Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner - surprise! surprise!
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free skin care · Wed Mar 18, 2009 5:54 am

After reading about Bobbi Brown's Long Wear Gel Eyeliner on this forum, I bought it and have used it daily for the last 8 months or so. I absolutely loved it! It stays on soooo well and is easy to apply. I could even put it on my lower, inner lids, and it would stay on! Oddly, I hadn't noticed the timing, and that my eyes have been more aggravated, red, and irritated during the period I've used this eyeliner. I attributed this to my history of eye problems, including chronic dry eyes. Coincidentally, my "eye problems" took a turn for the worse in the last 8 months, to the point I've rarely been able to wear my contacts anymore. A few weeks ago I got sick and didn't wear eye makeup for about 10 days and my eyes looked and felt fabulous. When I finally decided to put eye liner on to go out, I just happen to reach for my old Lancombe eyeliner pencil. Wow... my eyes weren't bloodshot or uncomfortable or irritated. Then I put my contacts in and prepared myself for my usual bloodshot, aggravated eyes. Nope, eyes were fine!!! Ok, that's when I finally realized, it has been my favorite BB Eyeliner, that has been sending my eyes into a tizzy. Just thought I would share this and wondered if this happened to anyone else??

free skin care · Wed Mar 18, 2009 6:09 am

I admit that a lot of people like Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner, which is supposed to be very long lasting. But, however, after trying this product for 2 times, I found that this is not as good as liquid eye liner.
I purchased two colors- black and brown. But I was a little disappointed with it.

free skin care · Wed Mar 18, 2009 9:59 am

Wow that stinks. One thought that comes to mind is do you wash your liner brush often? I know with face brushes I've had breakouts because I didnt wash my brushes often enough (I do now though). I always wash my eye liner brush after every use, I just use the hand soap at the sink.

BB gel liner is awesome. Maybe you could try a different brand of gel liner. I also like Paula's Choice but the color selection is very limited.

free skin care · Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:08 am

I compared MAC and BB. BB's more moisturizing and MAC is more waterproof.
For price, obviously MAC wins.
And for me, I prefer BB because it's so easy to apply but actually I bought 3 MAC and 2 BB...

free skin care · Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:45 am

I went to Michael's Craft Supply Store and bought some fabulous very fine paint brushes to apply the eyeliner. Always washed whichever size I used, immediately after applying, since the brush would stiffen and be un-usable with remnants of liner on it. There is something in the gel liner that is bad bad bad!--at least for my eyes Rolling Eyes

Too bad...cuz I really liked the stuff!

free skin care · Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:08 pm

I bought some and loved it at first, however I did find that it started to dry up after a few months, but maybe that was normal?

free skin care · Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:12 pm

stephanie128 wrote:

I bought some and loved it at first, however I did find that it started to dry up after a few months, but maybe that was normal?

My gel liners have lasted a long time. But they are sensitive air, you really need to close the cap tight.

free skin care · Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:17 pm

MAC is of lower price~ i think the same result~
it's better to get more colors with the same amount of money~~ my opinion

free skin care · Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:23 pm

Mountaingirl, it is so disappointing when a product you love ends up not loving your back!
I had a similar reaction recently with Lancome Hypnose mascara and eyeshadow base. They both looked great on and did the job they said they would do, but my eyelids started getting puffy and itchy with use and my eyes also got super sensitive and red...not so good. So, sadly I moved on and ditched an almost full tube of Hypnose.

As for the cream/gel eyeliner...I have had great luck with Stila Smudge Pots. I have the navy and brown and both colours are great with my brown eyes and the product is very long lasting. I haven't had a reaction of any sort to either colour. Good luck in your search for a replacement product!

free skin care · Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:41 am

wylone wrote:

MAC is of lower price~ i think the same result~
it's better to get more colors with the same amount of money~~ my opinion

For eye liner gels, color is not so important because people always can not figer out the differences between them.
Mac eye liner gel can not keep as long as BB's, that's why I did not pick MAC at the first time.

free skin care · Thu Mar 19, 2009 2:55 am

Even though I always kept the cap on, the BB gel liner DOES dry out with time and gets progressively harder to use. I talked to salesgirl at the BB counter in my local Dept Store about "reviving" it but she had no suggestions. What I ended up doing that made it like new again, was stirring it smooth with a toothpick. Totally changed the consistency. Anyway, where do you buy Stila???

free skin care · Thu Mar 19, 2009 3:59 am

I used to use the BB gel liner and didn't have a problem with it. However, I now use the Mirenesse gel liner and think it's even better than the BB - plus its much cheaper. Perhaps you could try it as a replacement.

Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:21 am

I havn't any problem neither

free skin care · Thu Mar 19, 2009 11:34 am

Huh, this actually makes sense.. I've been having the same problem and I can't wear contacts anymore except for once or twice a month for special occasions, but I always attributed the irritation to Lumigan and contacts Think

Well, that's a bummer!

free skin care · Thu Mar 19, 2009 5:45 pm

mountaingirl wrote:

Even though I always kept the cap on, the BB gel liner DOES dry out with time and gets progressively harder to use. I talked to salesgirl at the BB counter in my local Dept Store about "reviving" it but she had no suggestions. What I ended up doing that made it like new again, was stirring it smooth with a toothpick. Totally changed the consistency. Anyway, where do you buy Stila???

