These days, I stick to the convenience of felt tip liquid liners, and there’s one I’ve been favoring over all the rest: Wander Beauty’s High Line liquid eyeliner.

TIP

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Wander Beauty High Line Liquid Eyeliner — $22.00

This water-resistant, smudge-free liquid eyeliner will become your new go-to.

High Line wins me over with its super smooth application and easy-to-use felt tip. With other eyeliners, I find myself retracing my line to make it more exact, or build upon the color, but with High Line, it’s nearly effortless. There’s no tugging, no smudging or bleeding, and it glides on smoothly whether you’re wearing primer, eye shadow, or none of the above. Thanks to the tapered felt tip that’s neither too thick nor too thin, I can easily paint on a thin line if I’m going for something subtle, or a thicker line if I want it bold.

It stays in place. I’ve worn High Line on hot days spent outside, and for hours running and rowing (like, I will be dripping in sweat). High Line has been with me through some dark days (translation: lots of crying), and through some truly happy days (translation: lots of crying). I have combination skin that tends to get pretty oily by the end of the day, and this hasn’t phased High Line. The water-resistant formula refuses to budge until I wipe my eyes with makeup remover.

Thousands of reviews on Wander’s website can back me up here. “This liner is amazing! It’s very opaque and glides on easily and is the most smudge-proof and longest wearing liquid eyeliner I’ve ever used!” one customer named Quinn writes. Kristleeandrecheck says, “I can never have enough liquid eyeliners but THIS one is amazing. Super precise and super black. Stays on all days, no smudge!”

Like all Wander Beauty products, this one contains ingredients that you can feel good about, and it’s also never tested on animals, is vegan, and doesn’t contain any synthetic fragrances.

I’ve had this liner for about three months, use it fairly regularly, and I haven’t started to run out yet. I’ll probably buy a few more anyway—just in case.

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