The Ultimate Eyeliner Guide

Love a great wing, but find the selection of eyeliners overwhelming? You're not alone! So, what’s the difference between an eyeliner, kajal and eye pencil? And which should you choose to get the right look? Keep reading to find out!

1. EYELINER
Eyeliners can be found in liquid or gel form. Eyeliners don’t have the soft or silky finish associated with kohl and kajal pencils, instead they’re great for graphic and bold lines. Eyeliners are perfect for dramatic winged eye looks (like cat eyes) and your best bet to get extremely sharp and flawless lines - once you develop a steady hand. We love gel liners since they give you thin lines that won’t smudge.

2. KOHL
Kohl pencils are typically made from powders, pigments and waxes. They have the smooth glide of a kajal, but are not as messy or soft in their texture. ‬The result is cleaner than a kajal, but not as sharp than an eyeliner. Kohl pencils are also fairly easy to smudge, but not ideal for a smoky eye. We suggest you use a kohl pencil when you want to define your eye lashes and make them look thicker by rimming the upper lash line.

3. KAJAL
Kajal pencils have a soft, silky texture and are traditionally used to line eyes, darken eye lids and make eyelashes look darker and thicker. They roll on smoothly and can easily be put inside the rim of the eyes, which is ideal for subtly defined eyes. Kajal pencils are also great for smoky eye looks as they’re easy to blend (something that’s impossible with liquid or gel eyeliners).

Words by: Photographs by: Getty Images