When I first saw the Maybelline gel eyeliner, I was reminded strongly of the Kate gel eyeliner. It must have been the packaging and the brush that is included in the set. So, I was rather worried at first because you see, the Kate gel eyeliner I have has a very strong chemical scent I truly dislike. It also did not last long and was just basically one failure after another. The only thing I liked was the brush. I think I’ve tossed the liner.
I’m happy to report that the Maybelline gel eyeliner is anything but a failure! The first thing I did when I opened the tub was to take a healthy sniff. No scent = good! The second thing I did was to test the included brush. Tapered, dense and fairly stiff synthetic bristles make for a good liner brush. I was already fairly impressed. The next test came how it applied. The Maybelline gel eyeliner is a nice creamy gel so it applied very smoothly. It was easy to pick up colour and to apply it. Here are my tips for applying gel eyeliner.
It was easy to get a nice line near to my lashes and a nice winged flick at the outer edge of the lid. I have Black which is a dark dark black – just how I like my liners. Upon applying, it can take a couple of seconds to dry, so don’t blink too much or it might transfer.
Once applied, it lasted on me the whole day without smudging so I’m giving this the thumbs up! The Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner retails at RM39.90 at all Maybelline counters. It comes in Black, Brown and Blue (Limited Edition).
You know, since gel eyeliners dry out eventually I might just switch over to the Maybelline gel liner once my Bobbi Brown gel liners dry out for good. It performs just as well for me, and costs much less! Now Maybelline, pretty please make some nice metallic colours and I’m a convert! 🙂
Pros: Inexpensive, Longlasting, No Smudge, Good dark colour, Useful brush, No scent
Cons: The metal cover looks strange, Takes a few seconds to dry
Have you tried the Maybelline gel liner? Do you have any thoughts on this? I’m rather taken by the thought of having a blue liner 😀
Stay beautiful,
Paris B
Ms. Blacklace says
July 20, 2009 at 9:05 amOhhh…. You make me wanna try too….. Heh heh heh….
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:55 pmHi Ms. Blacklace
At these prices… why not? 😉
Reese says
July 20, 2009 at 9:48 amI like it! I was searching for this in most Watson’s but the black colour seemed to run out of stocks, so this eyeliner must be quite popular! I still like the Kate’s brush so I am using it for this. Kate’s and Bobbi’s eyeliners tend to dry faster and if you forget about the cap after using it then most of it will be dried out in the pot. Whereas Maybelline’s will stay moist….yay!
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:55 pmHi Reese
Oh yeah Kate dried up on me in a flash. The Maybelline one is still lovely and creamy… well for now anyway 😛
Nikki says
July 20, 2009 at 10:43 amWow thanks for your review, I have a feeling it’s going to be a failure too! Guess we’re all wrong! 🙂
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:53 pmHi Nikki
Yep! I love being wrong! 😀 But I do wish they’d made the cap black – it’d look smarter.
prettybeautiful says
July 20, 2009 at 11:33 amlove it too! ! the blue one is awesome, will get the black one when mine runs out. surprisingly, maybelline didnt smudge on me, even bobbi brown gel liner refused to stay on me!
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:52 pmHey prettybeautiful
Aiyoyo… Now you make me want the blue!!
Jyoan says
July 20, 2009 at 12:02 pmhi, yes, I am currently using this eyeliner. It’s really good. Very lasting, and I like the winged tip that I can do with this. After using this, no more pencil liners every again. And I don’t feel I need to try any other brands as well!
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:52 pmHey Jyoan
At this price, no need to try others too. But they should come up with more metallic colours or maybe more colours 😀
Jyoan says
July 21, 2009 at 2:21 amThat would be real good! I am always very tempted by those metallic colours that unknown Japanese brands offer. Watsons over here has a few of them, not sure about M’sia though.
ParisB says
July 21, 2009 at 9:53 amHi Jyoan
We do get some strange brands too. I’m a little fussy so I stick to brands I know. 🙂
aYu says
July 20, 2009 at 12:31 pmI have both the black and brown. LOOOOVE..
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:51 pmHi Ayu
Ooh… no blue?! 😀
aYu says
July 21, 2009 at 9:57 ami’m not into fancy color eyeliner like blue/green/puplr. but both balck and brown works wonderful on me. I put aside my MAC fluidline now
ParisB says
July 21, 2009 at 4:18 pmHi Ayu
Black and Brown make the best liners. The rest are for fun 😉 I prefer these to fluidliners too
aichaku says
July 20, 2009 at 1:32 pmoh it looks good! i must get this the next time there’s a sale.
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:50 pmHi Aichaku
Yep! Its worth it especially during a sale 😉
Muta says
July 20, 2009 at 1:42 pmHi Paris B, I usually use pencil eyeliner, since it’s the easiest to apply for me. I notice I got smudgy eyeliner by the end of the day, which I blame on my oily lids.
So, is gel liner works well for oily lid? I always thought, because it’s in gel form, it’ll melt away with the oil…
Jyoan says
July 20, 2009 at 5:46 pmhmmm, I think it should work. This maybelline gel stays real well, and it’s the hardest to remove of all my makeup. Conversely, I thought pencil eyeliners are the poorest in staying power??? I don’t think I have oily lids, but pencil liners dropped and dropped when I was using it.
