The Best Waterline Eyeliner for Watery Eyes

by Hopeupdated on August 26, 2019February 20, 20192,541 Comments

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Do you too sport the disheveled racoon look after wearing eyeliner on your waterline for no more than an hour? Been searching for the best eyeliner for sensitive eyes for years? Join the club! But, I’ve done it. I’ve found the best waterline eyeliner for watery eyes (for me anyways!).

I have struggled for literal years trying to find the best waterline eyeliner for watery eyes that would stay on my waterline for more than an hour. I’ve tried drugstore and high-end brands alike, and to no avail.

Regardless of the claims made by the eyeliner, they never stayed on my waterline. Ever. And every time, without fail, the eyeliner would be gone within an hour. Sound familiar?

Or maybe you’re blessed with non-sensitive, non-watery eyes and can wear whatever eyeliner you want on your waterline and it always looks on fleek.

Well, do I have news for us with sensitive, watery eyes; I’ve found an eyeliner that actually stays on my waterline and is still visible (though faded) 10 hours later! Hallelujah!

The MAC Cosmetics Kajal Crayon is the winner for me. I did a 10 hour wear test with this eyeliner and documented my findings. I’ve also outlined what I think the pros and cons of this eyeliner are.

(P.S. The ending to this story isn’t necessarily a happy one).

MAC Cosmetics Kajal Crayon – The Best Waterline Eyeliner for Watery Eyes

The MAC Cosmetics Kajal Crayon in the colour Flourish Me Deep is the only eyeliner I’ve ever used that has stayed on my waterline. In short, the quality of the eyeliner is quite good and it’s super black.

Wear Test

I did a 10-hour wear test using this eyeliner to see how it held up throughout the day. Anecdotally, I knew that it lasted a long time from previously wearing this liner, but I didn’t have a good idea of fade time, etc.

Also, I didn’t wear any other makeup during this test to prevent conflicting results in terms of sensitivity and irritation.

Before

My eye prior to eyeliner application. Please ignore my terrifying eyebrows.

Fresh Application

Here’s what the eyeliner looked right after I applied it. I applied the eyeliner to my upper and lower waterline. As you can see, it’s pretty black!

1 Hour

Eyeliner 1 hour after initial application. I’d say it’s still well intact. (Which with literally every other eyeliner I’ve tried, it would be gone by now).

It does look like there’s a bit of smudging on the bottom outer corner, but nothing major.

2 Hours

Still looks pretty good. There’s a bit of running in the inner corner and in the same spot in the outer corner as at 1 hour. (However, I think I might have rubbed my eyes in that spot. Bad habit!)

4 Hours

Definitely didn’t forget to take a picture at 3 hours. Sorry for terrible lighting in this one! Doesn’t look substantially changed from hour 2.

5 Hours

This one is worse than the last one (picture quality and liner). A bit more of the liner has rubbed off from the same spot on the bottom waterline.

8 Hours

Hooray! Improved picture quality.

The liner has definitely rubbed off on that one spot on the bottom waterline, but the upper waterline still looks essentially the same as it did in hour 1.

10 Hours

Again, a bit more running in the inner and outer corner.

However, other than that, I can still see it! That’s the amazing part for me. Even after 10 hours, it’s still there.

Wear Test Results

I’d say that the MAC Cosmetics Kajal Crayon eyeliner performed pretty well during the wear test. It essentially didn’t budge from the upper waterline, and there was only noticeable fading in the inner and outer corner after 5 hours of wear. Even after 10 hours, I could still see the eyeliner!

You could definitely get away with wearing this eyeliner for an 8 hour workday without needing to re-apply (especially if you have less watery eyes than me and you don’t rub your eyes).

Does It Live Up To MAC Cosmetic’s Claims?

Let’s take a look at some of the claims made on MAC Cosmetic’s website about this eyeliner and see if they checked out during my wear test:

Get intensely saturated eye colour in one swipe that can be applied in the waterline. Colour is rich and lasts throughout the day without running or smudging. The extremely soft and creamy kohl liner provides excellent and even payoff in six bold shades.

Some of the key claims and benefits of this eyeliner from their website include

Safe for use in waterline
Long-wearing
Smudge-resistant
Dermatologist tested (skin doctor)
Ophthalmologist tested (eye doctor)
Safe for contact lens wearers

I definitely agree that the colour was saturated.

Moreover, it truly does apply intensely with just one swipe. Other eyeliners I’ve tried typically require multiple swipes to get sufficient pigmentation; this eyeliner only needed one swipe.

In terms of not running or smudging throughout the day, you can see from my wear test that some running/smudging occurs. However, I wouldn’t say it’s significant compared to other brands I’ve tried. And the fact that it’s still visible after 10 hours is amazing.

Pros

Saturated colour
Easily wears for 8 hours with little smudging or running
Applies in one swipe
Not significantly irritating
Safe for contact lens wearers (me!)
Safe for waterline use

Cons

The applicator is absolutely ginormous. It makes it a bit tedious to apply, but since it only takes one swipe, it isn’t a deal breaker for me.
Pricier than drugstore eyeliners (I purchased it for $26 CAD = $20 USD).
NO LONGER AVAILABLE ON THE MAC COSMETICS CANADA WEBSITE?!?! I finally found an eyeliner that stays put on my waterline and IT’S GONE?! It’s still available on the UK website and a few Amazon retailers have it, but… yeah it’s gone.

Conclusions

Based on the wear test and my daily experiences with the MAC Kajal Crayon eyeliner, I’d recommend trying it. Especially if you’re like me and have trouble finding an eyeliner that stays on your waterline due to watery eyes.

Keep in mind it takes some time to get used to the large applicator, and the fact that it’s more difficult to come by now apparently!

On that note, if anyone has a dupe for this eyeliner or has experience with other eyeliners that actually stay on your watery waterline, please let me know as it appears I’ll need to find an alternative once I run out of this one. 😭

If you have a makeup or skin care product you’d like me to test out and give you my thoughts, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment below!