Gel eyeliner is one of the hottest makeup products. It’s easy to apply like a pencil eyeliner, but you get many of the same benefits you see with liquid eyeliner, like serious pigment and long-lasting formulas. When you opt for a gel eyeliner, you will instantly fall in love.
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What Is Gel Eyeliner?
Gel eyeliners are best known for being sold in pot form, but now quite a few are available in pencil form too. If you’re still a beginner at eyeliner, gel pencils are a great idea. These are not as hard as old-school pencil liners but aren’t as messy as liquid eyeliners. Instead, they are semi-soft eyeliner specially formulated to give you long-lasting color.
How To Apply Gel Eyeliner
To apply gel eyeliner, you use it the same way that you would pencil eyeliner. This is if your gel liner is a pencil. We recommend starting with these because they’re easier to use. Dip an angled brush in your eyeliner pot if it’s in a pot. Then, apply it where you would typically apply eyeliner. The video below is a great tutorial that shows how to apply gel eyeliner.
Benefits Of Gel Eyeliner
Smudge-Proof Formulas
Gel eyeliner pencils get a terrible reputation for smudging easily. Yes, you can smudge them if that’s the look that you’re going for. However, many smudge-proof formulas are designed to last throughout the day without smudging. Don’t let that little thing turn you off this great product.
Instant Color Is One Of The Best Benefits Of Gel Eyeliner
You don’t have to layer on gel eyeliner to get instant color. One swipe with the creamy gel pencil and your eyeliner will pop with pigment. Not only does this make it easier to apply, but it also makes it more efficient. This is especially true if you enjoy making eyeliner art.
Easy Application
Applying gel eyeliner with a gel eyeliner pencil is one of the easiest ways to apply eyeliner. This makes it one of the best eyeliners for beginners. The easy application also makes it ideal for those mornings in a rush.
Waterproof Formulas Available
Long ago, gel eyeliners were barely a step above cheap pencil eyeliners. They smudged. A slight drizzle would wash them away. It was horrible. Now, you can find gel eyeliner pencils with all of the same features you love about liquid eyeliner, including waterproof.
Clean Up Is A Breeze
This is one thing that I love about gel eyeliner pencils for beginners. You don’t have to scrub them off like you do other eyeliners. Instead, they quickly clean up with a quick swipe of a makeup remover cloth. If you’re spending a Saturday afternoon playing with eyeliner or trying out new looks, you want to do that with gel eyeliner pencils.
Dries Quickly
When it comes to gel eyeliners, you won’t have to sit in front of your mirror waiting on them to dry for five minutes like you will with some liquid eyeliners. Gel liners glide on smoothly, then dry fast so you can finish your makeup look.
Various Colors Available
If you love makeup artistry, you’ll love the massive color choices with gel liners. Brands offer them in vibrant yellows and purples alongside black and brown. You can find gel liners in every finish, such as matte and shimmer.
Smudge-Able
Still love the smudged eyeliner look? Gel eyeliners are here to make sure you can rock it every day! When you first apply a gel liner, including a gel pencil, it’s not completely dry. That makes it easy to smudge it out before the formula dries in place.
Glide On Smoothly
One of my favorite things about gel liners is how they glide across your lids without tugging. Granted, this might depend on the brand you use, but for the most part, you won’t have to worry about it. That’s because gel liner pencils are so soft that they don’t have to tug on your lids, and you don’t need to apply severe pressure to get the pigment you want. Instead, a few quick flicks are all you need.
If you’re using gel liner from a pot, you can get the brush wet before application to make it smoother.
Our Favorite Gel Eyeliner Pencils
When Pencil Met Gel All Day Waterproof Liner By Julep ($12)
It’s available in one gorgeous shade after another, with new shades released! You’ll love how it glides across your lids to deliver pigment in one swipe. It’s also waterproof and designed to last all day long. According to Julep, you can return it for free if you don’t love it!
PermaGel Ultra Glide Eye Pencil By Pat McGrath ($25)
This gel pencil offers plenty of pigment and up to eight hours of wear time. It’s from Pat McGrath, so you know that it’s high quality! You can pick it up in shades of brown, black, or blue. The creamy formula glides across your lids without tugging and pulling on them for a heavenly finish. The only downside? It’s so popular that finding the shade you want in stock on the website can be challenging.
Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil ($25)
I’m unsure if this is a gel liner, but it works like a gel pencil. The formula is always smooth, so it doesn’t tug on your lids during application. You get serious pigment with every swipe. The pencil is specially formulated with ingredients like Vitamin E and jojoba oil to nourish the lids while getting your desired look. It’s also cruelty-free! There are over 30 shades available!
Final Thoughts
The gel liner is the perfect middle-ground between sharp, hard pencil and liquid liners. It gives you everything you need in an eyeliner without the things you don’t, like the mess with liquid liners or lack of pigment that you get with some old-fashioned eyeliners.
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