If you haven’t tried gel eyeliner yet, you’re pretty dumb (no offense). It’s great for people who break down crying in frustration when applying liquid liner, who can’t prevent their pencil liner from rubbing off midday, or who prefer a softer look with the staying power of liquid eyeliner. It’s also for people who live in brutal “heat States” like I do, where your shoes melt standing on pavement and your eyeballs literally sweat. You can wear it boldly or you can smudge it for a softer look, it’s easier to apply than liquid, and it stays forever on your greasy eyelids.
Wow, gel eyeliner seems too good to be true! To be honest with ya’ll, it’s not perfect for one simple lame reason: it dries out extremely quickly. So here I was throwing down $25 on gel eyeliner in a teeny tiny tub, just to have it become crumbly and dried out within a couple weeks. I was pissed! Talk about a waste of money and a let down!
Then, one day, I was watching one of my favorite Youtube gurus, Wayne Goss, and he solved my issue in 30 seconds. Remember when you were younger and you’d use a lighter to warm up your dry pencil eyeliner so it applied easier and smoothly? It’s basically the same idea behind bringing your dried-out gel liner back to life. Take off the cap, throw it in the microwave, and nuke it for about 30 seconds (or however long it takes to melt it back into the gel), and wallah! Your gel liner is good as new without you having to throw down more moolah.
I tried this trick out the other day and it worked perfectly! I was so happy that I didn’t have to throw down another $25 for new eyeliner when I had a full tub of the same stuff already at home. Wayne, you lovely creature, you just saved me a crap-ton of money.
So go try it out! My personal faves are:
Bobbie Brown Longwear Gel Eyeliner $27
My color faves are Caviar Ink (a gorgeously perfect brown that is almost black, great for making green/blue eyes pop without looking harsh) and Ivy Shimmer Ink (a beautifully dark emerald green).
Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner $9.99
My color faves are Blackest Black and Brown. I believe this also comes with an application brush, but I can’t remember if it’s good or not.
Another lesson I’ve learned in applying gel liner is that you want to make sure you’re using a brush with synthetic hairs as opposed to one with natural hairs. Synthetic bristles work much better with any type of makeup in a cream, liquid, or gel form. I’ve also found that brushes with a slightly tapered tip give you more options in regards to application, e.g. thick line, thin line, cat flick, etc.
My personal fave is:
Bobbie Brown Ultra Fine Eyeliner Brush $29
This bad boy rocks and lasts forever!
