Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner vs. Kat Von D Tattoo Liner

As a self-proclaimed winged liner addict, the search for the Holy Grail of all liquid liners has been a life-time goal. To me, the specifics of the winged liner are of upmost importance. The finish, ease of use, ability to make a point, staying factor, and how fast the liner dries out are all factors to consider. I'm still on the prowl for the eyeliner that checks all those boxes. For now, it seems as if once I finish one eyeliner, I go onto another brand hoping the next will be even better. I consider myself a wanderer when it comes to liquid liners. However, these two products I am about to mention may just change my ways.

Before I really got into makeup, I was a strictly drugstore girl. All my eyeliners came from the drugstore, and I didn't really have the knowledge to know the difference. Felt tip, liquid pot and paint...they were all the same to me. I did my liquid liner to the best of my ability and never stopped to consider if I was getting the best application. I can now say that I am a changed woman. Once I dove into the world of YouTube, I could no longer ignore the issues I had before. I now knew how winged liner was supposed to look, apply, and stay--I just had to have the right products to achieve my signature look.

As I did more and more research, two products seemed to rise above all the others: the Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner and the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner. In my mind, I could not be the master of all winged liner without owning both.

Swatches:

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner ($20):

It's no secret that both of these eyeliners are a bit pricey. However, for me and anyone else who cannot live without eyeliner, the price is worth it. In fact, I might even be willing to pay more for these (but my wallet asks that they please not change the price). They are a lot cheaper than a potentially $30 lipstick or blush or a $50 foundation (Nars I'm looking at you...).
Anyhow, this is the first eyeliner of the two I tried. As it was the first higher end eyeliner I tried, I was completely blown away at the things I could do with this liner. I have used it every single day for months and months, and that was the reason it was mentioned in my 2014 favorites. This liner is a felt tip liner. It is super easy to get right up against the lashline, and you can just as easily achieve a thick line or a thin line. I find it simple to flick it along the lid and go from thin to thick as I reach the outer corner of the lid. I have heard some people complain about how the felt tip nib is too long and flimsy. I can see this being a big problem for a beginner or someone who does not have much control over their liner, but it did not really bother me. As I tried to capture in the picture with my swatches, this liner has a matte, almost leathery finish which I adore. It come out jet black with just one swipe.
The major problem I have with this liner is the way that the felt tip nib frays. After about a month of using it, little pieces of the felt would begin to dry up and flake off. It has done this more and more as time goes on. Now, as you might be able to see from the swatches, it is increasingly hard, to achieve a precise point with my winged liner. With that being said, I would still purchase this liner again because the matte black finish and precision I received at the beginning was unbeatable.

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner ($18):

This is the second liner I tried and, admittedly, I have not been using it for very long. However, I have used it enough to get a firm grasp of the liner and I must say that I have fallen head over heels for it. Instead of having a felt tip, this liner is kind of like a paintbrush in that it has tons and tons of little hairs that come together at a point. This was the selling point for me. There is no possible way that this tip will fray and lose its precision. And man, does this baby have precision. The short hairs make pointed winged liner so easy-peasy (as you can see from my swatches...that point took no effort at all!), but are flexible enough to sweep across the lid. The pointed hairs also make it incredibly simple to get a line right up against the lashline. The thinkness of your line can easily be built up and blended from thin to think. I never end up having way thicker liner than I intended (anyone who has tried liquid liner will know what I mean!) which could sometimes happen with the Stila liner. This is definitely one for the beginner and the experienced alike!
The only this I might change is the finish of this liner. As I tried to capture in my swatches, this liner has more of an inky finish than a matte, leathery finish. I sort of have to go over the liner a few times to get the dark, dark black that I want. I am not yet sure if this liner will dry out like the other one, but given the synthetic material the hairs are made out of and the fact that you can shake up the liquid inside of the pen, I do not think that will be a problem.

Side note: Both liners have absolutely AMAZING staying power! They are both said to be waterproof, and boy is that the truth! In fact, I kind of have to scrub with cleaner to get them off. Although you should not do this, if you slept in either one of them, it would still be intact in the morning (I've tried...accidentally). I did a little test with my swatches to see which would come off first after being on there for a few hours. When I washed my hands normally, neither of them budged. I then took a washcloth and scrubbed. The Kat Von D started to come off first, but the Stila came off literally one swipe later. And my hand was red after scrubbing them both off... I would say that they are about equal in staying power.

Overall thoughts: If I had to choose, I think the Kat Von D liner would win. I would repurchase that liner over the Stila one especially given the (slightly) cheaper cost. I do wish, however, that the Kat Von D liner had the matte, leathery finish of the Stila Liner. Now that would be the Holy Grail liquid liner!!

That's all for now folks!