New Favorite Eyeliner!

Sooo in my blog challenge, I stated that my favorite eyeliner was Milani Liquif'eye in Black because it was a darker, more intense black than any of the other eyeliners I own. That and it was just generally better than my UD & MUFE. Weirdly enough, the weather here has been a little wacky with it being super cold in the morning and night and warming up quite a lot during the day which has been making my eyeliner smudge pretty badly and giving me raccoon eyes :( It's an easy fix cuz I can usually just wipe the smudged area with my fingers and it's clean but it does seem to make it transfer from my oily upper lids to my lower lids. That and it kind of fades more quickly than before.

Then I discovered Essence eyeliner! or more specifically essence Longlasting eye pencil in 01 Black Fever. What a long name -_-" This is one of those pre-sharpened twisty eyeliners (like Rimmel Exaggerate) which I'm actually not a huge fan of the packaging cuz I feel like the plastic feels a little weak & flimsy and breakable >_< which it doesn't in real life but in my mind it does. Also if you twist out too much it will break off :/ So overall mostly a preference thing I guess but I have so many of these -___-". On the plus side, it has a self contained sharpener attached at the end which is always handy.

So here's my checklist for eyeliners:

1. Pigmentation. If I'm buying a black eyeliner, I want it to be black! Not gray or some weak imitation of black! black black black I say!

2. Longlasting. I have the most oiliest eyelids ever -_-" When I was testing out MUFE & UD, I could not get them to last longer than 3 hours before they faded and got all smudgy -_-" And literally it would disappear off my eyes before the day was up and I would have no eyeliner to wash off -_-" 

3. Smudge-proof. (is that a word?) I'd prefer that I don't have panda eyes but since that seems to be impossible I'll settle for Capt. Jack Sparrow's +_+

4. Application. Smooth & easy application. So I haven't really had a problem with any eyeliner doing this except my Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes. I totally hate that thing -_- I feel like it has a drier formula so it doesn't glide on as smoothly and tends to drag a little which is an absolute no-no for the eye area :(

L-R: Etude House, Milani, Makeup Forever, Urban Decay, Essence

So I would definitely say the pigmentation of the Milani & the Essence is comparable. They're both the darkest black eyeliners I own. But amazingly Essence is even blacker than the Milani! Isn't that crazy? I also think this pigmentation is the reason why these eyeliners last longer on me than the other eyeliners. I mean, it makes sense right?

L-R: UD, MUFE, Milani, Etude House, Essence

(all swatched once except freaking MUFE twice)

So the lasting power on these is much better than other eyeliners I've tried, with it lasting almost the whole day, as in at least more than 6 hours. Usually there is a trace of black where my eyeliner was at the end of the day but nothing really resembling a line. Eh, such is life with my oily lids.

L-R: UD, MUFE, Milani, Etude House, Essence

 Swatched multiple times to build intensity

essence is still the blackest, followed by milani

And finally the Smudge factor. This is where its a lacking since it still transfers to lower eye area although less than other eyeliners I've tried. I also have a tendency to rub my eyes a lot which probably doesn't help with the smudging xD I've ceded that this is a lost battle.

Another bonus. It's pretty much the cheapest eyeliner I own. It's around $2 for 0.01oz/0.28g at Ulta which is actually less product than other brands. Milani, UD, & MUFE are 0.04oz/1.2g. I think in general, essence products contain less product but sell at a cheaper price point which I don't find to be a bad thing because I've finished 0 eyeliners in my whole life. Overall, Essence is a brand carried exclusively at Ulta and one that continues to impress me with its quality, regardless of its price point. Apparently its available in 8 different colors so I will definitely be picking up some other colors! :D