Chanel Longwear Intense Cream Eyeliner Review

March 24, 2018

Finding anything waterproof is such a pain.

I have oily lids and my contact lenses cause my eyes to run fairly often. Therefore, things that claim to be waterproof or smudge proof actually aren’t on my eyes.

When it comes to mascara, I’ve now got that sussed thanks to Tony Moly’s Panda Dream Mascara. For a wing, I can’t go wrong with the Kat Von D Tattoo Eyeliner. However, the one thing I’ve never nailed is tight lining. I’ve been determined to find something that works as I love how it looks. I’m not big on massive eye looks so tight lining just makes my eyes pop without being too much.

The choices

I had been using the YSL Waterproof Eye Pencil. This was a repurchase and it was clear that in the years between purchases they’ve changed the formula. What used to cling my eyes turned me into a panda-y mess.

After a bit of research it seemed a gel liner was the way to go. I’d tried the Smashbox one many years ago and wasn’t totally sold. Make Up For Ever was frequently mentioned but I’ve never tried anything by the brand and so wanted to swatch anything first. Frustratingly, my local town finally got a MUFE concession straight after I finally bought something else.

Whilst wondering around a department store one day I came up to the Chanel stand and noticed that they had a gel eyeliner that I’d never seen before. I couldn’t really see many UK reviews for the product so I’m not sure if it’s new or just completely under the radar. Anyway, I was approached by the Chanel colleague and started asking about the eyeliner. It was as if she’d never seen it before either and upon opening up the tester, it was brand new. She couldn’t tell me if it was waterproof and so conducted an experiment for me. She put a line on her hand, made it wet and tried to get it off. It didn’t come off. Given I’ve never had a dud Chanel make up product I took the plunge and parted with £25.

The Chanel eyeliner

I really wish Chanel did samples when you purchase with them. I know I would own far more from the brand if they did but I know it’s just not their thing. Anyway, as you can see from the packaging, this is a whopping 4g of product. There is no way I’ll be able to use this all up before it goes bad.

The product comes in a nice glass jar that you would not want to drop on your toes. It also comes with it’s own brush.

I actually really like using this brush. It makes tight lining pretty easy.

While it’s called a cream, I feel like it looks like any other gel eyeliner I’ve used in the past.

As you can see, I don’t exactly use this tidily! It is very easy to use though. I just dunk the brush in, wipe off the excess and then pat it along the waterline.

As you can see, just one swipe does give a good line. While I’m just using this for tight lining currently, I’d be more than happy to use this on the lid too. In terms of my eyeliner application ability though, the Kat Von D is a bit more idiot proof for me.

Lasting power

This survived a day walking around London in the rain. There was slight smudging in the inner corners which was easy to dab away but other than that, my face looked exactly the same at the end of the day as it did at the start. I’m really happy with this. Yes it’s expensive and yes there may be dupes but for someone who has struggled for years with waterproof not actually being waterproof, I’ll be sticking with what I know works.