Essence

Liquid Ink Eyeliner Waterproof Eyeliner (3ml)

Bought this after reading recommendations on Reddit that it’s a good dupe for the discontinued NYX matte liner which I used daily for years. The formula has much better staying power than a prestige brand I’d tried first (Anastasia B.H., which starts smudging in less than an hour). If I wear it for a long day I may have to reapply it in the early evening as it can “fade” a bit after a few hours, but thankfully that does NOT mean running or getting smudgy/melty (I think it must just kind of disintegrate or flake off). I live in Miami where we’ve got summer heat and humidity year round so an excellent liner that can hold up in those conditions is key. My only other complaint is that when removing the applicator from the bottle, there’s so much resistance that sometimes the product can splatter when it finally releases. Also, the brush tip is a little chunkier than I’d prefer. BUT, all in all, will I keep using this if NYX never brings back their matte liner? Yes — and on the plus side, even though the tube’s footprint is smaller than the long NYX version, there’s a lot more product inside the essence version, so it’s a steal of a deal.

Bought this after reading recommendations on Reddit that it’s a good dupe for the discontinued NYX matte liner which I used daily for years. The formula has much better staying power than a prestige brand I’d tried first (Anastasia B.H., which starts smudging in less than an hour). If I wear it for a long day I may have to reapply it in the early evening as it can “fade” a bit after a few hours, but thankfully that does NOT mean running or getting smudgy/melty (I think it must just kind of disintegrate or flake off). I live in Miami where we’ve got summer heat and humidity year round so an excellent liner that can hold up in those conditions is key. My only other complaint is that when removing the applicator from the bottle, there’s so much resistance that sometimes the product can splatter when it finally releases. Also, the brush tip is a little chunkier than I’d prefer. BUT, all in all, will I keep using this if NYX never brings back their matte liner? Yes — and on the plus side, even though the tube’s footprint is smaller than the long NYX version, there’s a lot more product inside the essence version, so it’s a steal of a deal.