The blackest and most long-lasting eyeliners to give you the perfect cat eye

Whether you tend to go for a soft and natural wing, or you love crafting an intense razor sharp cat-eye, we all want our eyeliner to deliver, (aka, one that doesn’t smudge, crease, smear, is easy to apply, and has intense staying power). We know! With a checklist this long, finding a holy grail eyeliner can be harder than finding a significant other. But while we can’t help you in the love department, we can definitely help you find the blackest and most long-lasting eyeliners that performs well.

Thanks to social media, online reviews, and countless YouTube videos, we’ve rounded up the blackest and most life-proof eyeliners in the market. But first, let’s talk about what factors you should consider when choosing your forever eyeliner:

• The right eyeliner should be easy to apply without making a mess.
• They should have intense color payoff and don’t turn grey after a few hours.
• Most importantly, it should last all day – or at least more than 5 hours or until you decide to wipe off your makeup.

KVD Vegan Beauty Tattoo Liner

Why we love it: The narrow felt tip applicator lets you craft a wing that’s as thick or as thin as you desire. Plus, the formula is so smooth, you can create an intense black line with one swipe. It’s also cruelty free.

Say what you want about former owner and founder, Kat Von D, but the KVD Vegan Beauty Tattoo Liner is one of the most efficient eyeliners in the market. After stepping down as the owner of Kat Von D Beauty, the makeup company changed its official name to KVD Vegan Beauty. Despite all these major changes, the Tattoo Liner remains an all-time cult favorite.

The felt tip applicator allows you to glide on your strokes without much effort, which is great for beginners or anyone who wasn’t born with steady hands. You can easily maneuver it around the lid to get as close to the lash line as you like.

Another plus? The formula is so resistant and long lasting, it literally stayed put during a freaking car accident.

The cons: Some beauty aficionados claim the eyeliner dries out too fast. And despite its rich color payoff and smudge-free formula, we’d argue there are blacker eyeliners out there, so if you’re looking for the blackest of black eyeliners, maybe skip this one.

Perversion Waterproof Fine-Point Eyeliner by Urban Decay

Why we love it: This free flowing pen applies like a market and lets you draw a consistent line. Plus, the formula delivers waterproof coverage and is paraben-free and cruelty-free, too.

Looking for the blackest shade of black on the market? Try the Perversion eyeliner by Urban Decay. Designed with a cartridge system that consistently keeps the tip saturated with ink, this eyeliner glides on effortlessly and leaves behind pigmented black lines with just a quick swipe.

The flexible brush lets you can create ultra-sharp flicks without tugging your eye. And unlike other eyeliners that turn gray after a few hours, this one stays deeply black and intact throughout the day, whether you hit the gym or have a full-blown cry sesh. It also doesn’t bleed or feather, according to most reviews.

The cons: The formula is so long lasting, you might see some traces of eyeliner even after you wipe off your makeup.

Liquid EyeLiner by Honest Beauty

Why we love it: The formula isn’t waterproof per se, but it performs like one as it doesn’t smudge or transfer, even during the summer. The delicate tip is not too thin or too thick to maneuver which makes it great for newbies or anyone who hates spending more than 1 minute doing their eyeliner.

The formula in this budget-friendly eyeliner allows for a ton of versatility, whether you like thick and defined wings, a barely-there flick or you love to diffuse your liner. You can pretty much use it to create almost any look.

Unlike most liquid eyeliners, this one doesn’t dry too fast, which is great for anyone who hates sharp lines and prefers to smudge their eyeliner. According to reviews, you have about 30 seconds before it sets and about a minute if you drew a thicker line. But once it sets, it can stay on for up to 8 hours.

And even though this eyeliner is made out of plant-derived ingredients, it’s still super pigmented. Thanks to the flexible tip applicator, it also glides on smoothly, leaving an intense shade of ultra-pigmented black color that doesn’t have any blue or gray undertones.

The cons: A few reviewers have claimed it doesn’t work for those with watery eyes and it could potentially travel down your face if it gets wet.

Glam’Eyes Professional Liquid Eyeliner, by Rimmel

Why we love it: It lets you draw the most precise and crisp lines that won’t smudge, even if it rains or you accidentally rub your eyes. It’s also really cheap and delivers a jet-black shade of black that’s not too glossy.

Glam’Eyes Professional Liquid Eyeliner might be super budget-friendly, but it’s just as pigmented as other higher-end counterparts.

It comes with a super-thin and long calligraphy tip, which can be a little intimidating at first. But after you practice a few times, you’ll be able to create razor-sharp wings. And if you’re into the inner corner eyeliner trend, the tiny applicator will let you draw the thinnest possible line in the inner corners of your eyes, which is hard to do with felt tip eyeliners which tend to feather around the tear duct area.

You can get creative with your cat-eye thickness and keep it as dramatic or as thin as you want. If you don’t have a ton of eyeliner experience, use the fine applicator to map out the shape of your cat eye wing, dot by dot, and fill in the empty spots next. Much like the other eyeliners on this list, Rimmel’s Glam’Eyes stays put all day and doesn’t smudge.

The cons: If you’re working with loose skin and fine lines, this eyeliner might be too matte for you, so opt for a cream-based eyeliner like Physicians Formula Eye Booster, ($11.49). It’s enriched with serum peptides that condition the skin around the eyes.