MAC Fluidline gel eyeliners (in Blacktrack and Shade): A Review

MAC gel eyeliners were my very first MAC purchases. I remember thinking this purchase over and over (and over and over and over and then some) before finally deciding to get one. If I remember correctly, one pot costs a little more than a thousand pesos (which I believe justifies why I had to think this over and over and over and then some J) back In 2007. A beauty site (now defunct) that I used to follow gave this a lot of thumbs up. She said that gel eyeliners are the perfect way to line the eyes without pulling or tugging on the lids. Before I discovered gel eyeliners, pencil liners were my thing. And I had to agree with the author of the beauty site; no matter how smooth and pigmented the eyeliner is, no matter how adept I am at lining, and no matter how light my touch is, invariably I can always feel some pressure and tugging on my lids when I line. 

image taken from http://www.thedownlow.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/mac-fluidline1.jpg 

And so I decided to purchase one. And I’ve never regretted it (well, the price still makes me cringe even though I’m a working professional already when I bought it).

If memory serves me right, MAC is the second company to release gel eyeliners. The first one to release this type of product was the artist Bobbi Brown for her namesake line. Although both are owned by Estee Lauder. I dithered between buying from either brand but MAC won in the end because their gel liner was (relatively) cheaper.

Gel eyeliners come in small pots. MAC's version comes in a heavy duty glass pot (and I do mean heavy duty; I dropped mine on my big toe accidentally once and it was horribly painful) and contains a generous 3 grams of the product. It doesn’t come with a lining brush, so you’ll have to purchase those. I wouldn’t call the consistency of the product as a gel, but more of a dense, slightly hardened whipped cream.

This type of eyeliner provides intense color. The best lining product to compare this to is liquid eyeliner. It gives a dense, crisp line but is easier to work with. I have a few seconds to fix smudges before the product ‘sets’. And when it does, it’s immovable and lasts the whole day. I have oily skin and I find that the product stays perfectly applied until I get home. Mind you, it does fade a bit as the day wears on but not enough that I needed to retouch. Removing this requires oil or silicone based makeup remover, otherwise, I’ll have icky bits and pieces left on my lids and lashes when I wake up the morning after.

My most used gel liners are Blacktrack and Shade. 

Blacktrack is, well, black. J No frills, no nonsense, deep black. I use this one the most as it goes well with any type of eyeshadow and eye design.

My second favorite is Shade. I’ve forgotten how MAC describes this, but to my eye this is a rich, deep, pine green color. And believe it or not, I find that it goes well with almost every eyeshadow color. I’ve used this with taupes, browns, golds, even pinks. Though I have yet to try if this will work with purple. The thing that sets this apart from Blacktrack is that it’s deep enough to define the eye, but has enough color punch that I still see it as green. In fact, my eyes look brown with this on, not dark brown. 

Below are a few pictures of me with 'Shade' on my eyes. The first one is with a coppery, brownish-red eye shadow: (Note: All pictures are clickable to enlarge.)

Here it is on my lashline. Notice how dark it is, but still different from black?

A semi-closed eye picture; you'll see only a hint of the dark green.

Now, there it is in all its 'pine green' glory! (My eyes look very brown here.)

This second batch of pictures is 'Shade' paired with silver and gunmetal colors:

See that subtle green line when my eyes are open?

I lined it a bit more thickly here, so you can see it when I look down (as compared to the first batch).

Again, looking up, you see the dark green in all its glory. =)

Admittedly, as you may have noticed in my first few lines, this product is a splurge. I’m not sure how much it goes for now, but it might be P1,250.00 or higher. But it’s worth it to me. The Blacktrack that I have has been with me for 3+ years and the Shade for 2+ years and I still have a lot left. I may get one more year from Blacktrack before I ‘retire’ it. Oh, and one last thing that I love about it is that with the right brush, this is one of the few eye products perfect for the technique called ‘tight lining’. (Ah, but that technique will be another post.)