The best eyeliner for a makeup novice | Tonymoly Back Gel Eyeliner Review

Some people prefer eye pencils while others - eyeliners. I'm definitely in the 2nd group - eyeliners are my life but because my eyelids are quite tiny and oily, finding a good eyeliner is a hell. I've tried many different eyeliners and usually, none of them worked for me because the brush was too fat or the ink didn't work with my oily eyelids but finally came the day in which the author of Blackliner blog - Inga - recommend me Tonymoly Back Gel Eyeliner.

About Tonymoly

Tonymoly is a brand which is one of the most available and affordable all around the world South Korean brand, you can find Tonymoly's products available at huge drugstore chains but still many of the chains have a small selection of products - only the most iconic products. The version of Back Gel Eyeliner I got is a renew version - with longer 15mm brush and water-proof effect. Eyeliner is available in 6 different shade, I got black #1 shade from Jolse, I also bought #6 on my own but this post is going to be focus on shade #1 since the majority of people usually go for black eyeliners (even if personally I prefer cold toned brown ones).

The brush

The shape of this eyeliner is unique - it has an eyeliner pot and this long "neck" where the brush is hidden. There are people who hate eyeliners in a pot form, I tried liquid ones before, I tried eye pencils and the easiest form for the majority of people I know to apply eyeliner is by using eyeliner in a marker/pen or liquid eyeliner with a brush.  Pots are unpopular but honestly, when I apply makeup on my eyes or I work with eyeliner I find it easier to apply it with a makeup brush or in Tonymoly's eyeliner case - with the brush that you can find with eyeliner. The good thing is that the brush is hidden so you won't lose it and it won't transfer to other products still I recommend you clean the brush after every use. The applicator is quite thin which makes it possible to do a thin line. If you've got a small eyelid or you just like to make it look like you've got lots of eyelashes then this type of brush can be helpful. 

Pot formula

Eyeliners in a pot isn't common, even to this day I barely see them at drugstores but mostly I see them online and in shops for MUAs. What you can find inside the formula? P.S. the eyeliner on a paper works different than on an eyelid, I took a photo on the eyelid below. 

CI 77499, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Isododecane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Ceresin, Caprylyl Methicone, Talc, Ultramarines, Silica Silylate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Propylene Carbonate, Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, BHT, Butylparaben

I've checked the ingredients with HwaHae app since it looked more up to date source than Cosdna. CI 77499 is a black pigment. There are some emollients like Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Cyclopentasiloxane,  Isododecane, Cyclohexasiloxane and Caprylyl Methicone, their role in this formula is to make the product spread on the eyelid easier. Ceresin is probably my favourite ingredient - not really, you don't even want to know how many exams related to Ceresin my chemistry in cosmetology teacher did this year. But back to the ingredient, in this formula, Ceresin makes the formula thick and stable. Talc makes the formula absorb the oil so the line isn't shiny but it stays matte on the eyelid, same with Silica Silylate. Ultramarines are blue pigments as well as they can be green, purple, red or yellow. Disteardimonium Hectorite is a stabilizer, Triethoxycaprylylsilane is a coating ingredient then we've got solvent - Propylene Carbonate. Tonymoly also gave us 2 interesting ingredients: Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil and Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil - macadamia and grapefruit oils. Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil is a moisturizing oil full in vitamins such as A, E and B. Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil is an antioxidant and oily emollient, both of them give us a tiny eyecare while using a product. BHT is a preservative and some people are scared of it, I won't tell you it's good or bad because I'm not a person that can tell you this, I didn't read any researches about BHT and I believe it's better to tell you that straight than use some weird source and base my opinion on the source that might not be true but the ingredient after BHT - Butylparaben, people are scared of parabens - you can see that paraben, in this case, is the last ingredient so you can figure out how much of it you can find in the product and many sources that come from researchers tell us that parabens aren't as scary as media made them. I won't tell you to change your mind if you think that it's better for you to avoid BHT or Butylparaben - it's your choice. We have to remember that Tonymoly is an affordable brand - a product that costs less than $8 won't have "eco" ingredients because it would bring the company a money loss if they would also check sources of the ingredients and used only the ethical ones - if you really go for green cosmetics please keep in mind that some green brands aren't green at all but some can sell you some marketing hoaxes. 

