On a Roll with MAC Rollerwheel Liquid Eyeliner

I was really excited to try the new Mac Rollerwheel Liquid Liner ($21.00), which was exciting in itself because not much in the beauty world excites me these days. The formula is among the best in shade and longevity; it’s sooo black and so up my alley! It even lasts for a very long time, upwards of 16 hours!

My skin type

I have oily lids, and guess what? My oily lids lost to this formula!

What it’s supposed to do

I honestly only bought this liner because it was fascinating to me. It got me thinking, there’s a thin line between fascinating and gimmicky but this one put me right over that line! The idea is supposed to be “like training wheels for liquid lining.” In the end, I say just take those training wheels off and fall down a few times until you become a pro. What’s the problem, you ask? The wheel. The damn wheel! I imagined I could roll this right over my lash line and get the straightest, blackest line with relative ease. Nah. Didn’t quite happen that way…

How I use it

I bought the shade On a Roll, a very black matte black. As you can see from the photo, there’s a small wheel for application that I thought I could just roll over my lids for a straight, perfect line; not so much. I couldn’t get a straight perfect line to save my life without ending up with liner that was too thick for what I was going for.

What I like about it

I love, love, love the formula! In fact, I went back to try and find a more traditional liquid liner with the exact same formula. You guys! Liquid liner almost always loses the battle against my oily lids. This liner dried down in about a minute to a matte black and did not budge for hours upon hours. Only when I woke up the next morning did I find the liner to have crept away from the inner corners of my eyes. It kind of reminds me of the Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner, or my beloved Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner but better because it’s matte and not vinyl!

I also find this product very innovative. I love the idea, the execution just did not turn out as expected. Mac! Bravo for this! Perhaps others have had better luck?

What could be better

Ditch the wheel. I think it would take loads of practice for me to get this technique down packed. I wasn’t proud of the photo I chose to show of myself with the liner on, but I had to be a realist. I don’t generally have tons of time to apply my eyeliner; this liner kind of just extends that. I don’t have shaky hands, but this liner made me feel like I did. If you are going for the thick, winged liner, this is right up your alley; I didn’t have any luck at all with a skinny line. I’ll also mention that the more you layer on, the more you feel it on your eyes, kind of like false eyelashes.

Joy Factor

On a scale of 1-10, this liner is a 5. The joy comes with the formula but starts to fade upon application. I would love to hear how this liner worked out for someone else!

Where to indulge

-XX