Current Fave: Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eye Liner | Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog

01 July, 2014

Current Fave: Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eye Liner

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So I guess it's been a while since I did a "Monthly Favorites" post. Sorry, people who like that! I just haven't felt like writing that sort of thing lately. I've still been finding things to love in the meantime though, so today I thought I'd share one of my favorite recent drugstore beauty discoveries: Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eyeliner.

Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eyeliner  Prismatic Purple - Black Vinyl - Sparkling Turquoise

Just FYI, these go in the "not exactly new but new to me" category. I've mentioned this before, but I already have a favorite drugstore liquid liner (Wet n Wild Megaliner, for those curious). Problem is, my favorite isn't waterproof, and sometimes you really need a waterproof liner. So I've been on a quest to find something that is (a) waterproof, (b) not too expensive, and (c) not shitty.


Product details:
Sparkling intense color, long-lasting, waterproof formula. The ultrafine felt-tip applicator makes it easy to apply a thick or thin line and dries down to a sparkling finish. $7.79 for 1.7ml (on Walgreens.com).
  • Waterproof
  • Intense color
  • Long-lasting
  • Smudge-proof
  • Ultrafine, felt-tip applicator for easy application

These liners come in five shades, of which I own three: Prismatic Purple, Black Vinyl, and Sparkling Turquoise. The color options I don't own are called Black Gems and Emerald Glisten. Mmm, shiny. I was mainly on the lookout for a waterproof black liner when I bought these, but colors are a nice bonus. I like colors.

As mentioned above, these have a felt-tip type applicator:


I'll be honest: I find this type of applicator more difficult to work with than a brush, mainly because they're so stiff. So that's a strike against it in my book. You may feel differently, depending on your preferences.

Swatches:

Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eye Liner swatches Prismatic Purple - Black Vinyl - Sparkling Turquoise
Left: Prismatic Purple - Center: Black Vinyl - Right: Sparkling Turquoise

Prismatic Purple: A gorgeous medium purple with a metallic blue sheen.

Black Vinyl: A true black with a shiny finish.

Sparkling Turquoise: A deep, metallic aqua blue. I think "aqua" is a better word for this than turquoise. Or maybe something in-between aqua and a true turquoise.


Here are some eyeball shots grabbed from random phone selfies:

Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eye Liner eye swatches Prismatic Purple - Black Vinyl - Sparkling Turquoise
Left: Prismatic Purple - Center: Black Vinyl - Right: Sparkling Turquoise

Prismatic Purple: I love this shade SO HARD. It sometimes takes two coats to build up full opacity though—giving the liner tube a good shake first helps prevent streakiness and "bald spots".

Black Vinyl: Whoa, my application was really messy there. I love this because it comes out really black with one swipe.

Sparkling Turquoise: Also very pretty, and easier to apply if you shake it first. One quick word of warning though: This stuff stains. I've had similar problems with other teal and blue liquid liners so I guess that's just a thing, but be forewarned. The stain faded after a day or so (on me, anyway).

Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eye Liner

Now for an important question: Are they actually waterproof? I did the "swatch my hand and run it under the sink" test and I am happy to report that YES, they are waterproof! They also don't smudge or flake on me with normal wear. Most impressive indeed. I wouldn't rub your eyes whilst wearing these though, because then it turns into flake city.

Removal is also very easy (other than the minor staining left behind by Turquoise). I just use my normal eye makeup remover on a cotton pad and swipe away. The remover doesn't dissolve the liner in this case, but it helps it kind of ball up so it flakes off easily. Wash your face as normal afterwards and you're good as new.

So now for the MOST important question: Do these fill the waterproof liner-shaped hole in my heart? Answer: Yes and no. I think the Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eyeliners are excellent and I will probably continue to purchase them, but as you probably noticed, they all have a shiny finish. Shiny finishes are nice, but not what I want 100% of the time. So I guess my eyeliner quest has become even more specific: Find a non-shitty, waterproof drugstore liquid or gel liner with a matte finish that doesn't flake or smudge ever. Gulp. In the meantime I'm enjoying living on the shiny side, though.


