Easy eyeliner for beginners

COVERGIRL Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner has the best record for beginners: 20 of 20 shoppers said it was easy to apply and control, though that rests on a smaller group than Almay All-Day Intense Gel Eyeliner, where 35 shoppers weighed in and 33 of 35 said the same. Pencils, gels, felt-tip pens and liquid liners are ranked together on this page. e.l.f. Intense Ink Eyeliner has the weakest record at 17 of 27, and 40% of its reviews say it dries out fast.

  • 338 store reviews counted
  • Target shoppers
  • Nov 2020 to Sep 2026

Updated . How we count

Was it easy to apply and control? What shoppers said
  1. COVERGIRL Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner 20 said either way
  2. Almay All-Day Intense Gel Eyeliner 35 said either way
  3. Maybelline Hyper Easy Liquid Pen 29 said either way
  4. e.l.f. Expert Liquid Eyeliner 34 said either way
  5. NYX Professional Makeup Epic Wear Liner Stick 23 said either way
  6. e.l.f. Eyeliner Pen 25 said either way
  7. e.l.f. Intense Ink Eyeliner 27 said either way

Share of reviewers who stated an outcome for application. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

COVERGIRL Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner Best record COVERGIRL Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner 20 of 20 say it was easy to apply and control See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

Drying out is a repeat complaint on three of these liners: 40% of e.l.f. Intense Ink Eyeliner reviews, 20% of Maybelline Hyper Easy Liquid Pen reviews and 12% of e.l.f. Eyeliner Pen reviews say it dries out fast.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points reviewers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1 COVERGIRL Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner

COVERGIRL

Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner

Best for easy pencil line

20/20 say it was easy to apply and control

A pencil that all 20 shoppers who weighed in found easy to apply, though that is a smaller group than for the other liners here. 38% say it lasts all day and 19% call it good value, while 8% say it fades and 8% say it smudges.

What buyers praise

  • Lasts all day 38%
  • Good value 19%

What buyers complain about

  • Fades during the day 8%
  • Smudges 8%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 20 of 20
  • Brand site 6 of 8 shown, not counted
2 Almay All-Day Intense Gel Eyeliner

Almay

All-Day Intense Gel Eyeliner

Best for gel with deep color

33/35 say it was easy to apply and control

More shoppers weighed in on this gel than on any other liner here (35), and 33 of 35 said it was easy to apply. 25% like the deep color and 42% say it lasts all day, while 8% mention smudging.

What buyers praise

  • Lasts all day 43%
  • Deep, opaque color 25%
  • Doesn't smudge 18%
  • Gentle on eyes 15%
  • Good value 8%

What buyers complain about

  • Smudges 8%
  • Skips or tugs 5%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 33 of 35
  • Brand site 7 of 7 shown, not counted
3 Maybelline Hyper Easy Liquid Pen

Maybelline

Hyper Easy Liquid Pen

Best for a precise liquid line

26/29 say it was easy to apply and control

Shoppers like the line this liquid pen draws: 30% call it precise and 58% say it is easy to apply. Drying out is the main complaint at 20%, and 3 of 29 reviewers said it was hard to control.

What buyers praise

  • Easy, precise line 30%
  • Lasts all day 20%
  • Good value 15%
  • Deep, opaque color 13%
  • Doesn't smudge 13%

What buyers complain about

  • Dries out fast 20%
  • Smudges 5%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 26 of 29
  • Brand site 3 of 5 shown, not counted
4 e.l.f. Expert Liquid Eyeliner

e.l.f.

Expert Liquid Eyeliner

Best for beginners who like liquid

30/34 say it was easy to apply and control

30 of 34 said this liquid liner was easy to apply, and 10% of its reviews call it good for beginners. 28% praise a precise line, while 4 of 34 found it hard to control and 8% mention smudging.

What buyers praise

  • Easy, precise line 28%
  • Lasts all day 25%
  • Good value 23%
  • Deep, opaque color 10%
  • Good for beginners 10%

What buyers complain about

  • Smudges 8%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 30 of 34
  • Brand site 9 of 9 shown, not counted
5 NYX Professional Makeup Epic Wear Liner Stick

NYX Professional Makeup

Epic Wear Liner Stick

18/23 say it was easy to apply and control

Skipping is the snag with this liner stick: 12% of reviews say it skips or tugs, and 5 of 23 reviewers had trouble using it. Still, 18 of 23 said it was easy to apply and 25% say it lasts all day.