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:49 pmHi Muta
Pencil liner tends to smudge more than most liners. The only one I’ve used that had minimal smudge was the Guerlain pencil Kohl. Gel liners usually stick on the lid more but if you have very oily lids, it can still fade or smudge a little. It won’t melt 🙂
Synaesthesia says
July 20, 2009 at 1:48 pmI bought the limited edition Blue. Hesitated for a few weeks before I put my hands on the gel liner. The reason I bought Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner is because I’m loving KATE gel liner and local drugstore never bringing in colors other than black, metallic silver, gold and brown. My KATE gel liners never have any scent but a little bit dries up on Matte Black. I’m quite liking the Maybelline Lasting Drame Gel Liner as it’s comparable with KATE. It’s smooth and long lasting. I’m still using the brush from KATE liner thus I have no idea how’s the performance of Maybelline’s.
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:48 pmHi Synaesthesia
Hmm… maybe mine was a 1st generation Kate liner so they were still chemical hehe… I’d say the Maybelline brush works about the same as Kates which is awesome because I now have 2 good liner brushes!
Connie says
July 20, 2009 at 2:34 pmnow you’ve got me intrigued! Thanks for the review 😀 and I really like your eye makeup
but I shall resist. way way way way too many gel/cream/liquid liners. hah! 😡
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:47 pmHi Connie
*bows to the maestro* Thank you! Maybe wait for a sale 😉
aiyu says
July 20, 2009 at 4:51 pmarrgh, you make me want to go and get this!
How it is compared to the Stila smudgepot?
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:47 pmHi Aiyu
I’ve never tried Stila smudgepots sorry! I will say they are about as good or even better than Bobbi Brown which is famous for their gel liners 😀
Yani says
July 20, 2009 at 5:32 pmI love this gel liner – it’s never failed me, no matter how thin/thick I want my line to be. Beautiful consistency too. The brush, as you said – is well-tapered and just nice when it comes to density. It’s really easy to use, too. My only issue is that the gel liner and gel don’t come “packed” together – so its harder to keep the brush clean as it’s always somewhere deep in my make-up bag!
ParisB says
July 20, 2009 at 5:46 pmHi Yani
Hmm you are right about the brush having to be kept clean. I kept the plastic cover it came with but I do find the gel liner goops up the brush after use. Once cleaned its perfect though. Thanks for coming by!
azura says
July 20, 2009 at 7:03 pmHey! I’m glad you like the liner- its one of my favourites fr MBL this year. And u’ve paired it so nicely w the Diamond Eye Glow shadow too 🙂
ParisB says
July 21, 2009 at 9:50 amHi Azura
Thanks! And I must agree that the new eyestudio palettes and the gel liner are the 2 best things from Maybelline so far.
miks says
July 20, 2009 at 8:40 pmIt still smudges on me! Maybe I applied too much of it? But I can’t resist – the application was a dream. It goes on the eye really well. The only eyeliner that does not smudge on me is the liquid type.
ParisB says
July 21, 2009 at 9:50 amHi Miks
Hmm… I do find a little transferance if I don’t let it dry properly before blinking but otherwise it doesn’t smudge. Its a dream to apply thats for sure!
laura says
July 20, 2009 at 10:27 pmIs it selling for RM39.90 now, Paris? I thought Watson’s selling the gel liner for RM20+ each. Hmmm..must be something wrong with my eyesight. Shall check it out again tomorrow!
ParisB says
July 21, 2009 at 9:51 amHi Laura
RM39.90 is its retail price. Our pharmacies usually have them for cheaper 🙂
KS says
July 20, 2009 at 11:51 pmSurprising how the packaging of the Gel Liner in Sg and in M’sia differs! In Sg it’s called Maybelline Eyestudio Creamy Gel Liner and we only have black and brown. It has Jap wordings on it as well, so I suppose ours come from the Jpn Maybelline line. The reviews do not differ much from yours though. Pretty good! Here’s a review on the product: http://kimoko.livejournal.com/299566.html
ParisB says
July 21, 2009 at 9:52 amHi KS
I reckon its the same thing – maybe just different stocks taken from different locations or maybe they are repackaging? Either way, its still good! 😀 I’m still thinking of the blue 😛
Azura says
July 23, 2009 at 4:47 pmHi KS, I’ve been reliably informed (by a Maybelline insider, no less) that it is the exact same one from Japan. It’s just been repackaged and renamed for the local market 🙂
Jessica says
July 21, 2009 at 2:11 amnice eyes…woot!
The texture’s creamy alright but i still love my Coastal Scents gel liner…love th colours n its cheaper too! 🙂
ParisB says
July 21, 2009 at 9:52 amHi Jessica
Thanks. I’ve never tried Coastal Scents so can’t compare but I”ll take your word for it.
beetrice says
July 21, 2009 at 9:11 am*ouch*…ok, add yet another item to the long list of “I want!!” but I’m hanging on for dear life to my Bloop gel eyeliner and Stage liquid liner…I….shall….resist…dammit! 😀
ParisB says
July 21, 2009 at 9:53 amHey Beetrice
Oops! I like this even better than the Bloop one! :O
Apple says
July 21, 2009 at 10:17 amHi, I have this too. I bought it when I was in SG and it was 20% off. 🙂 The formula is the same as the gel eyeliner used in Japan I was told. I like it too, the product is very easy to apply on my lids. 🙂
ParisB says
July 21, 2009 at 4:20 pmHi Apple
Glad you are liking this too! It looks like the Maybelline gel liner has a lot of fans 🙂
JackieA says
July 21, 2009 at 10:30 amHi, I managed to get my paws on the blue (limited edition) and I love it! Kudos to Maybelline for coming up with something cheap and cheerful in these trying economic times!
ParisB says
July 21, 2009 at 4:22 pmHi JackieA
Eeps! I think i’ll need the blue one soon! So many people like it! And yes, Maybelline has been stunning me lately. Love!