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Though people continue to get vaccinated each day, face masks have continued to leave the focus on our eye makeup, providing the perfect opportunity to try out new looks. Sure, black liner is always an amazing choice, but colorful eyeliners make a bolder statement.
Color truly never goes out of style, so you can upgrade your everyday, neutral eyeliner with a bright pigment or tap into your creativity to experiment with a more complex look. Makeup artists provided ample eye makeup inspiration during the New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2021 season. Bold pigments in funky lines, abstract figures, and beautiful florals decorated models' eyes and cheeks at the Chromat, Eckhaus Latta, and Collina Strada shows.
Creating artful masterpieces, like the stunning creations at Fashion Week, requires the right eyeliner formula, regardless of whether it's an inky liquid, smooth pencil, or silky gel. An opaque pigment that doesn't streak is a must, as well as a long-lasting color that stays puts throughout the day, and an easy-to-use applicator that makes dispensing the product easy. "The most important thing is pigment and that [the eyeliner] easily glides onto the skin," New York City-based makeup artist Delina Medhin explains. "You don't want to use too much pressure on the eye."
Of course, we've got your one-stop shop for all the best formulas and eye-catching shades in pencil, liquid, and gel options. We polled some of our favorite makeup artists and own editors to bring you the best colorful eyeliners for the hot summer days ahead and beyond.
All products featured on Allure are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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What's not to love about the Revlon So Fierce Chrome Ink Liquid Liners? They're thick, metallic, and full of intensity. Only three colors (lilac, dark gray, and bronze) are a part of its lineup, but each shade makes an impact on lids. Its teardrop-shaped applicator is best for lined designs.
If you're a newbie to liquid formulas like these, makeup artist Nick Barose has a few tips for creating a simple cat-eye. He recommends drawing on your wings first, instead of going along your lashline and flicking it outward. "I find it easier to not do one continuous line as it's really hard and can get messy or lopsided that way," he shares.
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Maybelline New York offers a few punchy shades of its Eyestudio Lasting Drama Waterproof Gel Pencil Eyeliner. Our favorites are Silken Turquoise, Glossy Emerald, and Lustrous Sapphire, which look gorgeous on waterlines for a subtle but impactful streak of color. This formula glides on smoothly before drying into a matte or metallic finish that won't budge no matter how much your eyes may tear up.
Barose finds eyeliner pencils, like these, easier to apply than liquid formulas since you don't always need as steady of a hand or super-perfect lines. For the cleanest and crispiest lines, he recommends sharpening the pencil for a precise tip. Also, make sure the pencil isn't old or dry because the lines "can look gloppy and bring out lines on your eyes," Barose adds.
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Makeup artist Mona Leanne loves reaching for the Suva Beauty Hydra Liners when she wants a vibrant neon or pretty pastel shade for a look. They aren't like typical eyeliners — these require water to activate their colorful pigments, like the bright yellow Dance Party or slime green Fanny Pack.
The water-activated liners are available in matte or metallic finishes and select blacklight-activated, glow-in-the-dark ones. You can mix colors together (in a separate container, of course) to create custom shades or alter the liner's texture by adjusting the amount of water to draw nearly limitless designs. If you need some inspiration, check out beauty creator Vanessa Funes' (known as @cutcreaser on Instagram) creative uni-liner and other graphic looks that require this eyeliner formula.
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The Dior Diorshow On Stage Liner took home a Best of Beauty award in 2018 for its impressively long-lasting pigment and high-octane opacity. Four colorful shades — baby blue, pink, green, and burgundy — exist for experimentation. The thin, felt-tip applicator won't drag uncomfortably along lids, so it's great for creating sharp wings, stars, or more intricate detailed designs. All you need is a few flicks of the wrist.
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South Asian-owned brand Kulfi Beauty is a newcomer to the market, officially launching in February 2021 with one product: the Underlined Kajal Eyeliner. These aloe vera- and vitamin E-infused sticks aren't slacking on the color payoff at all, which is part of the reason senior commerce writer Sarah Han loves them, especially the plum shade Purply Pataka. The other reason is that they are "one of the most smudge-proof pencil liners I've ever tried," she shares.
Allure's beauty editor Devon Abelman points out its shade selection is unparalleled. "I've never seen a rusty orange, shimmering maroon, or glittery turquoise like Kulfi's," she says. "Those aren't even colors I typically gravitate toward, but the formula glides on so easily that I constantly find myself including them in my graphic liner looks."
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Halsey shocked and excited fans when she announced the launch of her brand About-Face in January 2021 and proved it wasn't to be played with when the products, especially the Matte Fluid Eye Paints, officially dropped later that month. These liquid pigments are intense with one swipe and available in fun pink, blue, and green hues. Its paddle applicator is great for swiping on the formula on large areas. For better control and precision, an ultra-thin liner brush, like the Sigma Beauty E06 Winged Liner Brush, is best.