What buyers praise

  • Lasts all day 25%
  • Good value 6%

What buyers complain about

  • Skips or tugs 13%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 18 of 23
  • Brand site 7 of 7 shown, not counted
6

e.l.f.

Eyeliner Pen

19/25 say it was easy to apply and control

A mixed record for this pen: 19 of 25 said it was easy to apply, and 18% call it good value. Complaints are spread out, with 12% saying it dries out, 12% saying it fades and 10% saying it skips.

What buyers praise

  • Deep, opaque color 18%
  • Good value 18%
  • Lasts all day 15%
  • Easy, precise line 13%
  • Easy to remove 8%

What buyers complain about

  • Dries out fast 13%
  • Fades during the day 13%
  • Skips or tugs 10%
  • Smudges 8%
  • Irritates eyes 8%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 19 of 25
  • Brand site 7 of 9 shown, not counted
7

e.l.f.

Intense Ink Eyeliner

17/27 say it was easy to apply and control

This liner has the weakest record here, with 17 of 27 saying it was easy to apply. 40% of its reviews say it dries out fast and 12% say it skips, though 22% call it good value and 12% like the deep color.

What buyers praise

  • Good value 23%
  • Easy, precise line 13%
  • Deep, opaque color 13%
  • Lasts all day 10%
  • Doesn't smudge 8%

What buyers complain about

  • Dries out fast 40%
  • Skips or tugs 13%
  • Fades during the day 8%
  • Smudges 5%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 17 of 27
  • Brand site 7 of 10 shown, not counted

Where these numbers come from

The 7 products ranked here carry 19,630 reviews at Target. We read the newest reviews of each product (up to a thousand per listing), kept the ones that talk about application, and counted up to 40 per product, posted between Nov 2020 and Sep 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Target also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. We show them on product cards but never count them, because brand-site reviews run more positive than store reviews of the same products.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

Skin type, skin tone and age splits use what reviewers chose on Sephora's review form (and age on Ulta's when given). We only show a split when enough reviewers fall on each side.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most reviewers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. COVERGIRL Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner Target (26 reviews counted)
  2. Almay All-Day Intense Gel Eyeliner Target (40 reviews counted)
  3. Maybelline Hyper Easy Liquid Pen Target (40 reviews counted)
  4. e.l.f. Expert Liquid Eyeliner Target (40 reviews counted)
  5. NYX Professional Makeup Epic Wear Liner Stick Target (32 reviews counted)
  6. e.l.f. Eyeliner Pen Target (40 reviews counted)
  7. e.l.f. Intense Ink Eyeliner Target (40 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which eyeliner is easy for beginners?

COVERGIRL Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner has the best record (20 of 20), followed by Almay All-Day Intense Gel Eyeliner (33 of 35) and Maybelline Hyper Easy Liquid Pen (26 of 29). COVERGIRL Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner rests on a smaller group of reviewers, so the longer record for Almay All-Day Intense Gel Eyeliner is worth a look too.

Is pencil, gel or liquid eyeliner easier for a beginner?

A pencil and a gel liner hold the first two places, at 100% and 94%. Liquid liners are close behind, with Maybelline Hyper Easy Liquid Pen at 90% and e.l.f. Expert Liquid Eyeliner at 88%. The same brand can land far apart, though, as e.l.f. Expert Liquid Eyeliner at 88% and e.l.f. Intense Ink Eyeliner at 63% show, so the formula matters as much as the type.

Which eyeliners skip or tug?

Skipping or tugging shows up in 12% of NYX Professional Makeup Epic Wear Liner Stick reviews, 12% of e.l.f. Intense Ink Eyeliner reviews and 10% of e.l.f. Eyeliner Pen reviews. It also comes up for Almay All-Day Intense Gel Eyeliner, at 5% of its reviews.

Is e.l.f. Expert Liquid Eyeliner good for beginners?

Many shoppers think so: 30 of 34 said it was easy to apply, and 10% of its reviews call it good for beginners. 4 of 34 said it was hard to control, and 8% mention smudging.

Related problems

Eyeliner Eyeliner that doesn't skip Top pick: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner Pencil 285 buyer reports Eyeliner Eyeliner for hooded eyes Top pick: Lancôme Idôle Felt Tip Liner 248 buyer reports Eyeliner Eyeliner that doesn't smudge Top pick: Physicians Formula Eye Booster 390 buyer reports Eyeliner Eyeliner that stays on all day Top pick: Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Stick Eyeliner 385 buyer reports

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