Milani Liquif'eye Metallic Eye Liner Pencil Review!

Milani Liquif’eye Eye Pencil

Milani Liquif'eye Metallic Eye Liner Pencil ($7.49) is basically a pencil liner with a super-smooth texture, that when applied, it glides on smoothly like a liquid liner - no tugging of the skin like a traditional pencil. It’s said to provide high pigmentation with long-lasting wear.

Milani Liquif’Eye Eye Pencils are available in five (5) shades: Black, Brown, Gold, Silver and Aqua. I own Brown and Aqua, but in this review I'll be focusing on the Brown pencil. (Swatches of both is at end of the post)

These pencils have been compared to Urban Decay’s ever popular 24-7 Glide-On Eye Pencils ($19 each) for their similar smooth texture, pigmentation and lasting power. Some even say they are exact dupes. I know this is going to sound crazy, but I don’t own any Urban Decay Liners so unfortunately, I can’t compare the two.

I do own other liners with smooth formulas – MAC Pearlglide and L’Oreal Extra Intense Liquid Eyeliner Pencil to name a couple, along with other liners such as MAC Eye Kohl, Stila Kajal Eye Liner, etc. Texture-wise, Milani excels above all of these.

 In this photo, I lined my upper lid with the Brown pencil (went over it twice for a deep line) and I applied a little under my eye and quickly smudged it with an angled liner brush and lastly applied the liner across my waterline.

The formula of this pencil is so smooth – much different than a kohl or kajal eye liners. It really does apply like a liquid liner. There is no dragging/tugging of the skin during application, and you never have to heat the tip (an old trick for hard pencils).

The pigmentation is amazing. I only have to run the liner across my lid once, and I’m good to go. If I want a deeper line – a black-brown, I’ll go over the line once more. In general, it is a very deep brown and almost looks black until closer inspection. On the waterline it appears a bit lighter. 

*A side note: I also read that the black is a very intense black – darker than Urban Decay Zero.

Swatches of Brown and Aqua

You can see with brown in particular, the color gets deeper with additional layers. The thin swatch is a single pass, and the thicker swatch is a few layers. (I thought Aqua would be a perfect dupe for Urban Decay Flipside, but upon comparison, Aqua is more metallic and much more pigmented. Color-wise, Aqua is more of an aqua (green-blue) whereas Flipside is truly blue. Incredibly similar, though.)

You are able to smudge this liner for a less precise, “smokey” appearance, but it sets in around 15 seconds, so you have to work pretty fast. If I want a smudged line, I’ll apply the liner to my lid and/ or lower lashline, and quickly smudge it with an angled liner brush. It works like a charm.

The lasting power is very good. I don’t wear eyeliner on my waterline very often because it irritates my eyes, but on my lids it lasts all day with minor fading by the end of the day.

The only downfall with this liner is because it’s so soft, it wears down quickly with frequent use. I came across a very helpful tip of placing the pencil in your freezer for 5-10 minutes or so before sharpening, to harden the product so it will sharpen easier with less mess. An awesome idea that I have the girls of Makeupalley to thank!

This has definitely become my favorite pencil liner, and I will continue purchasing it – until something better comes along, of course. ;)

Price: $7.49, CVS, and right now, all Milani is Buy 1, Get 1 50% off!