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I’ve seen the Glisten Cosmetics wet liners all over TikTok and Instagram. And, although I have no idea where I’d wear them in real life, I couldn’t resist buying some.
The Glisten liners come in three formats: single wet liners, split liners and split liner palettes.
In order to test them out a bit I decided to choose a couple of the split liners, as I felt this would give me the freedom to create whatever I wanted.
The shades I went for were Grapevine, Blue Heaven and Peachy Cream. Here’s how I got on with them…
What are wet liners?
Wet liners are pretty much as they sound – eyeliners that are activated by water. They work in much the same way as watercolour paint in the sense that you need a liquid to loosen up the pigment.
This is essentially what allows the product to achieve that liquid liner consistency and gives it its creaminess. Without the water, the liners would remain firm and chalky. In this state, there’s no way you’d be able to apply it to your face!
How do you use wet liners?
Your package should come with a little card with instructions on how to use the liners. You’re advised to add a little bit of water to the lid of the product, dip your brush into said water and then dip into the liner.
The temptation is to simply pass the brush through the product one or two times (so you don’t mess it up too much). But for the liner to work well you really need to disrupt it. So I encourage swirling the brush around a bit until it has a paste-like consistency.
TOP TIP: If you’re worried about adding too much water to the product, use a setting spray or mist to wet the brush instead.
Packaging
The packaging of the wet liners is fairly basic. Each item comes in a small plastic pot that’s decorated with the Glisten Cosmetics logo and the name of the product. However, I don’t mind the simplicity. I actually quite like that they haven’t gone overboard and they’ve just let the quality of the liners speak for itself.
Ease of use
It did take me a little while to get the hang of using these, although this was more down to my skill than the product itself!
Cake liners are quite different from liquid or gel eyeliners in that you really need to nail the consistency in order for the product to go on well. If it’s too watery, the colour will be way too faint. And if it’s too dry, the colour won’t transfer from the brush to your eyelid. After a while you do get the hang of it, and once you figure out how much water is needed, it’s plain sailing from there on.
Tbh I’d say that this was probably the most tricky bit about using the wet liners. Painting them onto my eyelid, which I thought would be really difficult, wasn’t actually too bad. If you’re used to wearing eyeliner, you’ll have no problem with this step.
Colour payoff
When I was first practicing with these, I kept adding way too much water. This made it near impossible to get any kind of definition and the liner just kept seeping, which in turn made it appear quite sheer.
Once I’d managed to get the water to product ratio correct, I was super impressed with the colour payoff. I felt like all the shades looked bright and vibrant, although I wasn’t expecting Orangeade to come out quite so neon!
Final thoughts
I wasn’t sure how I’d get on with these, but I actually ended up preferring them to liquid liners! They go on a lot smoother and, because they’re water based, it’s a lot easier to clean up any mistakes.
The shade range is great and the colours look stunning when applied. I really can’t fault it!
I also LOVE that you don’t have to scrub to get the liner off. I managed to remove it with water alone, so a cleansing balm would have no issue at all with this.
Of course, since it does come off so easily, you wouldn’t be able to wear it in bad weather. But I think these are more of a summer product anyway so, with any luck, the rain won’t come along and ruin your look!
Where can I buy them?
These wet liners can be purchased through the Glisten Cosmetics website. A small pot (3g) retails for £7.00 and a large pot (10g) is £11.50.
As of August 2021, you can also pick these up from Beauty Bay, although the selection is a bit more limited.
Have you tried the Glisten Wet Liners yet? Let me know your thoughts down below.
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