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Cargo Swimmables Eye Liner Pencils apply smoother than the creamiest butter on a warm slice of toast. Each pencil can be easily sharpened to a point for sharp wings or rubbed across lids for a bright wash of color. Editorial assistant Gabi Thorne was most impressed by the Swimmables Eye Liner Pencils' smudgeable formula. "Instead of creating a regular wing, I used this eyeliner in the jet-black shade Black Sea and a shadow brush to smoke out the pigment for a bolder eye," she shares. "As I blended out the pencil, I was surprised how seamless and patch-free it was."
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Danessa Myricks is truly a color connoisseur. Her brand's Waterproof Cushion Color doesn't disappoint at all with its electric pigments in shades like the lime green Electric Sun (above) or turquoise Atlantis. Makeup artist Mai Quynh gives it her seal of approval for a few reasons. "I love all the neon colors because they’re vibrant and fun for summer," she shares. "They are also waterproof and long-wearing."
For this liquid formula, she recommends working with an extra-fine eyeliner brush, like the Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine Eye Liner Brush, for detailed work. Abelman, on the other hand, likes dotting on the fluid-like formula with a nail dotting tool to create cute, little flowers.
Raj Shah
The creamy RealHer Eye Am Resilient Metallic Bronze Eyeliner was made for smudging into soft wings. Start with a small line from the center of the lash line to the outer corner, and build up color and intensity. Then, use a dense smudge brush to blend it out farther and into a wing.
We love it so much we added it to our 2021 Allure Beauty Box lineup. You can score the Allure Beauty Box here for access to even more editor favorites — for just $23.
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This 2019 Best of Beauty winner received praise for its 13 impressive shades, pigmented color, and thin, paintbrush-like applicator, which Japanese artisans in the Kumano region construct by hand. Creating neat, graphic designs feels like a walk in the park with Uz Eye Opening Liner's liquid formula, which dries down matte in seconds. The fine brush is perfect for extremely detailed designs or paper-thin lines.
Barose is a fan of the bright tangerine shade simply called Orange. "Wear it alone for summer orange cat eyes or you can trace it on top of brown eyeliner," he says.
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Medhin recommends Lady Gaga's own Haus Labs Eye-Dentify Gel Pencil Eyeliner with its matte and metallic finishes. She's a big fan of the stunning violet Pride and baby blue Priscilla shades. The pencil has 10 other beautiful hues you can draw with.
Lovers of winged liner can combine Empire (shimmery emerald green), Priscilla, and Aura (white) or another three shades together for a dramatic, multi-colored cat-eye that stretches to the temples. For more advanced beauty enthusiasts, try a star- or heart-shaped design with four different shades (perhaps shamrock green Grime, hunter green Hunted, gold Royale, and Empire) that sit on the side of the face.
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We can't tell you exactly how many Allure editors have loved the color options of the ColourPop BFF Liquid Liners, but we can say it's extremely popular among us. The brand didn't disappoint with its five colorful shades — Make Luv (canary yellow), Sky High (sky blue), Try Me (true red), Ducky (pink), Crzy (deep blue), and Chili (fiery red) — and its flexible felt tip that will help you master any sized wing. This less-than-$10 formula that's super pigmented in one swipe really makes it a steal.
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Leanne's go-to colored pencil is the Nyx Professional Makeup Epic Wear Liner Stick. "They have an excellent formula that allows the product to glide on easily, and then, it sets for a long-lasting, 36-hour finish," she shares. Not everyone may be looking for that kind of staying power, but it's a fun fact to keep in mind if you're looking for the right liner to outlast a boozy brunch or long day at the beach.
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Oquendo swears by the Fenty Beauty Flypencil Longwear Pencil Eyeliners, which look outstanding on the waterline or for the '60s mod look that has become trendy again. Among its 12 striking shades to choose from in shimmery and matte finishes, we're partial to the vivid teal Lady Lagoon, unexpected coral hue Spa'Getti Strapz, and bright red Cherry Punk. Its buttery formula wears beautifully throughout the day and can be smudged out before it dries down.
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Abelman has been loving Freck Beauty's Lid Licks lately. With its super-thin brush, you can paint on the four shades (lavender, blue, green, and yellow) in any shape your heart desires. She just so happens to prefer flowers, squiggles, and abstract lines.
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Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencils have an impressive total of 39 shades to select from, providing a few colors that aren't often seen. There's the salmon-colored Whichever Coral, fuchsia All Over Magenta, or the Unlimited Blue, which is surprisingly minty. These sharpenable wood pencils don't have to be limited to just the eyes — they can be used on the cheeks, lips, or brows, too. You'll be well on your way to a monochromatic moment.
We're not sure what strenuous activities require 24-hour waterproof long wear, but L'Oréal Paris fills the need with the creamy Pro-Last Waterproof 24HR Pencil Eyeliner. Smudge one of the six available vibrant hues along the lower lash line paired with a bright matte shadow in the inner corner and some lashes for a quick but simple colorful look.
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