Recently, I found myself in the market for a new liquid eyeliner.
My go-to makeup look has always included winged eyeliner. It’s my “thing”, if you will. Over the years, many (and I do mean MANY) liquid eyeliners have made their way through my vanity.
One eyeliner stayed pretty consistent. The Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner was my holy grail throughout and beyond university. That’s about five and a half years of using this liner… We have a pretty good long history.
In the past, I heard many good things about NYX liners. The cult favourite NYX Matte Liquid Liner was discontinued in 2021, much to the dismay of my fans. As a result, I decided to try out their Epic Wear Liquid Eyeliner in spite of mixed reviews.
Sit tight to hear about my first impressions and overall thoughts on the NYX Epic Wear Liquid Eyeliner as a longtime eyeliner connoisseur.
Price
I picked up the NYX Epic Wear Liquid Eyeliner for $11.89 CAD at my local Shoppers Drug Mart. Considering my previous eyeliner retails at the same drugstore for about $12, this was comparable and the price didn’t sway me one way or the other.
As a twentysomething who is planning a wedding AND saving up for a house, I’m always on a budget. And I know that a lot of you who read this blog are probably in similar positions! That’s why I have to say honestly that I don’t think that this eyeliner was worth the price.
It isn’t so much that this eyeliner is expensive. It’s a decent deal, especially for a brand like NYX Cosmetics which often straddles the line between drugstore and high-end prices.
However, for the poor application and quality (more on that in a second), I wouldn’t pay $12 again for this eyeliner in the future.
Packaging & Application
The Epic Wear Liquid Liner has a standard brush applicator. What I found to be extremely weird upon opening was that the tip was not pointed. It was angled. In my research, I haven’t been able to determine if this is intentional or if it was a product flaw.
Personally, I thought that the applicator made it near impossible to create a precise line. Granted, I have shaky hands (anxiety girlies… IFYKYK). I consider myself a pro at creating a sharp wing but I’m unsatisfied by the amount of control that this liner allows you.
According to a bunch of reviewers, there are problems with this applicator. Many people say that the brush bristles easily fray and get stuck in the lid, causing them to lose their shape. Also, a lot of users reported issues with the tip literally leaking blobs of liquid liner. So, be sure to keep that in mind!
Does It Last?
The simple answer here is, yes. This eyeliner is going to stay put all day long without so much as smudging a bit.
I wore this eyeliner for about eight hours without a single smear. By the end of the day, it looked just about as fresh as. it did when I applied it.
There is one caveat here: it is SO hard to remove.
Waterproof makeup should be waterproof. But impossible to remove? Eh, maybe not.
I have very sensitive skin, particularly around my eyes. For this reason, I use micellar water to remove makeup. It took quite a bit of elbow grease to get this liner off my eyelids and in the end, my skin was not loving it.
Is NYX Epic Wear Liquid Liner Worth It?
Overall, I did not like this liner.
I found it frustratingly difficult to use and the results were simply not worth the hassle. The formula took a long time to dry, so it smudged during application. Even when I wasn’t touching my eye area, it was almost leaking off my eyes.
When it did finally dry, I found the eyeliner did dry a very nice black that didn’t fade throughout the day. As this was the issue that I had with my previous eyeliner, I will give the Epic Wear Liquid Liner credit where credit is due!
Strangely, the eyeliner dried super crusty. When I ran a finger over the line I drew, it was a thick, 3D line that felt really gross. I could even feel the formula pulling slightly at the corner of my eyes throughout the day, especially when I smiled. It was just not pleasant lol.
I wouldn’t recommend this eyeliner. I would be interested, however, in checking out the NYX Matte Liquid Liner as it received SO many good reviews before being discontinued.
Luckily, NYX recently posted a comment on a TikTok by beauty content creator, Mikayla Nogueira where they claimed that the Matte Liquid Liner will be returning in 2022. So, I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled and wallet ready!
