The best drugstore eyeliners you can buy

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The best drugstore eyeliners you can buy
  • If you use eyeliner on a daily basis, you'll go through it quickly - meaning you'll want a reliable formula that won't cost a lot.
  • There are a ton of popular drugstore brands that make excellent eyeliners from longlasting liquids to dramatic gels to easy-to-use pencils.
  • NYX Epic Ink Liner is our favorite eyeliner because of its elongated tip and smooth, pigmented finish.
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Eyeliner is one of those makeup staples you don't want to think about too much - or spend too much money on. It should be pigmented, smooth, and easy to use without poking your eyes.

The fact that drugstore brands have been stepping things up in terms of formula and packaging is not exactly news. I've personally mentioned it, oh, at least a dozen times in shopping guides like this one. But eyeliner is one area where affordable brands really excel. I've tried dozens of liners, and while plenty of my favorites are high-end and expensive, there are great formulas under $10, or even $5.

From liquids to gels to retractable pencils, drugstores have great options for every imaginable type of eyeliner.

Here are the best drugstore eyeliners you can buy:

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The best drugstore eyeliner overall

The best drugstore eyeliner overall
NYX Professional Epic Ink Liner goes on smoothly and gives you a dramatic, precise line that won't budge.

Nothing beats a classic black liquid eyeliner. NYX Professional Epic Ink Liner has a fine, precise brush-tip that helps you nail that knife-sharp wing every single time.

This liner is super pigmented, and dries down to a satin finish with depth and a little bit of shine. The formula is waterproof and vegan, and shoppers rave about the flexible brush and the intense color payoff. There are only two colors — classic black or dark brown — so there's not much variety, but they're definitely the most wearable in terms of eyeliner shades.

Epic Ink Liner has a 4.2-star rating based on more than 1,300 reviews on Ulta. "I wore this liner to a metal concert. I did massive, sharp wings. After seven hours of sweating (my face and body were actually dripping) this liner STAYED ON," writes one shopper.

It's featured on Rank and Style as one of its top 10 waterproof eyeliners, while Byrdie Beauty named it their favorite drugstore liner overall, and says that the applicator "disperses the pigment onto your lids with ease — basically, there's no tugging, dragging, or skipping." A BuzzFeed writer goes so far to even call it "my favorite black eyeliner in the history of ever."

Pros: smooth application, flexible tip, pigmented, longlasting, vegan, and cruelty-free

Cons: can be hard to wash off

The best pencil eyeliner

The best pencil eyeliner
Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Definer Waterproof Pencil gives you the perfect smudged-out line that you can blend with an attached sponge.

My favorite eyeliner look is a smoked-out lash line; it's much harder to mess up than a wing. Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Definer Waterproof Pencil is the best for getting a smudged look.

This retractable pencil has a soft, pliable formula that can be blended with the sponge tip on the opposite end of the packaging. The tip is really slim so you can get between lashes easily, but there's a built-in sharpener so you don't have to worry about it completely losing its definition. Though labeled as waterproof, some reviewers note that it's not completely indestructible on the lids.

The pencil comes in seven colors including black, brown, navy, gray, and even gold so you can use this as eyeshadow too.

One Amazon shopper writes, "I have somewhat dry skin, and this Rimmel eyeliner goes on easily, although with a somewhat uneven line. It stays soft long enough to smoothly blend and shade the line then stays in place all day, even beneath the lower lid."

Editors at Byrdie and Rank and Style feature the Rimmel Eye Definer as a top eyeliner pick, and it has an average 4.1-star rating on Amazon based on nearly 800 reviews.

Pros: self-sharpening, attached smudger, comes in seven colors

Cons: won't get a super precise line

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The best gel eyeliner

The best gel eyeliner
Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner gives you a customizable, pigmented line that goes on easily with the included brush.

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner is a pliable gel-pot liner that comes with a fine brush for easy application.

Gel liners offers rich pigmented like liquid, but easier to use and manipulate like pencils; you can create a sharp wing or a subtler line just as easily. The brush makes it easy to build up the color, shape, and smudge the liner. If you like to do unique graphic looks, this is a great option.

The formula is creamy and smooth, and comes in four colors — Blackest Black, Charcoal, Brown, and Eggplant. It glides on easily for a crisp line, and dries down to a smooth finish. This is a good option if you have dry lids that tend to crinkle up underneath drier liners.

Byrdie and Rank and Style editors give this liner high marks, and it's earned a 4.1-star rating on Amazon based on more than 2,300 reviews.

"I have monolids so my makeup smudges really easily but I find that I don't even have to use a primer or set this. It just stays on all day without having to reapply it," writes one shopper.

Pros: included brush, creamy formula, waterproof, ophthalmologist-approved for sensitive eyes

Cons: requires two steps instead of one, jar packaging can lead to product drying out faster

The best colorful eyeliner

The best colorful eyeliner
Essence Extreme Lasting Eye Pencil goes beyond basic black with fun, yet wearable colors.

Black and brown are the most common eyeliner colors. They add definition without stealing the show, but other eyeliner shades like navy blue and taupe can make your eyes pop and feel more fun on a daily basis.

The Essence Extreme Lasting Eye Pencil comes in several muted and sophisticated shades — no over-the-top neons here. Ulta shoppers are especially fond of Silky Nude, a pale pink that can be used along the waterline to brighten and widen the appearance of your eyes. These velvety pencils are waterproof and glide on easily with minimal skipping or tugging.

"I can never find a nude pencil to stay on my water line. Usually, by the time I finish my make up, my water line's naked again. I was so impressed with the color, creamy formula and staying power of this product," writes one Ulta shopper.

Overall, the Essence Extreme Lasting Eye Pencil has an average 4.5-star rating on Ulta based on more than 300 customer reviews, and has been featured on Rank and Style. Unlike the Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Definer Waterproof Pencil, it doesn't come with a sharpener so you'll have to use your own.

Pros: variety of wearable colors, waterproof formula even stays put along waterline, creamy finish

Cons: no super bold colors, doesn't come with sharpener

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The best eyeliner for sensitive eyes

The best eyeliner for sensitive eyes
Maybelline Eye Studio Master Precise All Day Liquid Liner is smudge-proof with a formula that won't irritate chronically dry or runny eyes.

Eyeliner is the kiss of death for sensitive peepers. If your eyes start to water at the mere sight of someone else's cat eye, try Maybelline Eye Studio Master Precise All Day Liquid Liner.

The fragrance-free formula has been dermatologist- and ophthalmologist-approved for those with sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers. The long brush-tip makes it easy to draw a defined line without having to wrestle your delicate eye skin into submission.

Cosmopolitan calls this "the easy-to-use liner," citing the extra-long tip and ergonomic rubber grip. Elite Daily, Elle, and Refinery29 all list this as a top pick too.

"Hands down, the Maybelline delivers the best cat eye/winged look because of how thin the brush is. All others are too thick so without extra precaution, I end up with blocks as opposed to a curved line on the corners of my eyes," writes one Amazon shopper.

Pros: fragrance-free, waterproof, easy to apply, ergonomic grip, safe to use for those with sensitive eyes and contacts

Cons: shoppers say it dries out quickly

What else we considered

What else we considered
  • Revlon ColorStay Exactify Liquid Liner ($5.87): While I actually really like this pizza-cutter style eyeliner for creating a thin, precise line, they're definitely hit-or-miss. Some shoppers find them really difficult to apply.
  • NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil ($4.50): These NYX pencils are highly-rated and can definitely pull double-duty as a cream shadow all over the lid. However, the tips are much thicker than your average liner and therefore not as precise as the pencil liners I chose to feature as top picks.
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