Maybelline eye studio lasting drama gel eyeliner:
Price: $7.94 at walmart
Color: I got this in blackest black. Like the name, it is very black.
Performance: It went on nice and creamy. It did take a good few minutes to "set" or "dry", which was personally a little annoying because I curl my eyelashes after I put on my eyeliner and I get close to the base of my eyelashes, and if my eyeliner hasn't dried then the eyelash curler can rub up against the eyeliner and actually smear it off. It stayed on pretty well but if you were oily or got water on it, it could smear a little.
Extra things to consider: it comes with a brush, which is actually pretty decent. I was able to do winged eyeliner with it. Obviously it isn't exactly the best brush, but everyone has different preferences for brushes and this one isn't too bad if you're new to gel eyeliner and don't feel like going and buying a separate brush.
Mac fluidline:
Price: $16.00 U.S.
Color: I got this in blacktrack. It's actually a soft black when compared to other black eyeliners I have. I know that a lot of people prefer their eyeliner to be as black as possible so this could be a potential downfall.
Performance: It was nice and creamy going on like the maybelline one, but maybe a little thicker. It dried fast when you put it on, which in my opinion is good - who wants to wait for their eyeliner to dry? It also stayed really well.
Overall verdict: I bought the mac one because I was wondering if it was better, and also my maybelline gel eyeliner actually dried up in the pot before I could finish the whole pot (I ended up buying a new one). I wondered if the mac one wouldn't dry up so I could use the entire thing. Turns out, it dried up too. It seems like it's a common thing among gel eyeliners for them to dry up before you can use the whole thing. I've read about how you can add eye drops to your gel eyeliner and mix it around to make it not so dry and thick anymore, so I'll probably end up trying that. Anyway, recently the number of drugstore gel eyeliners has been at an all-time high so while the mac one is pretty good I'll be exploring my other drugstore options before running out to repurchase mac fluidline anytime soon. If you really want your eyeliner to set fast and stay in place and don't mind that the mac one isn't a really dark black, then you might go with the mac.
