Eyeliner smudges because the skin around the eye is warm, mobile and rarely completely dry. Natural oils, the eye cream you applied that morning and the simple act of blinking all soften a line, and a soft line moves. The answer is rarely one product. It is a clean, primed lid, a formula matched to how your eyes behave, and a light layer of eyeshadow pressed over the line to hold it.
What Makes Eyeliner Move?
Three things, usually together. The first is oil: eyelids produce their own, and moisturiser or eye cream applied close to the lashes leaves a slippery surface that loosens pigment. The second is warmth. Creamy pencils and kohls are made to glide, and the same softness that makes them easy to draw with lets them shift as the skin warms through the day. The third is contact. Each blink presses the upper lid against the lower lashes, and on hooded or deep-set eyes the lid can rest on the line itself, printing it into the crease above.
The lower lash line is the most demanding place of all. Tears and the moisture of the eye reach it constantly, which is why a line drawn there tends to soften first, and why many people keep it deliberately smoky rather than sharp.
Pencil and Kohl: Soft by Design
A pencil is the easiest eyeliner to control, and a kohl is its softer, more blendable relative. Both are made to be smudged on purpose, so if you want a crisp line from one, keep the point sharp, draw in short strokes and set it with powder. If a smoky edge is what you are after, work with the softness rather than against it.
Chanel Le Crayon Khôl Intense has a richly pigmented, creamy base, and the house suggests it for a crisp line or one smudged with a brush or fingertip. Clarins Crayon Khôl comes in a carbon black with a built-in brush to soften the line and a sharpener in the box. Rimmel London Soft Kohl Kajal is a slim, capped pencil for building definition gradually. La Roche-Posay Respectissime is a pencil made for sensitive eyes, in a dark brown that gives a gentler alternative to black.
- Le Crayon Khôl Intense Eye Pencil
- Crayon Khôl Long-Lasting Eye Pencil With Brush & Sharpener
- Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencil
- Respectissime Eyeliner
Waterproof and Long-Wear Pencils and Gels
If your eyeliner moves within an hour or two, look for a formula the house describes as waterproof or long-wear. These are made to set once applied, which means you have a short moment to soften the edge before the line holds. Draw, smudge if you wish, then leave it alone.
Guerlain Le Crayon Yeux is a waterproof pencil with a creamy texture, a retractable tip and an integrated sharpener. Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof is a twist-up pencil with a built-in sharpener; the house advises smudging it gently before it sets. Clinique Quickliner For Eyes Intense is a retractable pencil with a creamy, long-wear formula and a built-in sponge applicator; the house advises softening the line with it before the colour sets. Bourjois Contour Clubbing is a waterproof gel eyeliner with jojoba and macadamia oils, made to work as a sharp line or blurred out into a smoky eyeshadow.
- Le Crayon Yeux Colour Intense Longue Tenue Waterproof Eyeliner
- Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner
- Quickliner For Eyes Intense Eyeliner
- Contour Clubbing Waterproof Gel Eyeliner
Liquid and Felt-Tip Eyeliner
A liquid or felt-tip eyeliner dries to a film rather than staying creamy, so once dry it is far less inclined to travel. The risk comes in the first seconds. Blink before the line has dried and it prints onto the lid above. Draw with your eyes looking down into a mirror held below your face, then keep them half closed for a moment while the line sets.
Guerlain Mad Eyes has an ultra-fine, calligraphy-inspired tip and a flexible, water-resistant formula with glycerin and panthenol; the house advises a single dip of the brush and a brief pause to dry. Shiseido ArchLiner Ink is a quick-drying, water-resistant ink with an ultra-fine curved tip. Sensai Black Eyeliner Pen is a felt-tip in deep black that takes refill cartridges. Estée Lauder Little Black Liner is dual-ended, giving an ultra-fine, a thin and a thick line from one pen, in a long-wear, waterproof formula.
- Mad Eyes Liquid Eyeliner
- ArchLiner Ink Stylo Eyeliner
- Black Eyeliner Pen
- Little Black Liner Eyeliner
Eye Primer and Setting With Eyeshadow
If your lids are naturally oily, an eye primer is the step that changes most. It gives the skin a smooth, even surface for eyeliner and eyeshadow to grip. Apply a thin layer to clean lids, blend it right to the lash line and let it settle for a minute before you start.
To set a pencil, kohl or gel line, take a fine angled brush, pick up a little powder eyeshadow in the same shade and press it along the line. The powder absorbs some of the surface oil and locks the creamy layer beneath. Black over black keeps the line intense; a brown or grey shade softens it.
MAC Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base is a lightweight cream base, applied to clean lids and blended before eyeshadow or liner. Gosh Eye Shadow Primer is a transparent base in a slim pencil, for precise placement. Artdeco Matt Black Eyeshadow is a matte pressed powder for pressing over a black line. Sisley Les Phyto-Ombres is a silky pressed powder with botanical oils, in a mirrored compact, for setting a softer shade.
- Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base
- Eye Shadow Primer
- Matt Black Eyeshadow
- Les Phyto-Ombres Eyeshadow
How to Apply Eyeliner So It Stays
- Keep eye cream away from the lash line in the morning, or let it absorb fully before make-up.
- Blot the lids with a tissue, then apply a thin layer of eye primer.
- Rest your elbow on a table and draw close to the lashes in short strokes, working from the inner corner outwards.
- Soften the edge straight away if you want a smoky line, before the formula sets.
- Press matching powder eyeshadow over a pencil, kohl or gel line with a fine brush.
- On the lower lash line, use less, keep it soft, and set it with powder too.
Mascara plays its part as well. A wet mascara on the lower lashes can transfer in the same way as eyeliner, and we set out the waterproof options in How to Choose a Mascara: Volume, Length, Curl or Waterproof.
Taking It Off
The formulas that resist smudging are also the ones that resist water at the end of the day. Rubbing at them is what leaves the shadow of a line on the lid. Hold a remover-soaked pad against the closed eye for a few seconds and let it loosen the line before you wipe. We explain oils, bi-phase removers and micellar water in Removing Waterproof Make-Up Gently: Oils, Bi-Phase and Micellar.
If your eyes sting or feel sore, stop and ask a pharmacist or optician.
In Short
If your eyeliner smudges by lunchtime, change the preparation before you change the eyeliner. Add a primer, press a little matching eyeshadow over the line, and see how far that takes the pencil you already love. If it still moves, that is the moment for a waterproof pencil or a liquid liner.
