Every morning, like clockwork, I get a FaceTime from my mom while she’s doing her makeup. She’s not a professional makeup artist or former beauty editor, but she’s certainly an expert—this woman owns all of Sephora and spends every second of her free time watching BeautyTok. During our morning phone calls, she loves to tell me which foundation she tried that didn’t oxidize, the new concealer that didn’t crease, the lip liner that didn’t feather. But she’s struggled to find an eyeliner that’s up to her standards—until she tried Sarah Creal Eyes Up Creamy Kajal Longwear Liner.
Here’s the thing: as she’s gotten older, her eyes don’t necessarily agree with the same formulas. “My skin around there is so much thinner and crepier. I have to wear eye cream before I put on my makeup too, which always ends in my eyeliner fading by midday,” my 56-year-old mom, Mindy, tells me. So when I heard buzz about Sarah Creal’s newest launch—which is specifically formulated to address the concerns of more mature eyes—I had every shade sent over to my mom for testing. Obviously, I had to get my hands on ‘em, too. Our honest reviews, ahead.
The Formula
- Cream-Gel Matrix: Kohl pencils can sometimes tug or skip on thin skin, so it makes sense that Sarah Creal opted for a cream-gel blend. It has a smooth and even glide that floats over fine lines. The TLDR: it’s super creamy.
- Allantoin: As we get older, our eyes become drier. (Even though I’m only in my late 20s, I have chronic dry eye that makes my eyes function much older than they are.) That also means that eyes are more prone to irritation—especially if you tightline, aka put eyeliner on your waterline. But thanks to allantoin, an ingredient you’ll often see in skincare, this eyeliner is soothing and hydrating on the most sensitive of eyes.
- Cross-Linked Polymer: This proprietary ingredient is just a fancy way of saying that this formula isn’t gong anywhere. It ensures that the formula won’t crease or transfer—even on hooded lids.
The Application
There’s six shades to choose from, three matte and three shimmer: jet black, rich cocoa, everyday taupe, copper, bronzy, and golden. Every single one comes dual-ended—a creamy pencil on one end and a tapered brush for smudging purposes on the other. I’m personally not coordinated enough to do a wing, but I love a good tightline and messy liner. I chose shade copper, a rich, reddish, slightly shimmery hue, and dragged it in my lower waterline, diffusing it out with my finger. Then, I went ahead and applied it with very light pressure above my upper lash line. It’s super creamy but dries fast, so I recommend having the smudging brush ready to go.
As for my mom? She loved how creamy the texture was against her thin lids. “There are very, very few formulas that go on as smoothly as this one. Normally, I feel like I have to retrace or really smudge liner out to get a fluid, skip-free line, especially because of my eye cream creating slipperiness, but I was able to achieve that in one go with this guy.”
The Wear
For me, wear is the most important test of an eyeliner’s quality. My main bone to pick with competitors is that they irritate my sensitive eyes, cause them to water, and then end up completely washed away and faded halfway through the day, with my eyes bloodshot red to boot. It happens without fail, every time I wear eyeliner in my waterline, which is why I was equal parts shocked and thrilled when my eyes actually stayed white and tear-free throughout the evening.
My mom, on the other hand, found the texture and lasting power to be the biggest pro. “Don’t get me wrong—you have to work quickly, but once this baby sets, it’s not going anywhere,” she tells me during our morning FaceTime. “The color payoff is so strong and it really doesn’t transfer or smudge, like at all.”
The Takeaway
I had high expectations for this eyeliner. Not only are my mom and I huge fans of the Sarah Creal line (we love the bronzer and the lip gloss the most), but Creal is also the product formulator behind some of the best eyeliners on the market. (She’s held roles at Victoria Beckham Beauty, Bobbi Brown, and Prada for what it’s worth.) To no one’s surprise, it got Mindy’s stamp of approval. The creamy texture is unmatched, and the staying power is genuinely like nothing I’ve experienced—you’ll want an oil cleanser to get it off because it’s going to look just as strong at the end of the day as it does at the start.
My only note: this isn’t for eyeliner novices. You need to work quickly, or really, really take advantage of that smudge brush, because the formula locks in and isn’t going anywhere in just about 20 seconds. Now, I just want more colors.
Shop Sarah Creal
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