Japanese Liquid Liners – Comparison
Japanese drugstore liquid liners are phenomenal, they beat most high-end liners, are cheap and (most) last all day and are easy to maintain. If you are starting out with liquid liners or in general, just need a bit of practise, those liners are the way to go.
Kiss Me Heroine Make – the brush width is pretty wide and I find it hard to make a thin line, no problems with more prominent ones though. It also is quite flexible, that means you have to be careful how hard you push the liner, otherwise you will end up with an uneven line. I need two layers for an almost deep colour. It faded a bit after more than 10h, I haven’t experienced any budging though. I also had to wait a bit till it was completely dry.
La Rose de Versailles – the brush tip may appear similar to KMHM but it has a bit more ‘body’ and won’t cave in so easily. I find this one very handy, one layer was enough to get an almost deep black colour. It lasts all day without budging on me, however, while is was raining heavily (I forgot my umbrella) it smeared a bit. It dries quicker than KMHM.
Dolly Wink – probably the star product (they recently changed the packaging and the brush width seems wider as well). This liner makes thin lines, is very easy to handle. The only downside may be, I need up to four layers to get a deep black. It last all day, without smudging (summer allergy proofed!).
K-Palette 1 day Tattoo – this really is a tattoo, it leaves a very soft stain/residue after I removed my makeup, it will fade during night though. That’s the only thing I don’t like about this liner. It makes very thin and precise lines, is very easy to maintain and I only need one layer to achieve a deep black colour. It won’t move the whole day. I like to use it for very fine flicks. It dries super quick.
KATE – my all time favourite and one of my first liquid liners I got. This liner does exactly what you want: even line, very precise flick (not as thin as with K-palette though), dries quickly, last all day/night, won’t move. I need two layers to get a deep black. They revamped this liner (here you can see the new one, see my comparison below, new vs old). It is not as good as the previous one (which was perfect in my opinion).
Koji Spring Heart – well, do I even have to say something? I think the swatch tells everything, the worst liner ever. It dried out after exactly one month! (I kept it for this post, only), the huge and thick brush tip is useless … I mean, look at the swatch. It was so hard to achieve an even line, not to mention a flick.
If I had to pick only one liquid liner, it would be KATE, even if the newer version is not as nice the previous one. K-Palette would be my second choice though.
Oh my God, thanks so much for this super useful guide of liquid liners! Just to be honest though, the Koji Spring Heart has the tip that I find easier to use… I’m not very good with the very thin and floppy ones!
It may look good here but it really feels very cheap. I think there are better liners out there, with a more solid tip. It makes such thick lines but who knows, maybe it will work for you still 🙂
Hey there!
Have you tried the Geisha Ink, by any chance? I really liked it and mine is on it’s last leg. I’m tempted by the KATE liner, though!
xxkarima
Hi Karima. I have not … yet! I would love to try. KATE is great, still my favourite one. I heard a lot of good things about Geisha Ink.
Ah, I’m so jealous you still had one of the old KATEs 😦 My HG too. I see they’ve just revamped it AGAIN — will you be trying the latest version?
Hi Kate. IKR? The new one (revamped) seems a bit thinner than the original KATE liner. I think I will try it, I still have hopes that it will be as good as the one I love.
love the new outlook of your blog!
i don’t know if you adjusted the line height but it is much easier to read as well. 🙂
i don’t own any black liquid eyeliner believe it or not. it’s because i started using eyeliners only recently and i find pencils are easier to control.
this post is very helpful. i’d definitely revisit this post when the time comes. (feels like it’s very soon..haha)
Hi Lena 🙂 You need a black ink liner, they are great and I find them way easier to use than pencils. Report back how you came along with those. I hope you will love them.
I like liquid liner but many drugstore kinds in U.S. le suck and I don’t use liquid liner often enough to buy more expensive. I will check ebay prices on these.
Hi FTaC! I really think those japanese ones are worth every $$$. They last long as well, it’s a good investment I think.
Hi Claire,
What a useful post 🙂
I’m currently using Dolly wink and K-Pallete. Both are working very well with me. I like Dolly Wink brush better than K-palette but I think K-palette lasts longer with me 🙂
Hi Memoiselle! I like K-Palette a bit more than Dolly Wink. K-Palette really is a one day tattoo, lol.
I have all of these liners as well! I like them all but if I have to pick one, the new kate wins by a whisker. Totally agree with you – they are phenomenal and I will never go back to the high-end liners.
Hi Rei, thank you for stopping by and commenting 🙂 KATE is great but too bad they revamped it and as it seems they did it again (why?!). I agree, HE liners are just to pricey compared to those oh so good japanese ds liners.
Sweet! Thanks for the great guide! I want to get some for my daughter who is a huge eyeliner user. Now I know which ones to look for!
Hi Tracy, glad I could help 🙂 I hope she will like them as much as I do! ❤
This is a really helpful comparison post. It’s funny how they all look so similar when you’re just looking at the tips side-by-side, but the swatches all look different!
Hi Becca, IKR? But it depends on how firm the body of that tip is. I still think japanese ds liners are amazing but there are quality differences, like in all products.
This is the post I have been searching for!! thanks Claire. 😀 I’m trying to find the perfect all-purpose eyeliner for lining and tightlining on my hooded eyes. Do you tightline with the KATE liner? If so then I am sold!
Hi Lisa, thank you for stopping by and commenting 🙂 KATE liquid liner is phenomenal but not very good for tightlining (imo). I would suggest using a gel liner for that, KATE has one as well and I think, it’s one of the best products for tightlining.