Where to buy: I got mine from both Walgreens and CVS, so I suspect you can probably find these at any drugstore that carries Milani. Internet shoppers, I recommend picking these up at Walgreens.com, because they have the whole color range and frequently release coupon codes for their online beauty department.


Have you tried any of the Milani Ultrafine Liquid eyeliners? What are your favorite waterproof liners?


Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, check out my full disclosure policy.
 

25 comments:

  1. How colorful and pigmented these eyeliners are. They really do look promising. A pitty that Milani is not available locally here in Germany :/

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  2. I've been wanting to try these. I'm not really a fan of liquid eyeliners, but I really like the colorful ones that Milani has. Love the purple one!

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  3. Just as a tip, CherryCulture.com carries Milani and they do ship internationally. I doubt that the international shipping rates are cheap though. :(

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  4. Yeah, Milani seems to do color eye makeup really well! They have awesome-looking color pencils too, I just greatly prefer liquid. :P

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  5. I hate those shipping costs >_< but nevertheless, I'll check out CherryCulture, I didn't know about this before. Thanks! ♥

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  6. SPARKLING TURQUOISE IS A MERMAID

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  7. Like... the liner is a mermaid/has a mermaid effect/idk MERMAID

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  8. I haven't tried any as of yet! But I see that aqua one going into my collection in the near future!

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  9. Dat turquoise. I really want to try these out. However, a lot of cheaper drugstore eyeliners (and the eyeliner in the last Ipsy bag from Nika K) makes my eyelids burn. I can't figure out what ingredient causes it though.


    gingercatqueen.blogspot.com

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  10. It's interesting that you say that, because sometimes I get a tingly feeling from color liquid liners. Not full-on burning sensation, but different to what I get from black liners or gel liners and it lasts until they dry. Could be a sensitivity to mica? Otherwise, I have no guesses.

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  11. Yeah it's pretty brilliant! And it's such a nice color for summer. :)

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  12. Yeah, for real! I sort of want to do a double-line with the purple and the aqua. Then I'd be a purple mermaid.

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  13. You should try the Heroine Make liquid liner! It comes in a pen brush format, so I find it much easier to control than a separate brush like the Milani one. It's waterproof, smudge- and sebum- resistant, and it dries down to a super dark, matte black. I guess it's not really American drugstore, but Japanese drugstore. xD Anyway, you live in NYC, right? It should be relatively easy to find in stores there!

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  14. I don't really mind having a separate pot and brush dealie, I just hate it when the applicator is really, really stiff. The Wet n Wild liner I like has a thin, flexible brush. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out! I'm sure it's easy to get online if not locally.

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  15. Indeed! I love brightly colored eyeliner. :)

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  16. I LOVE the purple. I think I may try these because I really like Milani products. I do know what you mean about the shininess though. I could do without that. Great review Rebecca!

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  17. Yeah, definitely go for the purple! All three are nice but that one is the most unusual of the bunch.

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  18. Glistening Emerald must be perfect for Christmas parties! I'll probably pick it up at some point. I like colors. The glossiness of the black one is sort of cool, but not necessarily what i want every day, y'know?

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  19. Matte black does seem more versatile, because it wouldn't compete for attention when wearing awesome eyeshadow.

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  20. That purple looks so good on you! I have this in black and I also like it a lot, but it isn't THE ONE for me. I have yet to find a perfect waterproof liquid liner for me. Doesn't Wet n Wild also make a waterproof version of their liquid liner?

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  21. Wet n Wild does make a waterproof liner, but in my opinion it's not very good. Certainly not as good as the non-waterproof one!

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  22. Good to know! I like the regular WnW one, and had been curious about the waterproof one.

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  23. My biggest complaint about these liners is that the applicator is so stiff. If you can get past that, they're definitely worth a try. Be warned that the blue one stains a little bit though!

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