materialism: quick review: eyeliners

Iroha dual pencil/liquid eyeliner pen (pencil on one side, eyeliner on the other):
* very easy to use
* very black
* creases a bit
* reasonably priced
I tried the black pencil/black eyeliner version. The pencil smudges pretty quickly, so as usual it was pretty useless for me. The eyeliner was nice -very fine tip; very easy to draw with. The black is very black, so actually brown or grey would work better for my purposes - it looks pretty unnatural against my sparse eyelashes. However, formula-wise it is not as good as Majolica Majorca's eyeliner. In the Singapore heat Iroha creased more quickly.
For people who don't have oily lids, this may not be a problem, so I would recommend it for those who are looking for an easy to use black liner.
* Summary: not good for my purposes

Fasio liquid eyeliner (the version in the little pot, rather similar to Maybelline's liner):
* pretty color
* a bit messy to use (line itself is easy to draw, but eyelashes are collateral damage)
* smudges a little (not terrible like pencil, but a little irksome)
* reasonably priced
The metallic black is quite pretty and works out as a nice gunmetal grey, so color-wise it is good for my purposes. Unfortunately it's a little difficult to apply without also coating my eyelashes in the formula. Otherwise it's not difficult to use (Kate's pot liquid liner was just the most difficult to use ever!) but rather messy for my eyelashes. The line you draw is nice, but the eyelashes get coated too. The color is quite lovely, but sadly this stuff also smudges a bit as time goes on. It doesn't peel off like MM will, but it smudges. The Japanese reviews all talked about how this stuff is impossible to get off, but I guess my oily lids defeat it handily.
* Summary: may repurchase if I don't find anything better. Nice selection of colors too - they have a pretty teal and a nice burgundy.

Lunasol geminate liner in a pretty metallic brown:
* Very easy to use
* pretty color
* flakes off a bit late in the day
* expensive
The color is lovely; a metallic, sparkly brown that is still wearable for work. Easy to use brush, very little mess on the eyelashes. However, as the day wears on, bits of the eyeliner can flake off if you touch it. The formula dries so that it as a bit clumpy on the skin - it's not flat like the other eyeliners I've tried. The flaking is not as bad as MM, but it's still an issue for me - if it starts, reapplying won't really fix it so you really need to start over on your eye makeup.
* Summary: will probably not repurchase because of flaking. At this price, I won't compromise on the flaking, and I prefer a little smudging to the flaking - smudging is easier to fix. It's too bad, because it really is easy to use.

The only other eyeliner I have on my list to try is Maybelline's liquid eyeliner. After that, I'm at a loss for what to look at. Gel liners usually seem to smudge on me (Kate, Bobbi Brown) so I don't think the formula works very well. Maybe I'll try MAC's liquid liner.