This might be difficult to believe, but back in the late 70s and early 80s, when I was going to see lots of bands, and then was in a band, good waterproof black eyeliner was very hard to find. Woolworth's sold one: it was called Ultraliner. It is no longer manufactured. It came in a white tube and… well, that was pretty much it for waterproof black eyeliner. I couldn't afford department store cosmetics, and besides, I'm almost certain they didn't sell waterproof eyeliner at their counters. There was no demand for it. The public wasn’t as focused on cosmetics back then.
I even worked in a theatrical supply store. We had a good selection of lines of theatrical makeup from all over the world, and even we didn't sell waterproof liner. The closest we came were some cake liners from Germany. You could mix them with some fluid that made them kind of waterproof. They were a hassle to use. The Ultraliner was pretty good. If we were playing a show, I’d go home from work, take off my day makeup, and put on my night makeup, which involved a ton of eyeliner. And that eyeliner needed to stay on through the exertions of performing onstage, and the rest of the night and early morning. And- it pretty much did.
But really, Ultraliner was just ok. And this Magical Girl Eyeliner- this stuff is WAY better than just ok.
I'm pretty sure that I am older than a lot of people who are reading this.
I'm told I look nowhere near my age, and I certainly don't feel anywhere near my age. I loved being in a band, and I make my living as an artist. I don’t have kids, so I don’t talk about the usual adult stuff. When people meet me, they tell me they can't tell how old I am. I also never liked being in the sun, even as a kid, and wore sunscreen religiously, so my face is pretty much wrinkle free. My eye area is pretty good, but I do have a bit of crepey skin at the inner corners of my eye. That slight looseness of the skin is just enough to cause a lot of liquid liners to skip, and run into the tiny grooves along my lash line (very small, but there) as the liner is being applied. It’s annoying. (You older gals will know exactly what I am talking about.)
This eyeliner does not do that. It doesn’t creep, it doesn’t make your eyes water (and I have very sensitive, watery eyes) and it doesn’t seem to seek out any fine lines, and crawl into them. It- stays put. I did find the applicator a bit tricky at first to learn how to manipulate, as it is pretty stiff. It’s like a very firm felt tip. It also has a lot of product on it when it comes out of the dispenser. I just wipe off the applicator on the opening of the container a couple of times before lining my eyes to get rid of the excess product. But the liner itself (“magically”) is the perfect viscosity, and *does not run,* or creep into any lines. It goes where you put it, and it stays where you put it. It dries very fast.
Do you know how many different kinds of eyeliners I have tried, looking for a waterproof eyeliner that would behave like this? I shudder to think how much money I spent trying to find one that performed decently. I did find one that came close, but it is a LOT more expensive. So I was overjoyed when I found this product.
This liner is also a gorgeous, very deep black. And I personally like this next attribute of the liner: it dries to a glossy finish. If you don't care for this kind of finish, get your smallest eyeshadow brush, dip it in some translucent powder, and pat it over the eyeliner to take down the shine. I line my eyes all the way around, Cleopatra style, and follow the application of my eyeliner with eye shadow. The eyeshadow works to matte down the eyeliner. But if the glossiness showed, I wouldn’t mind at all. I really like the shiny finish- it reminds me of the 60s. You can also layer this eyeliner over itself after it dries if you want a thicker line, or to build up or change a wing, and it doesn’t disturb the previous dry liner, or crack it off.
You will absolutely need waterproof eye makeup remover to remove this eyeliner. I like to use a duo-phase micellar water waterproof makeup remover. It’s the kind you shake to mix. I take a couple of cotton rounds, then saturate them with the remover. I hold the wet cotton pad over one eye for at least 20 seconds. Then, I flip it over. I don’t rub, and I don’t wipe. I just let the remover do its work. I keep doing this until the moistened pads no longer show any eye makeup residue. I follow this with my usual facial cleanser to remove the rest of my makeup and my sunscreen, etc.
I know I keep saying this but- Miss A… where have you been all my life? So many of my buddies back in the day would have LOVED this eyeliner. So black, so glossy, so long wearing! I even took a four hour nap in it inadvertently when I was first testing it, and it didn’t budge. It's the perfect rock and roll eyeliner.
