I love cream, gel, powder, and liquid eyeliners. They last longer, glide on smoothly, and are easier to manipulate. “Unpenciled” eyeliners are perfect for creating shapes and effects such as cat eyes or smokey eyes. I generally use an angled liner brush for all these formulas (except liquid), but most companies have a brush specifically made for their cream/gel eyeliners. When it comes to liquid eyeliner, I prefer the foam tips as opposed to the brush applicator. It’s less messy and more precise. Here are some of my favorites:

Liquid eyeliner:

Artliner (Lancome, $28)

Liquidlast Liner (M.A.C., $16.50)

Metal Eyed Liner (Too Faced, $17.50)

Cream eyeliner:

Brush On Cream Liner (Clinique, $14.50)

Ink for Eyes (Urban Decay, $22)

Aqua Cream Liner (Make Up For Ever, $20)

Gel eyeliner:

Fluidline (M.A.C., $15)

Ink Artliner (Lancome, $23.50)

Powder eyeliner:

Carbon Eye Shadow (M.A.C., $14.50)

The New Black Color Design Eye Shadow (Lancome, $16.50)

Brushes:

266 Small Angle Brush (M.A.C., 19.50)

Get Bent Brush (Benefit, $16)

Smudger Brush #10 (Lancome, $24.50)