Product Review of Maybelline's Unstoppable Eyeliner

I have been a loyal user of Almay's 16-Hour Eyeliner for nearly ten years now. Apparently many others are too because I often cannot find it on store shelves. So I am left to experiment with other brands. When I was recently unable to get the Almay brand, I instead purchased Maybelline's Unstoppable Eyeliner.

Like the Almay brand, Maybelline's Unstoppable Eyeliner also claims to last "up to" 16 hours. It also claims to be water resistant and smudge-proof. The eyeliner's design is similar to Almay's 16-Hour as well.

I wear contact lenses and have a condition called dry eye, so I am often putting in eye drops throughout a typical day. Because of this, I need an eyeliner that has a lot of staying power. Most eyeliner pencils I have used generally flake or smudge, especially if my eyes water or if I use eye drops. And although there are some good waterproof liquid eyeliners, I find them time-consuming to apply and the resulting look too harsh for daytime wear.

I had high hopes for this Maybelline eyeliner because it is the first eyeliner I have seen produced by a discount store makeup brand that makes claims comparable to those made by Almay's 16-Hour Eyeliner and comes in similar packaging.

Unfortunately, Maybelline's Unstoppable Eyeliner has not lived up to the high expectations I had for it. While it does go on smoothly, it is very easy to apply too much and to smudge the eyeliner. After applying it, I inevitably end up with nearly all of my finger tips, as well as the brush I use for blending, stained black.

Worse yet, the eyeliner lasted no where near the promised 16 hours. Under the best of circumstances-meaning no eye drops, no tears, no humidity and no sweat-Maybelline's Unstoppable Eyeliner lasted maybe three or four hours maximum. At that point, if I do not remember to pop into the restroom, check my eyeliner and swipe a cotton ball beneath my eyes, I will spend the remainder of the day or evening with very pronounced raccoon eyes. Lovely.

I actually doubt the ability of any eyeliner, even my beloved Almay, to remain intact and still look as it did when first applied for an entire 16 hours, especially for me, considering my at least once-a-day use of eye drops. However, as an on-the-go, stay-at-home mom, it is an accomplishment for me to apply make up even once a day. I have neither the time, nor the inclination even if I did have the time, to be checking my makeup, removing eyeliner from beneath my eyes and reapplying eyeliner every couple of hours, especially when the makeup in question takes so long to apply in the first place. I buy extended wear makeup exactly for this reason, and I expect the products to live up to their claims.

Therefore, I cannot recommend Maybelline's Unstoppable Eyeliner, nor can I say I will be purchasing it again. Even if I were in a crunch and could not obtain my favorite brand, I would rather buy a 99 cent eye pencil because, quite frankly, the results are the same.