My reaction and pigmentation

I can admit that makeup ingredients aren't my favourite since you can always find ingredients that you might not like. Makeup products for eye areas are the type of products which I won't tell you if they can give you an allergic reaction or not - personally, I had none of them while using it but each body is different and usually when a client comes to me I prefer to ask about allergies and makeup brands they use so I kinda know which brands I can go for but I'm never 100% sure if the product will or won't sensitize the skin of the client or even mine. I had no reaction that's why I keep using this product. The product is easy to apply and make a straight line - obviously, even my hands shake a bit, sometimes my eyelid just automatically goes up or down but sometimes we can easily fix histories like this. The most important thing is pigmentation, some pot eyeliners have weak pigmentation and I can't see them on my oily eyelid - this one has an intensive black pigment with matte finishing. 

Does this eyeliner transfer?

I guess we all use eyeliner as a last step before we add eyelashes to our makeup (use mascara or mascara and then add fake eyelashes). I'm so lazy that I don't do additional steps and if I put a very thick line on my eyelid because I'm so tired or in a hurry that I can't do a good thin line then yes but that's a fault of my anatomy and I believe that people with certain eye types will have a similar problem - if you've got eyelid that is cover under the skin or a bone when you open the eye then you'll know my pain. Funny enough my neighbours called me panda because even if I don't have a black eyeliner on my eyelid I use mascara and because my eyelashes are straight so if I add mascara to make them look longer my eyelashes usually transfer with eye motion. But this doesn't happen every day, if I don't use neutral/base eyeshadow on my eyelid or any eyeshadow on my eyelid the eyelid is bit oily and the eyeliner and mascara transfers but if there's a base - not really. So to sum up, it's all about how thick the line is and depends on your anatomy but also on base makeup under the eyeliner and under the eyebrow. 

Is it really waterproof?

You see, it's not easy to remove this eyeliner and it stays on my eyelids longer than for example Zoeva (which is a total mess) but I wouldn't say it's a waterproof formula - it's easy to remove the eyeliner after the entire day, it smudges a bit if you use it straight onto cushion/concealer instead of eyeshadow base. 

How to make a perfect eyeliner line?

There's no one perfect recipe to eyeliner line but usually, you should start from the middle of the eyelid and go to the outer corner of the eye then add inner corner. If you want a wing eyeliner - I always put a thin line with an eyeliner brush first but I use eyeshadow instead of eyeliner first and look at how my lower eyelid meets the upper one, then I put a delicate wing but obviously I like to do fun things like going with my puppy eyes (yep, I've got downturned eyelid so naturally, I should do puppy eye makeup but in Europe you probably won't see people do this) or just do overdrawn eyelids in which I don't look well sometimes but it's good to experiment before you find a style that fits your type of beauty but also your style. If you mess up don't worry - you can always remove it with micellar water and concealer and go over with eyeliner once again. If you've never tried eyeliner before, instead of using colourful eyeshadows over the eye, go for base eyeshadow and put a line on it - it'll be easier to fix a line. There's also a trick with the brush or tape, I don't like the tape one but brush one is really useful - just stick your brush to the nose corner and eyebrow and you should see a wing line. 

How to set an eyeliner to make it work for the entire day?

Small tricks - use base eyeshadow (beige or white) over the eyelid and then use black eyeshadow over the black eyeliner, it should make the eyeliner stay in place a bit longer. On a photo, I didn't use the black eyeshadow layer over the eyeliner, there's only a base colour. 

Is tonymoly eyeliner worth its price?

4g of Tonymoly Back Gel Eyeliner costs normally $9.57 on Jolse, but at the moment I made this post it cost $7.66. It's quite an affordable price - I got some cheaper but also more expensive eyeliners before and it's definitely one of my favourites. I'm also aware that I'm not the only person who likes this eyeliner since Inga from Blackliner blog is also a fan of it. 

Do you use eyeliner? What's the most complicated step of makeup for you?

More: BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST

*** This post was made in collaboration with Jolse, even though it still shows my personal opinion on the topic and product**