Pencil, gel, liquid or kohl: which eyeliner does what

Every eyeliner is pigment in a base, and the base decides how the liner behaves. A water-based liquid dries to a film. An anhydrous gel or pencil sets as its solvents evaporate. A kohl stays soft because it is mostly wax and oil. Those three chemistries explain almost every difference in precision, wear and removal.

Liquid is the format most people buy. It took 43.59 percent of the global eyeliner market in 2025, while gel and cream formats grew fastest at 7.08 percent a year, according to Mordor Intelligence. Pencil and kohl keep a steady share because they are the easiest to use and the only formats made for the inner rim.

What are the four main types of eyeliner?

Liquid eyeliner is a water-based ink that is applied with a felt tip or a fine brush and dries to a flexible film. It gives the thinnest, sharpest and most consistent line. Felt tips are faster and easier; brush tips draw finer lines and take more practice.

Gel eyeliner is an anhydrous cream that is sold in a pot and applied with a brush, or pressed into a twist-up or sharpenable gel pencil. It is highly pigmented, workable for 30 to 60 seconds, and then sets, which makes it the most flexible format for both crisp and smoky lines.

Pencil eyeliner is a wax-based crayon in a wooden or mechanical casing that is drawn directly onto the skin. It is the softest of the three lid formats, the easiest to control with one hand, and the one most often used on the waterline and by beginners.

Kohl, also sold as kajal, is a soft, oil-rich stick or pencil that was made for the inner rim of the eye. It gives an intense, diffused black and moves more than any other format. Traditional kohl sold outside the European Union and United States has been linked to lead contamination, so buy only regulated cosmetic kohl.

How do pencil, gel, liquid and kohl compare?

The wear figures are brand claims. MAC states 24 hours or more on lids and 12 hours on waterlines for its Colour Excess gel pencil (MAC), and Dior states 24-hour wear for Diorshow Stylo from an instrumental test on 20 subjects (Dior). On an oily or hooded lid, expect less.

What is inside each formula and why does it behave that way?

Liquid liners are water-based dispersions of pigment in film-forming polymers such as acrylates copolymer or styrene/acrylates copolymer, with cellulose gums or carbomers to thicken them and phenoxyethanol or sodium benzoate to preserve them (INCIDecoder). As the water evaporates the polymer forms a flexible, water-resistant film. More film former means more transfer resistance, but also more flaking and a harder removal.

Gel and pencil liners contain no water. Volatile silicones such as cyclopentasiloxane and isododecane spread the pigment over the skin and then flash off, leaving a film of synthetic waxes, polyethylene and silicone resins. That is why a gel is workable for a minute and then set, and why a good gel pencil is waterproof without being wet.

Kohl and kajal sticks are rich in castor oil, beeswax and carnauba wax and never fully set. The softness that makes them comfortable on the rim is the same property that lets them migrate under the eye by lunchtime.

Black in every format comes from carbon black, CI 77266. In the European Union its nano form is permitted as a colorant at up to 10 percent under Regulation (EU) 2016/1120, must be listed as CI 77266 [nano], and must be notified to the European Commission six months before sale (CosmeticOBS).

Which eyeliner is best for beginners?

A pencil is the best first eyeliner. It draws in short strokes, forgives a wobble because the edge can be smudged into place, and comes off with micellar water. A gel pencil gives the same control with longer wear.

A felt-tip liquid pen is the second step. It draws a wing in one movement, needs no sharpening, and dries fast enough that a mistake can be wiped before it sets. Brush-tip liquids and gel pots reward a steady hand and punish a shaky one, so they come third. Runway artist Kasey Spickard sketches lines with a workable pencil first and then refines them with a fine brush and a long-wear liquid or gel (Yahoo), a method that works at any level.

Which eyeliner is best for the waterline?

The waterline is the wet inner rim of the eyelid, and only pencils and kohls are made to draw on it. Liquids do not adhere to a wet surface and gel pots are awkward to apply there. Brands quote shorter wear on the rim than on the lid: 12 hours against 24 for the MAC Colour Excess gel pencil.

Eye-care professionals advise caution with any product on the rim. Optometrist Dr Alexa Hecht explains that product on the waterline blocks the meibomian glands along the lid margin, which contributes to dry eye and blepharitis (Coveteur). If you line the rim, use a freshly sharpened pencil, replace it after three months, and skip glitter and pearl formulas.

Which eyeliner suits hooded or oily lids?

Hooded and oily lids need a formula that dries to a film and does not print when the lid folds over it. Waterproof liquid and set gel are the two that pass that test. A creamy pencil, however long its lid claim, tends to transfer onto the skin above the crease within hours.

The workaround for pencil lovers is to draw with the pencil and set the line with a matching powder shadow or a thin coat of liquid over the top. L'Oréal Paris lists a pencil under liquid as a way to sharpen the edge and lock everything in place (L'Oréal Paris).

How do you apply gel liner from a pot?

A gel pot gives the most control of any format once the brush technique is learned. The line is built in short strokes, and the gel stays workable for about a minute.

You will need

• A gel liner pot, opened and stirred with the brush handle if the surface has stiffened
• A fine angled or pointed liner brush
• A mirror at eye level
• A cotton bud with micellar water for corrections

Six steps

1. Load the brush by pulling it across the surface of the gel on both sides, then wipe the excess on the rim so the brush is coated, not clumped.
2. Rest your elbow on a table. Look straight ahead with the eye open and relaxed.
3. Press the brush into the base of the lashes at the outer third and draw a short stroke toward the outer corner.
4. Continue inward in strokes of two to three millimetres, joining each to the last.
5. For a wing, place a small dot where the tip should end, in line with the lower lash line, and join the dot to the line with one stroke.
6. Close the pot at once. Clean the brush with micellar water or a brush cleanser so the gel does not harden in the bristles.

A gel pot dries out from the day it is opened, so buy small and replace it within its period-after-opening. The full comparison of removers for each format is in the removal guide.