This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift. Opinions are the same, content has been edited for readability, clarity, all that jazz. Additions are noted in line. Enjoy!
I’m not sure what it is that sparks my desire to challenge, well, everything that I challenge. But like the lipstick, if I see something that claims to Stay All Day, I can’t help but want to prove whether or not it is true. You know, for science, and love and justice, whatever.
In the same holiday set that I received the aforementioned lipstick by the same name, I received a smaller-than-normal tube of Stila Stay All Day Liner. Though more favorable than my initial reaction to the name of the lipstick, I still couldn’t believe it without seeing it. Since receiving it, I have worn it with success but I never really documented how long it lasted – and, “more or less all day,” isn’t enough for me.
The Test
Yesterday, I slapped some on my face before work around 6:15AM (contrary to my programming, I am the early bird at work. 2018 Update: SO CUTE. My makeup is done by 5:45 these days.). This is what it looked like at 6:30AM:
Well of course it looks decent, freshly applied. Also, I am an airhead and hadn’t even slapped on mascara, yet.
Four Hours Later
Not bad, four hours is fair.
Another Four Hours Later
So that’s almost my whole workday, there, including half of my commute time.
Hey, Guess What – Four More Hours After That
By 6:30PM, or twelve hours later, it looked like this:
Over TWELVE HOURS of Wear
This is about fourteen hours of wear:
I decided to take my final photo around 8:00PM so I could shower and whatnot. I can’t imagine any situation where I would actually need a full 24 hours of wear; “Oh no, I can’t sleep without my cat-eye!” nope.
Removal of Stila Stay All Day Liner
This is after my usual removal attempt(s) but before actual cleansing. I remove my makeup with a Ponds wipe beforehand to make the most of cleansing – this shows how much of the Stila Stay All Day Liner stayed even after that! I had to snap an (actual) final picture:
I was able to remove the remainder with the same Ponds wipe (2018 Update: I now use Micellar Water and reusable makeup cloths) without scrubbing intensely; I just held the wipe in place for a moment and then wiped away, similar to how you would treat the removal of pesky glitter nail polish.
The Bottom Line
Though I did not leave it on longer, it would have lasted much, much longer. After fourteen-ish hours I experienced no fading or flaking, which is pretty nice. Intense Black is exactly that – a dark, inky black – my only real complaint is that I wish it was slightly more matte than it is – it is not glossy, but it has a bit of sheen to it and I prefer normal liners to be matte. If you share this preference you can always make it matte by applying a matte black shadow over top with an angled-bristle brush.
As for the application itself – I’m new to felt-tip liners, but it was not particularly difficult (2018 Update: It isn’t difficult, but I am not awesome at it and instead prefer other methods). The ink flows with ease but does not pool up and cause a mess. Stila Stay All Day Liner is pretty easy to use. I would recommend it to a newbie before I would recommend a traditional liquid. It does not replace gel liner (my favorite) for me, though. You can purchase the full-sized version this product for $22 from Amazon or at Ulta and/or Sephora.