Goodbye to a beloved eyeliner | Elite Paris Matt Liner in Matt Brown | Swatches + Review

For some, it's mascara.  For others, it's lipstick.  For me, if there's one product I do not leave the house without, it's eyeliner.  Eyeliner.  It can be bold or subtle.  It can create a come-hither cat eye or a "I'm awake" look.  With my heavy, hooded eyelids, sparse lashes, and small eyes in general, eyeliner was a game changer for me.  With eyeliner, my eyes actually looked open and attractive in pictures.  My eyes finally stood out under my glasses.  I love eyeliner.

I first discovered eyeliner in high school.  I would always get the same one because I got lucky and the first one I purchased was a fantastic choice - Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner from L'Oreal.  It met all the requirements: soft, felt tip, pigmented color, easy to apply, long-lasting, non-irritating, easy to remove.  They also lasted a really long time, especially since I was using the liner every day.

Fast forward to March 2013, when I received my third GlossyBox...

Meet Matt Brown.  He's a keeper.  He's waterproof and long-lasting.  He has a soft, felt-tip applicator that's easy to use and control.  He has a formula that dries quickly and turns into a beautiful, soft matte finish.  His deep and intense brown color complemented my eyes yet could be made to look very natural.  Seriously, this was the eyeliner that I was looking for all along.  Matt Brown was a keeper and I looked high and low to find more of his kind.  Unfortunately, he doesn't exist anymore.  That's right, discontinued.

What is a girl to do?  I had to move on. My Matt Brown was drying up.  I put two drops of Bioderma cleansing water into the liner which gave me a couple of months, but I still needed options.  One day my husband came home with an order from Amazon.com.  By chance, he had purchased an item that was on my wish list: Eyeko Visualeyes Liquid Eyeliner in Mocha.  I was hesitant to try it, because how could it possibly be as great as Matt?  Turns out this Eyeko liner is probably the closest dupe I could ever hope to find.

Tip comparison
Left: Eyeko Visualeyes Liquid Eyeliner in Mocha
Right: Elite Paris Matt Liner in Matt Brown

So what's the difference?  Eyeko comes in a sleeker package.  It has a nearly 1 cm long, tapered brush tip.  It has twice the amount of product (0.55 mL versus 2.5mL).  The brown color has a hint of black.  It was made in in Japan and assembled in Korea (Matt was German made).  Most importantly, it's available on the market and easy to buy (Amazon.com, $19).  Who knew, of all people, my husband would be the one bringing home my dream eyeliner?

Above: Swatches in natural light
Left: Elite Paris Matt Liner in Matt Brown
Right: Eyeko Visualeyes Liquid Eyeliner in Mocha

Above: Swatches in direct sunlight
Left: Elite Paris Matt Liner in Matt Brown
Right: Eyeko Visualeyes Liquid Eyeliner in Mocha