NYX Epic Wear: on the hunt for the perfect cruelty free drugstore liquid eyeliner
- Missy
- Jun 7, 2020
- 3 min read
Kicking off my new ‘on the hunt for the perfect cruelty free drugstore liquid eyeliner’ (I know it’s a mouthful, but what you see is what you get!), I want to review the NYX Epic Wear waterproof eyeliner. I picked it up sometime early March and I think by now I’ve had enough time to try it out to give you guys a proper review.
As with the rest of the series, I go through specific criteria that my ideal liquid eyeliner would achieve to give you the definitive review of the product. I'm basically looking to replace my staple Rimmel liquid eyeliner with an affordable drugstore one that's cruelty free- you can read my review of it here!
ease of application
What kind of an applicator is this??! A huge downside to this product is how long the handle of the brush is- when I lean in to ensure precise application I always end up almost covering my face with the product when my hand inevitably bumps against my mirror. I’ve played with this at least five times by now, and I still can’t get it to work for me.
applicator type
The NYX Epic Wear liner is a brush applicator, the kind you get with nail varnish. I don’t understand the use of this kind of brush- it’s too flexible to create a crisp line and any kind of pressure makes it buckle and put a blob on your eyelid. I would not be able to rely on this in a hurry if I had somewhere to be and using it stresses me out!
formula
Finally, something good about this liner. The formula for the NYX Epic Wear is black. No nonsense, no need for multiple layers of product, just opaque colour and I love it.
longevity
Holy mackerel, this liquid liner is budge- and waterproof like nothing I’ve ever seen. Once it’s on your skin it won’t smudge or move for anything- and that includes little fixes while you’re applying it- which makes that crappy brush applicator even worse.
The formula is excellent, it doesn’t flake throughout the day, and there’s no amount of crying that will wash it away.
When it comes to taking it off, set aside plenty of time for removing it, soaking a cotton pad with micellar water and holding it over your eye for a bit to gently wipe it away.
affordability
At €11/£9, the NYX Epic Wear waterproof eyeliner is at the higher end of what I would consider as affordable when it comes to the drugstore which is just another downside to the product.
final verdict
While I adore the formula of this liquid eyeliner, I just can’t stand the applicator. I would be very reluctant to spend ages on my eyeshadow just for the liner brush to skip and ruin the look- it’s not even possible to spot-fix because it’s just so waterproof. I haven’t been able to create a crisp line despite having tried it several times, and that’s just not acceptable to me. The Epic Wear liner is pretty expensive as well, which isn’t financially acceptable to me when I wear liquid liner every day. All in all, I’m still on the hunt for my perfect liquid eyeliner.
Have you tried the NYX Epic Wear liner? Am I just not getting it?
Comments