Review: Maybelline Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24H

(phew what a title!)
So following on from the reviews of the other day, i've got another eyeliner for you, this time a gel one: Maybelline Studio Gel Eyeliner (I condensed the full name down a bit!)

This gel eyeliner is one of the new "studio" products from Maybelline which were recently launched, along with the Eye Studio Quads, Eye Studio Mono Eyeshadows, and the Colossal One-By-One Mascara (which I am still debating about purchasing).

What Maybelline say:
Oil-free formula holds highly concentrated pigments in a clear gel base

Smudge-proof and waterwproof for 24 hours

Most intense line for lasting drama                                                    

Safe for sensitive eyes and ophthalmologist-tested

Contact lens safe

 

This was my first foray into gel eyeliners (having previously been using Barry M's liquid liner and the L'Oreal carbon gloss), and i'd heard quite good things about this one (on Blogs and YouTube of course!) so when I saw it on special offer in my local Tesco it quickly got put in the basket. I had originally wanted to try the No7 gel eyeliner from the Limited Edition Spring Collection and the E.L.F gel eyeliner, but the former is always sold out in Boots and i've heard the latter can be a bit dry and difficult to put on, so the Maybelline eyeliner it was!

 

For an RRP of £7.99, in the box you get the little pot of gel eyeliner (very similar to Bobby Brown/MAC gel liners) and a small eyeliner brush to apply it with:

Now as far as i'm aware only shade 950, Blackest Black, is available in the UK right now, but on the Maybelline Website they list 3 other colours: Brown, Charcoal (dark grey), and Eggplant (kind of purple).

The black is a true, intense black and very pigmented.

Using the little brush (of course you could use your own) the gel eyeliner applies like a dream: really smooth and quick/easy to apply.

Referring to the pictures below, the first is the eyeliner first applied at 8am, and the second is at 5pm after i'd come home from work.

As you can see from the second picture the eyeliner has hardly moved, and still looks almost as intense as it did on the initial application. I've heard some people complaining that it rubs off onto the upper eyelid, and given that I have hooded eyelids I would have expected this to happen to me, but happily it didn't! I think using an eyeshadow primer (I used Mac Prep and Prime) really helps its staying power, so i'd recommend that if you have oily lids. It does have excellent staying power, but its really easy to remove, and obviously if you rub/touch your eyes it will smudge. There have also been comments made about the brush (i.e. it hardens up and is difficult to clean) but so far i've had no problems and have continued to use it daily. I know that gel eyeliners can also have a reputation for drying out, but as i've only had this for a short while i'm going to keep an eye on it and report back later.

 

Overall however i'd definitely recommend this - it's helped make eyelining easy for even someone like me!

 

Have you tried it?

 

Melanie