Eye Can't Do It... Or Can I?

My friends... I have a confession to make.

I have issues with eyeliner.

There. I said it.

I speak the truth, y'all.

I am terrible with eyeliner. I can't draw a straight line to save my life. I rely on excruciatingly slow processes and painstaking application methods to get something that even resembles a straight line, and even then I usually end up having to use a q-tip or a smudge brush to soften it.

I don't know what my problem is. I've watched the YouTube tutorials, I've spent limitless time in front of the mirror trying to practice... I just can't get both eyes to have the same, even, straight line unless I spent about twenty minutes on each one.

It is so frustrating.

There is one thing that really helps, though... The influx of gel & cream liners that seem to be flooding the market lately make me so happy! For some reason I have much better luck applying liner with a brush than with an actual eye pencil. For this reason alone I've spent way too much money on various shades of Bobbi Brown's Long-wear Gel Eyeliner.

At $21 it's not heinously priced, but it's not quite easy on the wallet. It is, however, my favorite of all the cream/gel liners that I've tried. It's easy to use, goes on smoothly, and stays on forever.

On a recent drugstore makeup binge, the same one that led me to discover the Maybelline Eye Studio Color Plush quads, also gave me a potential alternative to my beloved Bobbi Brown.

Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner

It's priced at $9.99 it is certainly easier on the wallet, the packaging is pretty close to Bobbi Brown's, which I love, and it comes with it's own application brush... This is a no-lose situation, girls.

[photo credit: Temptalia]

I immediately lunged for this little baby in the Plum shade and tore it open the second I got home.

[photo credit: Temptalia]

The consistency is a little... I'm not sure how to describe it, but I don't think it is as thick or pigmented as the Bobbi Brown. The swatch above is from the fabulous Temptalia, and the reviewer there loved it. It actually took me a few tries before I decided that I did, indeed, like it very much. At first I couldn't get an even application and the color looked a little sheer, but once I got into a groove it really did look the way it does in that swatch. It's a very pretty color, it goes on pretty smooth, but you may need a few layers to really get a saturated color.

All in all, a pretty decent product at half the price of Bobbi Brown.

Anyone else tried this liner? Did you have the same issues I did with getting a fully saturated application? Let me know!

[photo credits: bobbibrowncosmetics.com, temptalia.com, maybelline.com]