Sephora has a pretty wide selection of Stila products. You can also find it at some beauty boutiques (Gloss Beauty Bar in Victoria, BC and BeautyMark in Vancouver come to mind)--and I've also seen it online, albeit an edited selection, at the ShoppingChannel.ca
Good luck and happy shopping!

free skin care · Thu Mar 19, 2009 6:14 pm

i am using both brown and black right now ,got them from the Hong Kong airway, very good product!~and very cheap as well. small brush and 2 gel liner together is 50usd

free skin care · Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:55 am

Compared MAC and BB. BB's more moisturizing and MAC is more waterproof,but MAC is cheaper than BB.

free skin care · Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:23 pm

Thanks for the tip Mountaingirl. I just tried it with my gel eyeliner, and it is now much easier to apply.

free skin care · Fri Apr 17, 2009 2:36 am

I love the Eyeliner and othder makeup of the brand~

free skin care · Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:18 pm

mountaingirl wrote:

Even though I always kept the cap on, the BB gel liner DOES dry out with time and gets progressively harder to use. I talked to salesgirl at the BB counter in my local Dept Store about "reviving" it but she had no suggestions. What I ended up doing that made it like new again, was stirring it smooth with a toothpick. Totally changed the consistency. Anyway, where do you buy Stila???

Thanks! I was just going to ask the question "What do you do when it gets hard in the pot?" Both of mine are like that. I love the violet color I have - works very nicely with blue eyes and I thought I'd be giving it the ceremonious toss! Well, off to get a toothpick and give it a go.

free skin care · Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:43 am

wylone wrote:

MAC is of lower price~ i think the same result~
it's better to get more colors with the same amount of money~~ my opinion

+1
i love MAC.we don't have BB counter here,so when i shopped at portland last year,i bought too many little pretty things from them and kind regret now.not bad result,just as good as MAC, but cost way more.

free skin care · Sun Apr 19, 2009 11:31 am

wylone wrote:

MAC is of lower price~ i think the same result~
it's better to get more colors with the same amount of money~~ my opinion

Agree. I used to use BB, and then found MAC is of the same result and lower price.

free skin care · Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:15 pm

chenhui wrote:

Compared MAC and BB. BB's more moisturizing and MAC is more waterproof,but MAC is cheaper than BB.

i thought these two are both water proof. and yeah, bb's is more smooth than mac

free skin care · Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:28 pm

mountaingirl wrote:

After reading about Bobbi Brown's Long Wear Gel Eyeliner on this forum, I bought it and have used it daily for the last 8 months or so. I absolutely loved it! It stays on soooo well and is easy to apply. I could even put it on my lower, inner lids, and it would stay on! Oddly, I hadn't noticed the timing, and that my eyes have been more aggravated, red, and irritated during the period I've used this eyeliner. I attributed this to my history of eye problems, including chronic dry eyes. Coincidentally, my "eye problems" took a turn for the worse in the last 8 months, to the point I've rarely been able to wear my contacts anymore. A few weeks ago I got sick and didn't wear eye makeup for about 10 days and my eyes looked and felt fabulous. When I finally decided to put eye liner on to go out, I just happen to reach for my old Lancombe eyeliner pencil. Wow... my eyes weren't bloodshot or uncomfortable or irritated. Then I put my contacts in and prepared myself for my usual bloodshot, aggravated eyes. Nope, eyes were fine!!! Ok, that's when I finally realized, it has been my favorite BB Eyeliner, that has been sending my eyes into a tizzy. Just thought I would share this and wondered if this happened to anyone else??

From all that I've read, you aren't supposed to put eyeliner on the inside part of your lower lid.

Perhaps that is why you are having eye problems.

Edit: in fact, I'm pretty sure I read that in Bobbi Brown's book!

Fri Dec 23, 2011 4:31 am

mountaingirl wrote:

After reading about Bobbi Brown's Long Wear Gel Eyeliner on this forum, I bought it and have used it daily for the last 8 months or so. I absolutely loved it! It stays on soooo well and is easy to apply. I could even put it on my lower, inner lids, and it would stay on! Oddly, I hadn't noticed the timing, and that my eyes have been more aggravated, red, and irritated during the period I've used this eyeliner. I attributed this to my history of eye problems, including chronic dry eyes. Coincidentally, my "eye problems" took a turn for the worse in the last 8 months, to the point I've rarely been able to wear my contacts anymore. A few weeks ago I got sick and didn't wear eye makeup for about 10 days and my eyes looked and felt fabulous. When I finally decided to put eye liner on to go out, I just happen to reach for my old Lancombe eyeliner pencil. Wow... my eyes weren't bloodshot or uncomfortable or irritated. Then I put my contacts in and prepared myself for my usual bloodshot, aggravated eyes. Nope, eyes were fine!!! Ok, that's when I finally realized, it has been my favorite BB Eyeliner, that has been sending my eyes into a tizzy. Just thought I would share this and wondered if this happened to anyone else??

Hi mountaingirl, reading your post I realized that my suspicions about my use of BB gel liner might be justified... After wearing contacts for more than 12 years without an issue, I was forced to abandon contact lenses because of a keratitis (among the symptoms are dry, red, irritated eyes). The thing is, a few months before, I had started using daily my BB gel liner and applying it also into my upper waterline. I quit doing that immediately when I foud out about the keratitis but even now that I don't apply it on the waterline, its seems to be bad as my eye problem currently goes on. Maybe because I apply it very close to my lashline (I don't want to have a blank space between lashes and the liner)... plus, now all of my makeup - even BB gel liner - smears, maybe due to my eye condition...
Before that eye issue, I did use the gel liner on a regular basis, alternating with the eyeshadows as a liner, and everything was fine. I had no smearing problems with BB gel liners nor powder liners. Now they do smear really really bad. I really affects my self-confidence, as I really need to wear something on my lashline because my lashes are so fine and sparse... plus I have hooded eyes :,-(
I'm going to try to stop using gel liners for a week and see what happens next... Anyway, thanks for sharing your story !

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