Total Intensity Against All Odds Liquid Ink Eyeliner

2 Reviews

1. 

   mellowBagels5

   Reply

   Staying power:
   This is the longest staying eyeliner I have ever witnessed. I searched far and wide for an eyeliner that would stay on my oily lids for a ball I had on a few weeks ago. I slept that night with all my makeup on and believe it or not when I peeled my face off the pillow the next morning, the wing of my liner was still perfect! (It should be noted that I did also wear Urban Decay’s eyeshadow priming potion and setting spray). But I also wore it without the Urban Decay products days after this and it stayed all day, no smudging! Even when I forgot I was wearing eyeliner and lightly scratched the corner of my eye!

   Ease of application:
   It is relatively easy to apply. I don’t wear eyeliner too often any more, but I used to wear it everyday so I have a fair bit of experience. For a beginner I would say the tip of the brush might be a little thick if you are trying to get a very pointed wing, but it is achievable with careful technique.

   Texture and colour:
   I got this in the colour “Tattoo” which is straight black. It comes out verrrryy black and usually requires absolutely no extra layers, it’s nice and thick which is what I want in a liquid eyeliners. I hate those watery type of eyeliners that you have to out layer upon layer of to get a strong line, and this is NOT one of them. The colour doesn’t bleed at all into creases in the eyelid. When it sets it’s not particularly shiny but also not particularly matte. I used a teeny tiny bit of translucent powder to mattify this because I like that look better. Do not buy this eyeliner if you are looking for an eyeliner to smudge or create a smokey eye with. It will not do this at all, like literally no smudging at all is possible. But for a sharp, strong Adele-style wing, this is perfect.

   Removal:
   One last point, if you care about how well a product removes, you might find this one annoying. I use micellar cleansing water and a cotton pad to remove my makeup and this stuff flakes off like crazy. It doesn’t smudge at all, not in application or removal. It just comes off in big chunky flakes. This is cool with me, personally I don’t care about how easily a product comes off if it means it will last as long as this does, but some people may not like this.

   Overall:
   Excellent product!!!!! Stays forever, really nice consistency, not real complaints! And for about $16 (in Australia) I think it’s well worth it!

2. 

   needfulOrange6

   Reply

   I waited a while to add this, but I had to: This stuff is amazing. I have it in “Tattoo” which is the black. If I wore other color liners, I would get those as well, but I tend not to. (And I have a lot of gel pencils in color when the mood strikes.) I’ve tried a LOT of liquid liners but most recently, I was using the typical prestige pot (great classic) and Maybelline Line Stiletto. I liked that for a time. But the line would come out a bit thin and watery and the point wasn’t always tight. I liked the felt brush on that though because it was flexible and easy to apply but it would sometimes make a less crisp line. I would often dip my Line Stiletto brush into my Prestige pot liner because it had a smaller tip, but the Prestige had a better formula.

   I got this on a buy one get one half off sale because even though I love Prestige liners and have found them worth it, this is $10 so might as well get a sale. This is a hybrid package, it’s really a pot liner in mock pen look, that twists closed with the brush always resting IN formula as opposed to a cap full of air, which I think is better. (In that way, it’s kind of like Maybelline’s).

   I’m trying to figure out how to discribe this tip. It’s almost like a rubber tip but I think it’s actually tightly packed felt. It makes a really clean line and thin point, more than many others I’ve tried. That’s awesome, but it doesn’t have the flexibility some people (including myself) have come to love to make quick swooping cat eyes.

   The formula is also like a pot; extremely saturated, but not thick to the point of flaking. It dries kind of semi-matte, not quite matte or vinyl. The finish is like Maybelline’s Line Stiletto, but that one has a thinner formula. The original Presige pot dries more matte. I compared the liners side by side and instantly this liner is extremely intense. It doesn’t flake off as easily when going over it, and I had to use less coats to get a deep, dramatic look. Granted my Maybelline is older, but I remember thinking it was a bit thin in formula even when it was new. I also tried the double liner look with each. Not that I wear it often, but I wanted to see how well they held up. The prestige liners stayed crisp and dark while the Maybelline started to wear off where the two liners touched, or where you double over. I may play with this look more often now that I know it’s do-able with this liner. I also remember swatching this and the swatch took ages to wear off. When I rinse and rub the other swatches they come right off and this one does NOT budge!!! So it’s also sort of waterproof. Yet when I wore it, it washed off ok with a good cleanser and eye makeup remover.

   My only gripe is that since the handle is short *and* the tip is stiffer, it’s a little hard to apply. There’s less flexibility in the tip than brush or felt, so I find swooping a little harder with such a tiny handle but not impossible. I think it would be improved if the handle was thinner and tapered like a regular pot liner or long like a pen. I hate how those long handled pens give you the impression of more product when really the small side is the product but it makes sence in terms of application ease.

   But the more I used it, I found it made a cleaner, more opaque line while still keeping a fairly small point at the end which is important to me. I like a nice sharp point, or I’ll use a Q tip to taper it into one. Most of the time I have to do that, and I never understood how people can just swipe it on and it would be perfect. Learning curve, but worth it.

   This is my new default liner. I’m so happy with it.

   TLDR:

   Brush – tight and compact, cleaner lines but harder to ‘swoosh’ out in one stroke.

   Formula, pigment, wearablility – Excellent, doesn’t budge, smudge or flake, clean lines, flattering finish, waterproof – 5

   Packaging – Would prefer an easier to hold handle, longer or thinner, but on the pro side, the brush stays wet in formula and twists closed – 3

   Price – More than average d/s liners but great HE quality, so worth it.