I Tried A Bunch Of Drugstore Eyeliners And Found A New Favorite

Eye just really like affordable makeup.

Hi, I'm Lauren! I'm a super-huge fan of inexpensive (but effective) makeup products, because 1) I lose stuff, 2) I have debt, and 3) Who DOESN'T love saving money?

@laurenmihae / Via instagram.com

Hello, it's me. I was wondering where's the sales rack and is it buy one, get one free? 🎶

So I tested out some of the most popular liquid eyeliners (recommended to me by the beauty-department lady at Target AND all under $10) to see if my new eyeliner BFF is out there.

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

1. E.l.f. Expert Eyeliner in Charcoal ($2)

2. CoverGirl Intensify Me Liquid Liner in Intense Black (8.99)

3. L'Oreal Voluminous Noir Liner in Blackest Black ($6.81)

4. NYX Super Skinny Marker in Carbon Black ($9.99)

5. Rimmel London Colour Precise Eyeliner ($5.99)

6. Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner in Black ($5.69)

I really love my Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner but at $22 a pop, it don't come cheap.

The rules

1. I will not wear any primer, so I can really test the staying power of each eyeliner.

2. I will wear each eyeliner for the same amount of time.

3. Obviously no fixing/wiping anything.

4. I will wear these eyeliner only on days I will be indoors mostly and won't do any exercise. 😏

Let's get this bang-for-your-buck thing started, shall we?

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

First of all...

Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed

CoverGirl Intensify Me Liquid Liner in Intense Black ($8.99)

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

I don't normally like my eyeliner this thick, but I actually couldn't help it due to the paddle tip. It has a thick and a "thin" end depending on your eyeliner mood that day. I GUESS this would be fine if you're not into winged eyeliner. The color itself was actually really great, and the application was smooth. But by the end of the day, my eyeliner had faded significantly and smeared on my lower and upper lids.

😿Rating: 3/5😿

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

NYX Super Skinny Marker in Carbon Black ($9.99)

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

Well, would ya look at that? It lasted like two seconds. I wanted to get to work (A+++ lighting) to take the photo and it had already faded by then — and it had only been about 30 minutes since I'd put it on. The heaping mess on my face only got worse as the day went on. There was flaking, smearing, fading... I will probably never use this, ever again.

😿Rating: 1/5😿

Rimmel London Colour Precise Eyeliner ($5.99)

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

THIS EYELINER IS THE WORST, IT IS SO SCRATCHY. Also, after the first use, the pigment went to shit. It's barely even gray now (and I've used it 1.5 times). I did actually take a nap with this one on and was pleasantly surprised at how the color stayed and how little it smudged. But the packaging sucks — the cap constantly fell off. This eyeliner is crap on a stick.

😿Rating: 0.5/5😿

And now onto...

Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed

E.l.f. Expert Eyeliner in Charcoal ($2)

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

WOW: I have gotta say, I'm actually wonderfully surprised by this. The color was a very rich, deep black that stayed on for most of the day. But I hate the packaging. I prefer pens to pots — this was too much like painting, which I suck at. The brush is so delicate that it took way too much time.

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

By the end of the day, there had definitely been some flake-age, but nothing too serious. I was pretty impressed by the lack of smudge, even after I cried cutting onions. While the application takes some getting used to, it went on really smoothly and at freaking $2?? E.l.f., YA DID GOOD!

🌟Rating: 4/5🌟

Get it here for $2.

L'Oreal Voluminous Noir Liner in Blackest Black ($6.81)

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

This eyeliner was actually super precise and I definitely was able to control the line better than the other eyeliners so far. I also really liked the depth of color on this one. But I found that it would "bleed" into my skin, just a bit.

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

By the end of the day, this eyeliner was pretty much still intact and I was actually really impressed by how little it smeared. But I'm taking away a point for the packaging: I did not like the triangular shape, and it felt so stupidly uncomfortable in my hand.

🌟Rating: 4/5🌟

Get it on Amazon for $6.81.

Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner in Black ($5.69)

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

This eyeliner was so, so easy to put on. I'm pretty satisfied with the color (my left eye looks wonky but that's because I have a weird little fold, ignore it ignore it) and how smoothly it glided on my lid. Something about this liner felt like kismet.

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

Overall, this liner reminded me of my current fave Stila, and at a fraction of the price, I'm definitely willing to use this on most days. This definitely faded a bit, but it wasn't runny at all, so I think this would be really fucking great with primer.

🌟Rating: 4.5/5🌟

Get it on Amazon for $5.69.

And the winners are...

Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

Best for price: E.l.f. Expert Eyeliner in Charcoal ($2)

Best for sharp lines: L'Oreal Voluminous Noir Liner in Blackest Black ($6.81)

Best for ease of application: Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner in Black ($5.69)