Best Gel Eyeliners, Benefits, Pencil & Brush to Use

Let us guide you on the best gel eyeliner that will give you value for your money including waterproof, pencil and various colors such as black, brown, purple, gold, red, etc. You will also learn tips on how to apply it and the best brush for the job.

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Why gel and not liquid, pencil or cake?

They are the much friendlier cousin of liquid eyeliner. There are a number of reasons why you should switch to this typer which include:

Creamy and consistent

If you are looking for a creamy eyeliner, go for gel. It comes in a pot or jar and is of a creamy thick consistency, at least the good ones are.

Can be used to get precise intense looks

The reason we think it friendlier than liquid eyeliner is because it will work for most of the precise intense looks you would be going for with liquid ike the cat or winged eye, but without the trickiness of a requiring you to have the precision of a surgeon.

Easy to use

Its thickness makes it a lot easier to use. It will also work for creating a smudged look if you are quick about spreading it before it dries and sets. It is actually more reliable than a pencil eyeliner for a smoky eye that does not need touch ups all day.

It is long lasting

Some of the best long-wear eyeliners are actually gel. This alone makes it a great choice to accentuate your eyes with.

Easy to apply and intense pigmentation

Besides being long lasting, the ease of application and delivery of intense pigment also contribute to making gel a top choice. For most people gel wins the gel liner vs. liquid battle.

Give gel or cream a chance if you are ready for looks that a pencil liner cannot really create but feel your hands are not steady enough for the rigors of applying liquid eyeliner.

All gel liners are not created equal which is why we have the next section, to explore some of the best ones on the market.

The best gel eyeliner – top brands to buy

We already went through what makes them great. It only makes sense that we also outline what makes a particular brand greater than others i.e. some of the best gel eyeliner brands.

You should be looking out for a gel liner that stay on even on oily skin and one that gives a clean precise line. For it to feature in the best list, it should also come with a good applicator brush.

One of the best according to stylecaster is “Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama . This is available in black, brown, and navy and comes with a surprisingly high-quality brush.” This makes one of the best brands they thought of.

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner — Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama

The Independent ranked MAC Fluid line Eyeliner Gel is one of the greatest products in the market. “Long-wearing, smudge-proof and ultra-smooth, this glides on like a liquid liner and stays put. The pigment is intense so you don’t need very much at all – a little goes a long way and the pot will last for ages.”

Another top brand to invest in is Bobbi Brown Gel. This brand ticks all the boxes of a great brand you can invest in.

Most of your favorite cosmetic brands may carry a quality brand too, like Mary Kay which has a good one which according to reviews isn’t half bad.

If you are looking for any of the above or any other good gel eyeliner, you can find a great brand at your drugstore shelves at a very affordable price. Just try read up reviews on it. Let us explore more good gel or pot brands in several colors.

Best brown

Brown eyeliner is great for creating an intense look without looking too harsh or making the eyes appear smaller like jet black sometimes causes them to. It will especially make light eyes pop.

NARS Eye Paint have a good chocolate brown colored one that would be perfect for you. Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel is also available in brown and will not break your bank. Most brands will also carry a brown shade for those who do not want basic black so ask or research a bit before making a purchase.

Best black

Black is the most common and often preferred eyeliner color. The makeup industry knows this and spoils us for choice with great products. You can find black colored to suit your needs and budget, from drugstore varieties to high end designer brands.

On actual brands, Clinique, Maybelline Lasting Drama Eye Studio, Urban Decay NYX and Smudger and Bobby Brown Long Wear are some of the best and blackest eyeliner gel or cream you can find.

Blue

Blue frames the eyes beautifully. It also comes in a variety of shades to suit different individual tastes and should you choose to try them all, different moods. Navy scores big on accentuating the eye yet giving an overall soft result. Metallic blues make for a bold and glamorous evening look. You can play around with teal, turquoise and aqua eyeliner too. Your favorite brands, from Nars, to Maybelline to Bobbi Brown stock blue gel liner too.

White

White eyeliner is great for opening up the eyes, making you more awake if applied on the waterline. You can also use white one to create a white cat eye, to do a layered cat eye with both black and white and to highlight the inner corners of your eyes. White gel based brand will definitely add some oomph to your current eye makeup routine. Revlon Colorstay Cream Gel comes in white and is one of the good ones you can try.

