Gel Liner Showdown: MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack vs. Stila Smudgepot in Black

Hello dearies! I have a lot of work to do but I took a quick break to post this entry LOL! I love gel liners. I don't know why haha. That's why I bought both Stila Smudgepots and MAC Fluidline. I put both to the test to show you which withstood more. I'll also reveal which one is my favorite.

First let's go look at the product. The Stila Smudgepot you see here is not the full size. It's the mini size I got as part of a set. The full size of the Stila Smudgepot is bigger than the MAC Fluidline that you can see on your left.

MAC Fluidline: P1,100

Stila Smudgepot Full size: P695 (I'm not sure as I bought this from Ebay)

Packaging: I find that MAC has better plastic, since Stila's plastic cover is made of thin plastic, as opposed to MAC's cover which is made of thick plastic.

So here are the swatches. MAC Fluidline on the left and Stila Smudgepot on the right.

 

As you can see, both liners make a good black, dry fast, although I find that MAC Fluidline is a teeny tiny bit creamier than Stila Smudgepot.

An on to the test. After waiting for both of them to dry, I rubbed both hard with my dry finger. Let's see what happened:

 

As you can see, MAC Fluidline smudged quite badly while Stila Smudgepot smudged just a tiny bit, although it's hard to see in the photo.

I wet both of them through running water:

 

Both showed no change.

Then while they were still wet, I tried rubbing both with my finger.

 

Both smudged a bit, but just a little bit as compared to it's previous state.

So who won? Well, obviously it was my Stila Smudgepot. I've said this a lot of times in Girltalk, Stila is definitely my favorite brand for gel liners! It got everyone beat. Plus it's cheaper than MAC Fluidline but has more product. Yey Stila!

Tip: Right after dipping your brush, close the jar immediately! Or else it will dry up.

To see another eyeliner showdown (Coastal Scents vs. MAC Fluidline), Click here

MAC Fluidline in Dipdown vs. Coastal Scents Gel Liner in Truffle

I was inspired by Nikki's Stila Smudgepots in Black vs. Coastal Scents Gel Liner in True Black post. I decided to do this for a brown color, since I use brown gel liners more often than black because brown gives a softer look. Anyway, for this post, I'm comparing Coastal Scents Gel Liner in Truffle (left) and MAC Fluidline in Dipdown (right).

Seen in the picture below, I swatched a few strips of the CS (left) and the MAC (right).



I waited for 5 minutes for these two brands to dry. Then, I smudged them with my hand. Here is how they looked like:

As you can see, the CS smudged more than the MAC. Although it's not very clear from the picture, my MAC Fluidline smudged as well.

In the next picture, I place my arm under running water.

As you can see, there are no changes in the swatch. Both stayed put.

So, to give a more detailed look at each gel liner, let's break it down one-by-one.

Price: Coastal Scents Gel Liners retail for $6.95 each online, while MAC Fluidline is available locally for P1,100 (approx $22). Unfortunately, though, shipping from Coastal Scents is really expensive. Keep reading to find out how you can order this without the killer shipping fee.

Color: It's not very obvious from the pictures, but I find that MAC Dipdown is a little darker than CS Truffle.

Texture: CS Truffle is creamier than MAC Dipdown.

Smudge Factor: As seen in the picture, CS Truffle smudges more easily than MAC Dipdown. The creaminess of CS Truffle might have something to do with it.

Waterproof Factor: Based on the swatches I did, the waterproof-ness of both are the same. It's pretty hard to remove these with soap and water. A good makeup remover is needed.

So what is the final verdict? Overall, I find that MAC Fluidline works better than me. Although, being really oily and single-lidded, I find that I can't stay absolutely crease-free even with UDPP! Yes, it's that bad!


Tips

• When I use my CS gel liner, I put a fan in front of my face to speed up the drying time.
• If you want to order from CS but don't want to deal with the expensive shipping price, you can order from The Makeup Mix Shop. Go to Toma's blog to find the link (http://www.makeupmasala.com/). I believe that she has a limited supply left so hurry!
• Gel liners dry up right away so be sure to keep the lid tightly closed.

Well, that's all for now! Hope that helped!