Product Showdown: Best Drugstore Black Eye Pencils for the Waterline

This post is a followup (or rather a new chapter) of a post I did a few weeks ago that was called “Best High End Black Eye Pencils for the Waterline” (which you can view here). I decided I wanted to try lining my lower waterline with black liner, like I have seen on many You Tube videos. The first showdown included several well known high end brands (but I’ve since bought another pencil that I like at least as much as the high end winner of that showdown) so now it’s time to review the drugstore pencils. To reiterate, this test is not about whether the liner is a good liner or not but if it’s a good liner for the lower waterline. Some liners do not “transfer” well onto that area, leaving the color patchy or non existent and others transfer well but smudge like crazy.  My objective was to find a black eyeliner that didn’t smudge, provided a deep, dark color and stayed put on the waterline at least four hours. I was actually a bit surprised by the results. Read on to learn more!

For each of these tests, I used the same eyelid primer (Urban Decay Primer Potion), mascara (Trish McEvoy—upper lashes only), gel liner on upper lid (Bobbi Brown), under eye concealer (Bye Bye Undereye, set with loose powder) and eye shadows that I find to be long lasting (Mac and Wet N Wild). None of these products smear on my eyes.

 L’Oreal Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner



This beautiful black eyeliner applies in a creamy, deep black that is mysterious and rich looking. It’s really stunning when first applied! No doubt it works great as a regular liner on the upper lash line or smudged as part of a smoky eye, but on the lower waterline, it’s pretty much a disaster. In less than four hours, it started to migrate under my lower lashes, going lower and lower as the day went on. The funny things is, even after four hours, there was still some left on the waterline (you can see this in the picture below) but the migration just is not a good look! Here’s the thing, though. This liner is absolutely beautiful and I WILL be using it this fall/winter smudged out on my upper lashline and upper lid as a base for a smoky eye. So…the verdict is, good black liner just not for the lower waterline.

Ages of Beauty rating (for the lower waterline only): Zero Stars

Rimmel Special Eyes Precision Eye Liner Pencil in Black

I had great hopes for this pencil as I have come to really like some of the Rimmel products. Like L’Oreal pencil, above, Special Eyes applied beautifully in a deep, rich black. Look how pretty it is!!!

Sadly, things started going bad at around the one hour mark. See above for what I looked like at two hours—the dreaded smudges under the lower lashes. Things got a lot worse, though, as illustrated by the four hour photo, below.

I had forgotten to remove the liner at this point so by the time I went to go to bed, I looked like this!

Aauuuggghhh!!! Another fail!!! Not pretty!!!

Ages of Beauty rating (for the lower waterline only): Zero Stars

Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner

I’ve actually had this pencil for a couple of years but had actually never used it. The color for Revlon’s offering is rich, but not as rich as the Rimmel and L’Oreal pencils. It still looks pretty good in the “at application” picture above, right? I was actually very pleasantly surprised by this one.

After four hours (picture above), I had absolutely no smudging under the lower lashes! There was even some liner left on the waterline! Go figure!!! Not bad at all!! But what would it look like after eight hours???

You got it! No smudging!!! Now, there was none actually left on the waterline but you can see I still have plenty left at the actual lash line so this is definitely a good result!! Revlon’s Colorstay pencil is definitely one I can recommend for the lower water line!

Ages of Beauty rating (for the lower waterline only): ***

Revlon Scandaleyes Eye Pencil

The Scandaleyes pencil offers the absolute best color payoff that I’ve seen so far. This one is the deepest, richest black! Scandaleyes pencils have a great reputation so I was anxious to see how this one would work.

After four hours, the color is still really good with only a tiny amount of smudging under the right eye (on the left side of the computer screen). There is also a lot still left on the waterline---very impressive!!! This is definitely the best performer at four hours so far!

At eight hours, there was a bit of smudging at the edge of the right eye and some minor smudging under the left eye. Happily, though, there is quite a bit left on the waterline after eight hours! Absolutely awesome performance!!! Go Rimmel Scandaleyes!!! As a result of this test, I actually went out and purchased three more colors! Woohooo!

Ages of Beauty rating (for the lower waterline only): ****

Maybelline Master Drama Eye Studio Pencil in Coal Commander

Maybelline’s eye studio pencil was the first one I tried when I decided to wear black liner on my lower waterline. It was my inspiration to do a full test on both drugstore and high end liners. This liner also performed better than most of the high end liners but cost a fraction of the price. The color is not as rich as the other liners in this post, but it’s still lovely, as you can see above.

After four hours of wear, I experienced no smudging and there was still a lot left on the lower waterline. After 6 1/2 hours, there was slight smudging at the outside edges of each eye but still, a significant amount was left on the lower waterline!

After eight hours, it still looks beautiful!!! Another win for a drugstore product and another black eye pencil that I can recommend for the lower waterline!!!

Ages of Beauty rating (for lower waterline only): ****