Shu Uemura Painting Liner in Black

This is a loooong over-due post about my now favorite gel liner. I purchased this "painting liner" back in December and just now getting around to sharing my experience with you all. I had always heard/read great things about Shu Uemura's Painting Liners. When my Wet n Wild gel liner started to turn into a hard little ball and was just unusable, I knew I had to start looking for another gel liner. I love gel liners because of their consistency and find them so easy to work with, unless of course they dry up like the Wet n Wild one.

Shu Uemura's painting liners come nestled in a little white box like this. And the gel liner comes in a glass jar which I think is a nice and classy touch. Cosmetics in glass containers/jars have always got an A from me because I always think of glass to be sanitary :)

This gel liner is a true black, like pitch black. Pigmentation is a jaw dropper as you can see on my swatch. Its perfectly creamy consistency is very easy to work with (and I am not expert in lining, believe me!) I would say it takes about 20-30 seconds to fully dry. For me that's plenty of time to perfect my eyeliner. I don't only use my painting liner on my upper lid but also in the water line. When I first watched a short segment about this product in part of a video on Youtube, I was sort of weirded out by the idea of putting something in gel-form in your waterline. When I tried it myself, I was really amazed. I was skeptical that it may burn or sting but nope it's very waterline-friendly.

I am beyond impressed with its staying power on my waterline. Honestly I thought "ahh people are overreacting", I was wrong because it really does last for hours without having to touch up. I am also very happy to report that there is no smudging or collection of product in inner or outer corners. that is always a plus in my book! Since buying it in December, I use it almost daily and by looking at the little pot you can see it will last me a very long time! I love "a little goes a long way" type of products! Yay! :)

I use these two brushes for application. The white, bent one is by Sonia Kashuk (purchased at Target for $5.99) and it's perfect for getting more of a precise line. I love that it's bent so it gives you more control and helps you achieve a cleaner line. The other one is by EcoTools (available at Walgreens as part of 5 piece brush set for $10.99). I use this brush when I want to have a thicker eyeliner and it also helps me a lot with doing a flick at the end.

Verdict? I will definitely repurchase this gel liner. I am so impressed with the quality of this product and the fact that it's made to really last. It is on the pricier side at $22 for .098oz (2.8gr) but it is everything I look for in an eyeliner period. So for me it's worth every penny. It's HG material, hands down. I would also love to try it in different colors as I love me some color on my lower lash line!

What do you think about gel liners? Have you tried Shu Uemura's Painting Liner?