Urban Mermaid - Urban Decay Razor Sharp Long-wear Liquid Eyeliner Demo

Urban Decay is launching 20 shades of colored liquid liners, which will replace the existing 24/7 range. And they are great fun for color lovers, especially if you like experimenting with different graphic liner looks.

Urban Decay Razor Sharp Long-wear Liquid Eyeliners in Street (deep matte teal) and Deep End (bright metallic teal)

I do need to check if those ultra-fine, short brush tips really give better control (and razor sharp flicks) so I put these to the test.

I decided to play with two teals in the range today - Street, a dark blackened non-shimmery teal, and a paler, brighter metallic teal blue shade, Deep End. The challenge was to not only do a double-winged look but to do ultra-fine lining.

What I did was apply the dark color first to the outer corners, extending into a low medium-length wing, at a low angle. Then I applied the metallic bright teal like a regular winged flick from inner corners out to a curved, upward-point.

Then I finished by using the darker shade to very lightly line the bottom of the paler flick. This step is optional (and frankly a bit tricky) but helps to make the lighter flick stronger and more visible. You can skip this honestly but I just wanted to test that brush! And thankfully it worked out pretty well.

I also used MAC Wedge in the socket as transition color, and a KATE Tokyo Monochrome Shine palette in GN-1, a khaki/olive quad on the lids. You need 2-3 pale to smoky olive greens but the shadow look itself is pretty simple. Go light to dark from inside to outside of the lids, and run the darkest shade along the socket for some definition.

Honestly, you can do this with any number of color combinations in the new eyeliner range. I swatched 18 shades out of the 20 (2 were not available during the preview), and there is everything from matte black and white to a range of metallic and sparkly shades. 

A hot pink and bright purple are missing from the line-up!

My favorites, aside from the two used in the demo, are Space Cowboy (sparkly beige), Zodiac (duochrome brown with green sparkles), Dark Force (metallic chocolate), as well as good ol' black Perversion.

These are very long-wearing, and the brush tips are made slightly shorter but with very soft bristles, so that you get more control and less splaying without feeling like the brush is stabbing you.

I have to say not all the colors are very opaque. In fact, most of the metallics need to be layered for intensity, which is probably the result of the type of chunkier, more sparkly pigments they used. Those tend to make many liquid makeup products sheerer by nature. You get a more visible sparkle but you need to layer. The mattes are pretty opaque though, which is probably what is needed from shades like black, white, dark cocoa.

Once they set they really set though. I don't have oily lids so I cannot attest to their durability under oil, but these are not easy to remove even with a bifacil oil-and-water remover and cotton pad. Don't assume you will be able to get these off with a simple baby wipe! They almost feel like tubing mascaras, and the dried liner peels off (rather than melting) when you rub during cleansing. The good news is they are more likely to stay on for most of the day and don't run with tears or just water.

Some of my favorite tricks for working with colorful liners:

• Wear a matte eye look with a bright metallic liner for a subtle texture contrast
• If you are wearing a paler liquid liner, a deep shadow around the outer corners helps the liner to stand out where you extend it into a flick
• Metallic shades in the range can be blended out while wet and used as ultra-lasting shadow bases
• Stack two liners by using a darker shade along the lash line, and a lighter or brighter one right above and/or overlapping it for a fun double-color twist
• Start with one shade on the inner corners, then transition halfway to another color for the outer halves. patting the two colors together slightly for a nice ombre look

Razor Sharp Long-wear Liquid Eyeliners will launch in Singapore on 1 Sep at all Sephoras and Urban Decay counters for $35.