ILIA Liquid Liner Review: A Good Felt Tip Eyeliner

Clean Line Liquid Liner is perfect for a cat eye, wing, and everything in between.

Liquid eyeliners: There are so many on the market and so many good ones! Everyone has their own preference on the type of applicator (felt tip, pen, marker, brush, etc.) and length of brush. The choices are nearly endless when it comes to liquid liners. ILIA Clean Line is a natural felt tip eyeliner made to last all day without irritating even the most sensitive of eyes. It’s versatile and can achieve anything from a bold cat eye to a subtle wing. Let’s review this ILIA liquid liner and see what it’s like.

Promises vs. Performance: Could it be the best liquid eyeliner?

The ILIA website claims you can create a precise, richly pigmented line free of feathering and smudging with the quick drying ILIA Clean Line Liquid Liner. The brush is a felt tip, said to be flexible for easy application. This liner can take you from a daytime subtle wing to a more dramatic cat eye for night. The formula is said to be both long lasting and water resistant. And, it’s pigment is derived from charcoal instead of carbon black. This makes it much cleaner than the majority of other liquid liners in the industry, and especially great for sensitive eyes!

My Review Thoughts: ILIA Liquid Liner

The felt tip on this liner is really precise and easy to use, though it’s not as flexible as I typically prefer. But the liner was easy to apply and dried down quickly, like ILIA claims. The liner is dark enough on its first go. I don’t have to go back over the line to get the deep color I want. It’s comfortable to wear all day and doesn’t feel tight on my eyes. After 12 hours of wear, it didn’t smudge or transfer to my crease. It still looked just as good as when I applied it!

How It Compares: Stila Stay All Day is the best, but ILIA Clean Line is a clean alternative.

Let’s compare ILIA Liquid Liner as part of the review. While I did enjoy the performance of the ILIA eyeliner,  it didn’t quite beat the standard for this category. The winner of best liquid eyeliner is the iconic Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner.

Stay All Day is a fan favorite waterproof, felt tip liner retailing for $22. It’s just a bit cheaper than Clean Line, which retails for $28. Both liners stay on well and are comfortable for all day wear, never feeling tight on the eye, but the Stila liquid liner felt tip is a bit more bendy than the ILIA one, making it easier to line the eyes. Overall, Stila wins the competition, but ILIA is a good clean eyeliner option, if that’s something you’re looking for.

Milabu Beauty Method: How to achieve an everyday wing.

Practice makes perfect with winged liner. This one has a stiffer tip than some, which can make it a little harder to work with. It’s easy to be precise, but it’s not very flexible with movement.

1. Apply the eye products you plan to wear for the day (primer, eyeshadow, any glitter toppers, etc.).
2. Working in small sections, making multiple thin strokes instead of one continuous line. Begin at the outer corner of your eye where you want your wing to start. You want this line to extend upwards from your eye towards the end of your brow. Add a second line just above the first, connecting at the end to create a small triangle shape. This will be the outline (or entirety!) of your wing.
3. Next, continue the top line onto the eyelid. Remember, make short strokes instead of one continuous line. (And make sure to keep the lines as thin as possible so you can go back over them without it getting too thick.)
4. Complete the line as far into the inner corner as desired. I recommend stopping just before the tear duct.
5. Finish off your look with some mascara and you’re good to go!