Review: Secret Key Secret Kiss Twinkle Waterproof Gel Pencil Liner in Deep Black & Holika Holika Jewel Light Waterproof Eyeliner in #10

I'm not sure about you guys, but eyeliners have never really been a big must-have product for me. Most likely because of how oily my eye lids can get, and how precision isn't something I'm all too well at :( 

Today I'll be talking about a certain type of eyeliner that I'm slowly starting to fall in love with: the gel type- in pencil form! 

Secret Key: Secret Kiss Twinkle Waterproof Gel Pencil Liner- Deep Black

The first eyeliner is by Secret Kiss. To be honest, I'm not familiar with this brand at all, so when I received it in January's Memebox, I was curious and excited at the same time. The index card claims that this liner retails for $8 for a 1.2g pencil.

I was super confused with this liner at first. It's a sturdy plastic that feels nothing like your traditional eyeliners from wooden pencils. I wasn't sure if it was an auto pencil or the typical sharpening type.

I probably tried to twist the end of this liner for a good minute before giving up and realizing this was definitely not an auto pencil haha. It surely looks like one and feels like one though!

The only off-putting thing about this liner for me is the fact that there are multicoloured glitters in it. :( Granted, the glitters are quite small and aren't noticeable unless you're extremely close to the face; but I do notice that the glitters tend to create some fall out as I end up with shimmers on my cheeks at the end of the day. Everything else about this liner is essentially perfect! It's insanely creamy and pigmented to a point where you can control the color payoff just by how much pressure you apply. Layering this liner is extremely easy too, it dries matte and reapplying it doesn't cause any extra tugging. My recommendation to fully get a maximum wear out of this liner is to apply it to dry and oil-free eyelids- or lids that have been primed. Putting any sort of eye makeup on slick skin is a definite no-no in terms of longevity, even if it claims to be water/smudge proof! Also, if you're the type to enjoy a more smudged out/smokier look from pencil liners- work fast! These gel pencil liners set pretty quickly, and once they do, the smudge might be more flaky instead.

(Water/smudge test photos are placed at the end of this post!) 

Available Here:
Unfortunately, I can't find any of the single liners anywhere online so here are a few links that sell them in limited edition tins that come in multiple colors!

1. Memebox: Gel Liner Rose Edition @ $24.00
2. Korea Depart: Special Edition #5 @ $13.66
3. eBay (gyshop1): Gel Liner Rose Edition @ $19.49

Holika Holika Jewel Light Waterproof Eyeliner in #10 

Not knowing too much about Holika Holika besides their famous Aqua Petit BB Cream, (that I covet and yet to own!) I decided that my first product from them should be a makeup essential that every girl, should own. A natural and chocolate-y brown liner needed to join my makeup collection!

Shopping online is always a risk- especially because swatched photos can never guarantee the exact shade of color the product actually is. I wasn't all too sure if this liner had glitters in it or not- but decided that for around $5, it wouldn't hurt to test it out either way.

In comparison to the Twinkle liner, this Holika Holika one is much more "sticky". The first application of it on the eye is pretty smooth in comparison to traditional liners; but definitely not has creamy as Secret Key's. It also has a little bit of tugging if you were to reapply to create a smokier and smudged out look. The pigmentation of it is quite nice, but because it's a lot drier, it's not as prominent as Secret Key's, and it's strange because I find it to smudge more easily too. Nonetheless, the wearing power of both liners are great, especially because I don't ever prime my lids when I wear these! I can easily get 8 hours of wear out of these liners without any major smudging or weird creasing.

Available Here:

1. HonestSkin @ $6.00 - all products an extra 30% until the 31st!
2. BeautyNet Korea @ orig. $5.47, now $4.93
3. KocoColor @ $4.99
4. Cosmetic Jolse @ orig. $5.90, now $4.93

Smudge Test

As you can see, both liners do smudge just the teeniest bit- but only when lots of pressure and effort is applied. Hopefully, this type of pressure isn't something you would ever use to wipe your eyes with lol! I personally think that the Twinkle liner is better when it comes to smudging. 

Water & Smudge Test 

In terms of being water proof or not, for the most part, I think both liners are able to withstand water quite well, especially the Holika Holika one. I think it's safe to say that a non waterproof pencil/pen would've been smudged and sliding down your face compared to this.

As previously mentioned, I've never really been into eyeliners before, the only kind that I ever remotely enjoyed were the liquid felt-tip type, which offered clean lines and accuracy, but always seemed too harsh and unnatural. I think it's safe to say that gel pencil liners might not offer the same precision, but the pigmentation and longevity of them are just as good! Not only that, but they're also more natural looking, and can be slightly smudged for a more natural or smoky look. :)  

Thanks for reading! Until next time!

Catherine xo