Drugstore vs. High End Makeup: Cream and Gel Eyeliners

As far as I’m concerned there’s no distinction between these two types of pot eyeliner. Bobbi Brown’s gel is no different than Smashbox’ cream.

Bottom Line: Buy drugstore, specifically Physicians Formula.  PF’s Shimmer Strips Eye Enhancing Gel CreamLiner matches the quality of high end brands. The price is a steal (sets of 3 run $10-$11, where high end brands can be as much as $22 per single shade.)

PF’s liner comes in stacked sets of 3 based on eye color. The only caveat here is that you may not be able to find a match for your favorite high end shade—most conspicuously absent from PF’s collection is a plain black (each black has a subtle colored shimmer.)  Also there’s no match for Clinique’s classic Black Honey shade. Still, there’s a pretty good overall selection. Check out my list below for a guide to the shades in each stack.

The PF set comes with a brush that is less than stellar—not a big deal considering high end liners don’t come with a brush at all. No need to go high end for the brush either, Target’s Sonia Kashuk line offers a professional quality option (the Bent Eyeliner Brush) for just $5.99.

Avoid other brands of drugstore cream/gel liners including Maybelline, Jane, L'Oreal & Wet n Wild. These get mixed reviews on many makeup discussion boards and in my personal experience they all have a tendency to flake.

Btw PF is on sale at CVS this week (buy one get one/50% off). Or if you’re really on a budget you can hold out for one of the next 40% off PF sales which regularly run at Ulta, Kmart & the big 3 (CVS, Rite Aid & Walgreens.)

Shimmer Strips Shade Guide

Brown Eyes

dark purple

dark brown
black with subtle purple shimmer

Hazel Eyes

dark olive/gold taupe

medium purple

black with subtle purple shimmer

Green Eyes

bright forest green

dark bluish violet

black with subtle green shimmer

Blue Eyes

dark royal blue

bronze-ish brown

dark navy blue with subtle blue shimmer
Glam Collection (all metallic)
Brown Eyes
yellow gold
bronze
black with bronze shimmer
Hazel Eyes
gold
amethyst (silvery purple)
black with gold shimmer
Green Eyes
lavender
green
black with pewter shimmer
Blue Eyes
silver
blue
black with silver shimmer