Thursday, May 17, 2012

Milani Liquif'eye Metallic Eye Liner Pencil Review!

milani eyeliner

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!

37 comments:

  1. i have read a lot of good reviews about this pencil! can't wait to try it myself!^^

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    1. Me too! I've only read good things about it - the only negative reviews I came across were those who were allergic to it. If you get it, I hope you like it! I'm sure you will!

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  2. Great review. I think I will have to try this. I always have an issue with my liner transferring to my upper lids (hooded lids) :(, but since this doesn't seem to smudge once it sets I might have luck with it

    Xo

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    1. Thank you! Aw that's a bummer. I can't say for sure because I don't have a problem with transferring on the upper lids, but I think these may work. Many (or most) pencil liners are too soft (raccoon eyes, smudges galore) while others just get too oily throughout the day. This formula is really great because it really does stay in place.

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  3. That looks so good! Running to CVS tomorrow :)

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    1. If you end up getting it, I hope you like it! Let me know! :)

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  4. It looks amazing, I never tried this Milani brand but I am sure I will check it out now! thanks for the info

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    1. Milani has some really great products. Definitely check them out! :)

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  5. I love this eyeliner, it's my favorite.

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  6. LOVE YOUR BLOG AND EYELINER FROM MILANI!!

    http://justhelyn.blogspot.com

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  7. I really loved this eyeliner but was allergic to it. I guess I will have to stick with the expensive Urban Decay Zero

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    1. Oh no! What type of reaction did you get from it?

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    2. Same here :( I had to return the black and brown ones I purchased the next day. It made my eyes water so much during the day that by the end of the day, my eyes were super sensitive to sunlight and wind.

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  8. I've heard so much about these but I'm so finicky about my pencil liners that I've practically given up and just stuck to liquids. Shall give these a go next time I'm down the border...that aqua shimmer shade is a stunner!

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    1. I'm the same way! Which is the main reason I never tried UD liners. I just don't use pencil liners, so I never felt the need to try them. I knew about the Milani ones ever since they launched, but held up purchasing any until now (I'm not even sure what possessed me to try them) I like convenient/low maintenance products and although I love gel/cream liners, they aren't all that practical when you're on the go. I'm happy to have found a liner that I can rely on! You should definitely try them if you ever get the chance!

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  9. i like this more than ud eyeliner.. more pigmented n more creamy.. the black shade is comparable to ud peversion..

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    1. Oh, awesome! I was really curious to know how it compares to Perversion after reading that it's darker than Zero. I can't wait to pick it up! Originally, I wanted to purchase black, but they were sold out, so I just got the brown instead.

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  10. So cool! I hope to spot these at my cvs soon the milani display is always out of stock... Thanks for the review :)
    merrybelly777.blogspot.com

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    1. Mine is too! haha I want to get my hands on the black pencil, but they were sold out. :/

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  11. What mascara are you wearing? Your eyelashes look fabulous!

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    1. Thank you! I was actually wearing false lashes.. haha! I did use Tarte Lights, Camera Splashes Mascara on top if that counts ;)

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    2. haha, well they look very natural so good job, I wish I could get mine to look that natural! thanks!

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  12. Wow I'm really loving that brown color! I'm thinking of picking up some myself! Thanks for this review! ^_^

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  13. This is my fave drugstore eyeliner besides the revlon colorstay great review!

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    1. The retractable one? I love Colorstay for my waterline - the lasting power is really good!

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  14. your eyes looking so beautiful. i really want to this type of eye pencil very nice.

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  15. I really love your blog, I was wondering if you have any experience with the makeup forever line? Would love to see more post!

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    1. Thank you! I have some products from Make Up Forever, and have tried several.. Are there any products in particular you'd really like to see? They're a great line, I'll try to talk about them a little more.

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  16. I will deff give it a try the way you use it:)

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  17. aqua one is also a very pretty shade i m in love with your liner application

    check my blog and tell me how i m working
    http://saharawans.blogspot.com/

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  18. I liked brown but that Aqua shade?! Wow! And if you're right about the black being super black then I think there's a haul in order~

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  19. I LOVE these liners! I have the brown one and I am no pro at eyeliner..still trying to master it I swear! but this makes me do my liner effortless! I agree with the quick wear down. Thanks for the freezer tip!
    Really liking the aqua one. Might have to pick that up next! :)

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  20. Girl, I LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog too death!!!!
    Yes, this brown has great pigment. I also truly loved the versatility of either having a lighter brown or dark brown with each pass.
    BUT, unfortunately my pencil(stored tightly upside down in a air tight cosmetic bag) dried out not even half way through!
    I have never had that happen with any of my UD 24/7's or MAC gel like pencils...so its weird.
    But the worst thing was that this brown one made my eyes extremely irritated and they felt like I had oil in them all day, until I took it off.
    Then the next day my eyes looked so RED and as STONED as anyone could ever look! Lol! But really!!!
    I NEVER have had this happen before either!
    So I'll just pay a few bucks more and stick with UD and MAC...they last til the end and do not irritate me at all.
    I hope this helps someone out

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  21. I have Milani liquid eye liquid like eye liner pencil but it won't sharpen! It seems to have a plastic coating of some sort. HELP I love this stuff!!!

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  22. I've had this liner for some time now and always had minor reactions such as sensitivity to light and wind and my eyes were constantly watering. I wore it cuz I love the intensity of the look. But as of today I'm getting rid of it because this time my eye is almost swollen shut.

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