Never give up on a brand, even when one of its products didn’t work out quite well as you expected, and especially if the brand is widely known for being one of the first to come up with the life-saving gel liner. Oh, by life-saving, I mean no more ugly eyeliner smudges on the under eye and dreadful transfer marks on the lids usually caused by pencil and liquid eyeliners.
Bobbi Brown Black Ink and MAC Fluidline Blacktrack have always been compared with the another. Some people are diehard fans of Black Ink, while some swear by Blacktrack. Some people like to say bad things about the other too. Haha. But I think, to each its own. Everyone has different things that make them tick, ya?
There are two categories of the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliners: the Inks and Shimmer Inks. Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Chocolate Shimmer was my first purchase from the brand and it left me very disappointed. The brown of Chocolate Shimmer did nothing to bring out the brown in my eyes - it made them look sad and dull. On top of that, application was not as smooth as other gel eyeliners I have tried.
Chocolate Shimmer's cap is matte while Black Ink's glossy.
Left - Chocolate Shimmer; Right - Black Ink
If I had to compare, MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack wins Bobbi Brown Chocolate Shimmer in all aspects – texture, application, pigmentation.
But what about Bobbi Brown Black Ink?
Great Texture = Easy Application
The Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Liner in Black Ink has a texture that is slightly firmer than other gel liners I have tried, which is what I absolutely adore about this gel liner.
I'm not sure why there was moisture on the gel liner when I first opened it; there are none now. That doesn't compromise the quality of the product though.
MAC's Blacktrack is softer, more satiny, and silky. MAC Blacktrack is very easy to manage, but Black Ink is even EASIER. Painting Black Ink onto the eyelids is easier than using a pencil, okie, maybe not that easy, but it really goes on very quickly because it is not too soft nor too hard in texture.
Compared to the Kate Gel Liner in BK-1, applying eyeliner with the Bobbi Brown Black Ink is a piece of cake. As much as I love the Kate Gel Liner, it takes a little getting used to because the formula runs a little damp.
Get a Very Precise Line Quickly
Dipping an eyeliner brush like MAC 263 or Sonia Kashuk Bent Eyeliner Brush into Black Ink will not cause an overload of product on the brush because just the right amount of product is picked up by the brush, so there is no need to swipe excess off the brush. That amounts to less wasted time and product, and money!
Ahhh... FRESH Black Ink!!! YUM-MEH!
Dipping a brush in...
Ready to get it on!
Then, after swiping the brush across/into the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Liner in Black Ink, I glide the brush across my lids. You can draw on a very fine line or dramatize the look with a thicker one.
In my opinion, the MAC 263 Small Angle Brush is perfect to use with the Bobbi Brown Gel Liner to create the perfectly sharp winged tip eyeliner because the sharp angles of the bristles carry just the perfect amount of liner to deposit on the outer lid. The Sonia Kashuk Brush does not work as well with the Bobbi Brown Gel Liner as the other gel liners which are more wet.
(The MAC 263 brush is not shown in this post as I did not own the brush at that time.)
A Not So Black Black Ink
I have always loved the classic black eyeliner look and am always on the hunt for the next darkest eyeliner. Me love the jet matte black look very muchee.
Pencil or liquid eyeliners just cannot give the intensity of black I desire.
Although Black Ink is a much darker black compared to many pencil or liquid eyeliners, I have to say that it isn’t quite as dark as other gel liners.
Therefore in terms of intensity, I still like the Kate Gel Liner the best (not compared to in this picture) because it gives the blackest black.
Long-Lasting
As with most gel liners, where the prime benefit over other kinds of eyeliners is that of their ability to stay on the lids for long hours and are the great love for many oily-lidded lasses (*waves hand), the Bobbi Brown Gel Liner does not disappoint in this aspect. I mean, I would expect that of the brand’s gel liners so it does not come across as surprising.
Does Not Flake
So far, after about 3 months of use, Black Ink is still malleable and consistent in viscosity. Layering it on to get a darker shade of black does not cause annoying bits of dried up gel liner to fall off.
Some say that the Bobbi Brown Gel Liners just don’t dry up the way MAC Fluidlines do. I’ve read that the Bobbi Brown one can even last up to 3.5 years! WOW! Bang for the makeup buck!
We’ll just have to wait and see. I’ll update you guys in 3.5 years. Lol.
Get the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eye Liner in Black Ink here
What Bun Bun thinks of the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eye Liner in Black Ink:
So what say you about the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eye Liner in Black Ink?
What is the eyeliner you cannot live without?
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