MAC Fluidline Pen & Rebeleyes Gel Liner Swatches & Review

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MAC Fluidline Pen - Vintage Brown Swatches & Review

Eyeliner addicts rejoice! MAC added a couple of new formulas to their permanent line up earlier in the year in the form of the Rebeleyes Gel Liner and Fluidline Pens. I've been trialling these for a while now and I'm ready to share my thoughts on the new additions.

The Fluidline Pen (RRP $40NZD) is of course a new take on the cult favourite Fluidlines. Unlike the potted gel colour form the Fluidlines usually take, the new Fluidline Pens come in a sleek black pen with an ultra fine tip. The intense pigmentation of the original formula is still there but this format is much easier to use for those who struggle with an angled eyeliner brush, like myself. Also unlike the Fluidlines, the Fluidline Pen formula doesn't crease on my ridiculously oily eyelids!

One pass (left), built up (right)

I have the shade Vintage Brown which is simply described by MAC as a 'deep dark brown'. Brown eyeliner isn't usually my jam but I like this - it's dark enough to provide enough definition for my tastes but still makes for a softer option than black.

As I said before, this doesn't crease on me and it has decent lasting power. I noticed some fading to my eyeliner flicks after twelve hours but that was really it. It performs better over bare skin than over eyeshadow, I did notice some tugging when I was applying to my right eye after already having done my left eye.

I'm wearing Vintage Brown with the Chi Chi Extravaganza palette, MAC Fairy Land Foiled Shadow, The mascara is ZA Killer Volume and on brows I have Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Soft Brown.

MAC Rebeleyes Gel Liner Swatches & Review

Next up is the Rebeleyes Gel Liner (RRP $40NZD) which currently comes in the one shade: Top/Bottom, described by MAC as a 'rich, smoky black'. This is essentially MAC's version of Benefit's famous Push-Up Liner; instead of the rubber tip, the Rebeleyes gel liner applicator is foam, but the overall feel is very similar.

When you first uncap it, you'll see that the applicator has a small plastic plug in it to prevent any leakage, which I appreciate. To get it going, you simply remove the plug and twist from the bottom of the pen to dispense the product. As with most click dispenser products, it takes quite a few clicks for the product to show the first time you use it, unusually though, it continues to take a lot of clicks thereafter. It creeps up so slowly that you'll think you're not getting anywhere at all and try again, only to have a large portion of the eyeliner suddenly pop up, which crumbles if you try to apply it as is. It works best if you take the winding up process slowly and then wipe any excess product on the back of your hand before applying.

The angled applicator works pretty well - I'm able to hug close to the lashline with it and can do a serviceable wing, though not my best work. The foam is a good vehicle for the product, it's soft and doesn't tug during application.

One pass (left), built up (right)

This is indeed a rich, smoky black - I love just how intensely black it is. Unfortunately I struggled to make the formula work for me. It's very dry, which is particularly evident when you accidentally twist too much up as I mentioned above - it crumbles and flakes off if you're trying to apply with too much product on the applicator. Although the applicator didn't drag during use, the formula did - again, the dryness is the issue here, as there's no glide to help it. I've tried a couple of times and just can't get a smooth line, it always looks a bit ragged as in the picture above.

On the plus side, the dryness did help it to hold up against my oily eyelids, I didn't experience any creasing during wear.