When I received my Douglas Autumn Box Of Beauty, I was a little bit scared of this gel liner because I never used an eyeliner like this before. I had only liquid eyeliners and those felt tip pen eyeliners. I’m also a mess when it comes to using eyeliner but maybe this time I’ll get better at that. So far, the other Illamasqua makeup products that I had were very nice, a lipstick and a highlighter, so I must say I quite like the brand. They have basic products, but not in a bad way. There’s no gimmicky packaging, no weird products, just all kinds of products that everybody needs, regardless if they’re pros or beginners when it comes to makeup.

I have a mini size of this eyeliner (3 ml instead of 5 ml), but I don’t mind because I don’t wear eyeliner often and it will probably just end up drying if I were to get a full size.

Packaging:

The eyeliner comes in a little clear jar with a black lid that has the brand’s logo on it. Nothing too fancy, but then again it’s just a gel liner.

Texture:

Like the name says it, this is a gel liner. It’s creamy, but not too creamy, you do have to press the lining brush a little harder in the pot to get some product on it, but it’s also not as hard as to not be able to pick some up on the brush. I only knew gel liners in the form of pencils and I enjoy using the same gel formula from a pot because it allows me to draw more precise lines with a brush than with the pencil.

Ingredients:

Isododecane, Cyclopentasiloxane, Polyethylene, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Trimethylsiloxyphenyl Dimethicone, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Lecithin, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Polysorbate 20, Barium Sulfate, Phenoxyethanol [+/- May Contain / Peut Contenir: Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Black 2 (CI 77266)].

Price and accessibility:

Illamasqua products can be ordered directly from their website, but in Romania they’re mostly available in Douglas stores (also on the Douglas website), as well as in various online shops. from what I can tell, the prices don’t differ much, as this can sometimes be an issue (for example elf makeup is much more expensive in Romania than in the US). This gel liner is sold for 21 UK pounds on the Illamasqua website (the full size), so it’s not that affordable but at least the product lasts for a long time and from what other reviews I read it also doesn’t dry up easy.

My overall opinion:

Like I said, I’m not that handy when it comes to applying eyeliner, but this one made it extra easy for me. The formula glides on easy, I don’t have to drag the skin. It’s a matte formula that can be smudged if you like, or that can be used to draw on precise lines. What I like most about this, especially since I have oily lids is that it doesn’t move. I’ve worn this from morning until evening and it stayed in place, it didn’t disappear and my makeup looked great without retouches. Granted, I did use a neutral eyeshadow all over the lid to create a matte base for it, but it stayed put even without any eyeshadow primer.

Now, when it comes to some makeup products, I’m cheap. I wouldn’t pay much for a makeup products unless it does wonders for me. Well, from my experience (and mind you I have limited experience when it comes to this type of products), this is the best eyeliner I used so far. I’ve had liquid liners, felt tip liners and all kinds of crayons but they all transferred on my brow bone (I also have hooded eyes, so it doesn’t make it easy for me to wear eyeliner), except this one. I’m very happy with how easy it is to apply and how it wears throughout the day, so I would definitely pay the price tag for the full size or for the mini size as well, because I found finally an eyeliner that even a beginner like me can use and I got compliments on my eye look when I wore this.

Needless to say, this was probably the biggest surprise from the Douglas Box Of Beauty because it would have never occur to me to buy this eyeliner on my own. That’s why I like subscription boxes, sometimes I really discover some nice products that I wouldn’t have tried on my own but that become my favorites.