Purple

Purple is a great eyeliner color, especially for green eyes. Some really popular shades of purple are plum and a deep black purple. You can also use metallic purple to create amazing looks.

Revlon Colorstay Crème again has a purple brand that reviews speak well of. Laura Mercier have a crème eyeliner in purple. You can also choose a purple shade from the Stila Smudge Pot variety.

Red

Because colored eyeliner is the new black, colored gel liner is a hot buy. If you are not ready to commit to full red, you can go for burgundy or a dark maroon which are subtle interpretations of the trend. Inglot has one in over a dozen colors to choose from and has some red hues you can try.

Gold

Pinterest has enough proof that gold eyeliner looks amazing if you looked at the amazing shared pins. Some of your favorite brands will have a metallic cream liner range so you do not miss out on the fun. Gold in color passed over a black cat eye, for example, will give an interesting twist to a classic look.

Gel Pencil

Some pencil liners behave more like a gel than a pencil. You know, creamy, smooth, wet and then setting after a little bit of time like a gel of cream eyeliner would.

This gives you the best of both worlds of gel and pencil. You can play with pretty defined lines that will stay put after drying or smudge for smokey looks in the time before it dries and sets. All the while having the control while applying that a pencil gives you.

A gel liner pencils tend to give a result that stays on longer than regular pencils and will also leave a much more intense line than regular pencil eyeliners. The best pencil gel should also be waterproof to survive the tears from the waterline, sweat and humidity.

A good gel pencil eyeliner is NARS Larger than Life Long wear. You can also get one of the colors in Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil which gets a top ranking on reviews.com. Channel Stylo Yeux is also a great kohl like pencil gel liner that you can use. Marc Jacobs also have a great product in Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner Crayon going by the rating on allwomenstalk. “Described as a gel pot encased in a crayon, this waterproof eyeliner is designed to withstand even the most extreme makeup emergencies while keeping your #eyes looking fierce!”

Waterproof

How long your gel liners last is tied to it being waterproof. We can therefore safely say no self-respecting brand out there is slacking on resisting water. Mac Fluid line and Bobbi Brown are some of the best creamy brands. Pencils like Urban Decay, Stila Smudge Stick and Maybelline Cream Pencil Liner will also deliver on the water proof front. Also, the Cosmetics Liner Love Anti-Aging Crème gel is a popular brand which gets amazing reviews on several sites and could be a good beauty buy.

Price is not a factor when it comes to being water proof and quality. You may get a cheap gel or cream eyeliner but with all the great qualities that make it a top product, and you could also spend on a top dollar designer product and be sorely disappointed. Always check out as many customer reviews as possible before purchasing a product.

Can their reviews help?

Customer reviews are undeniably one of the best ways to double check whether whatever the tube, or in this case pot says is actually true. You can also look at it as a way of saving yourself buying products you regret and hardly use. Not to mention saving you from potential disasters raccoon eyes, eyeliner that irritates your eyes, or stains your skin. You will find it all in product reviews.

The best reviewed and therefore best brand has to be Bobbi Brown Long Wear gel scoring not less than 4.0 out of 5.0 on multiple review sites like Sephora and Makeup Alley. Makeup Geek has a great a review of some of the best eyeliners and a couple of them are gel/cream eyeliners.

Which brush to use with your gel liner

Gel or cream eyeliner comes in a pot or plastic jar. To use it, you will require a brush or an applicator tool. Some brands will come with an amazing brush. For those that do not, you may have to shop around for one to always use for your pot liners. According to Wikihow, “A thick brush will create thick, dark lines. A thin, angled brush will give you more control and allow you to make finer lines.[1] Look for a brush that has a bit of stiffness to it.”

The best gel liner brush should make achieving your desired look with the gel eyeliner really easy. It should also be able to survive cleaning, which is something you cannot avoid if you are using a brush as a makeup applicator.

Mac Fluidline has a really thin brush which makes it perfect for those delicate precise lines. You may need to layer to create a thicker line. Other brands like Clinique pot come with a thicker brush. Paula’schoice.com suggests “For a slight swoop at the outer corners, a bent brush with a narrow tip allows you to control the fluidity for precise application.”