Photo 1/5
The Lineup
2) Essence Stays No Matter What Waterproof Eyeliner Pen, $1.99 -- Like a felt-tip marker for your eyes.
3) Cargo Swimmables Eye Pencil in Charcoal, $19 for 4 -- A mini pencil with sparkly specks, and it comes in a kit of four.
4) Sephora Contour Eye Pencil 12HR Wear in Cappuccino, $9 -- A basic pencil in a golden brown shade.
5) Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick, $28 -- This is a chubby crayon-like shadow has a lot of slip. The darker shades can easily double as liner.
Photo 2/5
Test 1
All the liners passed the test except the Essence marker (2), which ran all over the place. I was really pulling for this one, but the liquid-y formula just didn't last.
Photo 3/5
Test 2
The Cargo (3) and Sephora (4) pencils smudged. Surprisingly, the Essence marker (2) looked better after Test 2 than it did after Test 1.
Photo 4/5
Test 3
Cargo (3) and Sephora (4) completely disappeared. Bobbi Brown (5) started to break down, as did the edges of Make Up For Ever (1).
Photo 5/5
Test 4
Here, you can still see a trace of that Essence marker (2), but Make Up For Ever (1) is the clear winner. It's beyond waterproof -- it's practically permanent.
It's summer -- primetime for swimming and sweating. If you're like us, it also means your eyeliner takes a hike on your face, dripping and smudging in places it was never intended to wander. So, you look for a waterproof eyeliner. But here's the thing about finding the perfect one: the only way to find out if it actually works is to buy it and try it. And if it doesn't? Sorry, sucker. Add it to the pile of other products with broken promises.
That's why we're here. We put five waterproof eyeliners to the test to save you the time and money. Flip through our swatches to see which liner took home top honors.
That's why we're here. We put five waterproof eyeliners to the test to save you the time and money. Flip through our swatches to see which liner took home top honors.