I remember being fourteen, sitting in my bedroom surrounded by a scattering of cheap make-up, applying my Collection 2000 eye liner. My mother walks in as I drag the dry black pencil forcefully across my lids, stretching my young, fresh skin with it.
She grimaces and remarks “Don’t pull your skin like that, you’ll regret it when you’re 30 and have wrinkles.” I remember muttering something defiant back to her, and naively thinking that my eyes would be fine.
Little did I know, sitting there at fourteen in my bedroom, surrounded my fluffy cushions and inflatable furniture, that I was making a horrid mistake. Little did I know that at twenty-nine I would be struggling to apply my liquid eyeliner over the top of my emerging wrinkles! Damn it, my Mother was right!
Fortunately nowadays the quality of make-up (even Collection 2000) has improved. However, I still do not want eyeliner that even slightly pulls my eyes, at the risk of further damaging my skin.
After many years of trialling various brands, I have found Mac to be the best of the bunch for providing smooth eyeliner that can be applied quickly and easily, without giving me panda-eyes or black flakes halfway through the day. They do however make so many of these that it’s difficult to choose just one! So I have reviewed the top five Mac eyeliners, to help you choose the best one for you and your delicate eyes!
Mac Fluidline Gel in Blacktrack
£16.00
When used with a good eyeliner brush, this gel glides on easily and effortlessly for a nice, flake-free chunky look. The colour goes on quite thick, so you only need one coat and it lasts all day. Precision depends on the brush you’re using, but you can’t go wrong with a Mac one.
I’d recommend this product for the make-up artist looking to experiment with different flicks and shapes, as you can change the brush to suit you.
Rating: 8/10
Mac Penultimate Eyeliner in Rapidblack
£16
This eyeliner is my absolute favourite for precision. With a tiny pen tip to easily glide colour on your eyelid, it’s foolproof and lasts well.
The only drawback is that the colour is quite transparent, so you need a couple of coats to achieve a proper black line. This is however a small price to pay for great accuracy.
Rating: 8/10
Mac Eye Kohl in Smolder
£14
This eyeliner is perfect for smudging and blending. It glides on as smooth as you like and gives an average coverage. It doesn’t last as long as it’s liquid sisters, but if you partial to a kohl liner and love a natural, smoky eye – this is the liner for you.
Rating: 6/10
Mac Liquid Eye Liner in Boot Black
£16
This product does take a little while to dry, so it’s best to avoid if you’re in a hurry. I did find the applicator quite firm which made it difficult to get the product to lay in creased areas. Due to all my efforts trying to create a smooth line, the product seeped onto my eyelashes and clogged them together.
The pros? The liquid has great colour density so you’d only need to apply one coat, and when I finally did get it right, it lasted all day with no flaking.
This liner is definitely not for me, but is best left to young eyes with minimal creasing, and would be great for creating a dramatic wing.
Rating: 4/10
Mac Pro Longwear Eyeliner in Black Ice
£16.50
Having won a nice handful of awards, I was excited to try out this particular eyeliner – and it did live up to my expectations! Ultra opaque for a pencil, the Mac Pro Longwear eyeliner was as light and as smooth as a liquid number! The colour was strong and lasted all day without smudging or smearing. Not as good as Mac Eye Kohl for creating a smoky, blended look, but great for a more defined line. I also found that it was super easy to remove at the end of the day with my usual Micellar water.
Rating: 10/10
