Karen

Back in my early twenties my eyelids were super oily; I could’ve fried bacon and eggs with all that grease, yo!

Finding an eyeliner that would stay put was a challenge… Most would wind up smeared under my lower lash line or disappeared completely.

Reader Julie feels my pain!

At the end of the day my eyeliner moves below my lower lash line… I think I might have oily eyelids. Do you have any tips? And can you recommend a few eyeliners for oily lids? Thanks!

Julie

Heya Julie,

Oily lids are such a chore, aren’t they? Not to worry — your days o’ disappearing liner are numbered! Here are (at least) three things that should help that liner stay in place.

Ladies, if you have any other oily eyelid tips or suggestions for Julie, please share them in the comments.

1. Use a makeup primer

My eyelids aren’t as greasy as they once were, but I think they’re still oilier than average. Applying a makeup primer before I line my eyes helps A TON! I really like Urban Decay’s Sin Primer Potion ($17). A thin layer makes eyeliner stick to my lids like glue.

2. Change your routine

Some eyeliners straight-up last longer than others do, so you might want to try a new one. A few I like and use are MAC Fluidline ($15), MAC Liquidlast Liner ($17), Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil ($16) and Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes ($17) (these liners last on the waterline, too).

3. Set your liner with powder

One last thing to try: set your liner with a coordinating powder eyeshadow. I’ll use the MAC 266 Small Angle Brush ($20) or the MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush ($25) to pat the eyeshadow directly on top of my liner. That seems to help lock it in place.

My oily-skinned homegirls, how do you get your eyeliner to play well with your lids? What products do you love (or loathe!), and what are your favorite tips and tricks?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I’m convinced that swatching before bed brings on makeup dreams.

Last night while watching So You Think You Can Dance (OMG, Ade and Melissa? I’m heartbroken!), I swatched some of the Bobbi Brown Ivy League collection, including the bad-assness that is the Forest Shimmer Ink Gel Eyeliner.

I went to bed after the show finished and had a wonderful dream that I was swimming through a pool filled with pots of gel liner.

I was like a kid playing in one of those vats of plastic balls. 🙂

Then, this morning I read this note from Aline:

Hey Karen!

I recently bought Lancome’s Ink Artliner in Indigo Charm from the Declaring Indigo fall collection based on your review and swatches, but mine seems to be a bit on the dry side — nothing “gel-y” about the texture. Was yours the same way?

Thank you for your time! Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Aline

Hi Aline,

You must be psychic! I’ve had gel liner on the brain…

To answer your question, I think it’s normal for Lancome’s highly pigmented (with great wear time!) Ink Artliners to feel a little drier than the average gel liner.

MAC Fluidline, Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner and the Stila Smudge Pots are a little creamier, and some people feel that makes them easier to apply.

But you may also have received an expired pot. Check for cracks in the surface of the product or if it has shrunken down around the inside edges (a sign of dehydration). If it has, then it may need to be returned.

Your favorite eyeliners?

Aline’s question got me thinking about other gel eyeliners, so I tweeted a question this morning:

Here are some of the answers I received:

There were votes for Stila Smudge Pots ($20), MAC Fluidline ($15), Rock & Republic Bound Gel Liner ($24) and Shu Uemura Painting Liner ($24), among others. With each of those, I have to agree. 🙂

How about yours? What’s your favorite gel eyeliner?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I can’t even believe today was Friday… What the heck happened to this week?