July 24, 2009   ∗   5 Responses   ∗   by agiri

Urban Decay vs. Bourjois Liner

I think I can speak for all of us in saying that at one point, we all go searching for that blackest of blacks in our mascaras, eyeliners, and eyeshadows. And so far, that search has landed me in the pleasant, medium priced world of Urban Decay’s Liquid Liner in Perversion. I love it, it loves me — it was a beautiful, exclusive relationship until I realized the ULTA in my area seemed to be perpetually out of it! Now I’m not one to put my face on everyday, but ladies, I need my eyeliner. So out of sheer desperation and a couple recommendations I ended up purchasing Bourjois Paris Clubbing Liner in Ultra Black. It comes in a compact black tube for $16 with an extremely thin applicator perfect for creating those detailed eyeliner embellishments without having to use a brush. It also boasts the same main feature of their regular Clubbing Liners with 8 hours of stay power and promises no streaking, smudging, etc. regardless of how sweaty you get at the club. Finding this particular shade might be a little tricky though since it isn’t featured in their original 6 shades which already contains a black called Absolute Black (which sadly isn’t absolutely black) so make sure to ask for the Ultra Black shade if it isn’t displayed along side the original 6!

Bourjois Clubbing Liners

For a fair $16 dollars, Bourjois has done a decent job at creating a black eyeliner, but its nothing to really write home about. Its black is comparable to that of Urban Decay’s Perversion, but there’s definitely a noticeable difference in color intensity especially apparent in pictures. Whereas Urban Decay photographs giving you that nice black intensity near the eye, Bourjois comes out looking a little grey, and chalky. And although less noticeable in person, when closely compared you can definitely see the difference.

Bourjois leaves a lot less room for eyeliner maneuverability as well, drying almost immediately after application — which might be good or bad thing depending on your eyeliner needs. I personally like to smoke out my eyeliner from time to time and therefore appreciate the flexibility Urban Decay’s longer dry time provides.

In terms of stay power, streaking, smudging, etc. I’d say that Bourjois has succeeded in providing the perks its product boasts but at a very mediocre level. I have occasionally experienced slight chipping (oddly enough) at the inner and outer corner of my eyes as I tend to wing out my eyeliner.

Urban Decay Liner

I’m not sure if this is a result of the products I was using under my eyeliner, or if I was just giving this product a run for its money, but I found that especially bothersome as I had never experienced that problem with Urban Decay’s liner. I found that by simply applying a good coat of  face and eyeshadow primer, I could create similar stay power to that of Bourjois’ liner without the chipping.

There are also some slight, yet noticeable differences in the way both products apply. Bourjois’ liner is more on the watery side providing slightly less control than Urban Decay’s creamier consistency, but nothing a seasoned hand can’t adjust to. As for the applicators themselves, Urban Decay  provides a a thicker brush which sometimes becomes a little bothersome for detailed work, while Bourjois thin applicator creates a greater margin for error since building is required to achieve your desired line thickness.

So all in all, although I enjoyed the product and ventured out to buy it twice, I think I’ll pay the extra $2 for the Urban Decay since my eyeliner priority tends to lie more towards the pigment side of things.