Behold: The 40 Best Eyeliners Of All Time

With shades ranging from black matte to purple shimmer, this waterproof eyeliner is as versatile as it is effective. The ergonomically angled smudge tip allows for smooth, effortless blending, while its hypoallergenic qualities ensure it is safe to use on even the most sensitive of eyes.

For graphic liner lovers and color eyelid fans, Freck Beauty’s thin tip and range of colorful shades is the perfect eyeliner to execute your most intricate makeup ideas.

If you’re unfamiliar with cream eyeliner, allow ColourPop to introduce you to your new go-to liner. This super creamy, highly pigmented Créme Gel Pencil delivers instant color payoff for all day wear in various eye-catching shades including emerald and cool bronze.

With Kat Von D being the ultimate cat-eye queen, it's only appropriate that the former makeup mogul would make one of the best eyeliners ever. She is no longer the face of KVD Vegan Beauty, of course, but the liquid liner she created has earned a place in the eyeliner history books, amassing nearly 500,000 loves on Sephora.

Urban Decay's best-selling liner is an ultra-creamy waterproof eye pencil that contains hydrating vitamin E and conditioning jojoba oil, so your lids will never have to suffer for a smoky eye again. It comes in matte, metallic, and satin finishes.

As its name suggests, Stila's cult-favorite pen does, indeed, stay all day. The waterproof liquid liner has more than 5,000 perfect reviews on Amazon because it refuses to budge or fade — even through cardio and the New York City Subway during summer — and with two different sizes (original and micro), it's wildly easy to use.

This is one of Sephora's in-house items that actually lives up to the caliber of luxe brands far beyond its price point. Its retractable design, equipped with a built-in sharpener and smudger, is convenient, and its contents mild enough for even the most sensitive eyes.

Again, not a snazzy brand name, but who needs the label anyway when this self-sharpening liner glides on like a pro? It comes in 18 colors — Raisin, Olive, Teal, Moss, etc. — and metallic, matte, and glitter finishes.

Perhaps one of the best drugstore finds out there (sorry, Great Lash by Maybelline), NYX Professional Makeup's eye pencil is smooth, smear-proof, blendable, hydrating, and comes in a whopping 24 colors, each for under $5.

Worthy of the red carpet (Kristen Cavallari and Awkwafina wore it to awards shows this year), LORAC's longwear liquid liner is set apart by a flexible brush tip that makes for the most controlled wing possible.

If rich pigment is a priority, then this twist-and-glide pencil is worth trying. Living up to the intensity of its name, Clinique's Quickliner is pure drama, and it comes in more colors than the average blacks and browns, too.

If it's enough for Meghan Markle's waterline, you know it must be good. Her perpetually perfect eye makeup is proof that this Chanel wonder can withstand the elements with as much grace as the former royal herself.

A flexible-yet-durable felt tip allows for optimal precision and once it's on, the color refuses to crack, fade, or smudge. Lancôme's Artliner comes in brown and black (plus a few other colors), and in finishes metallic and satin.

For the cat-eye masters who've been working on a steady hand for years, a gel liner might just be the key to color intensity. The beauty of this product is that you can go full-on dramatic and smoldery or as subtle as Kate Middleton. This is the liner the duchess reportedly used on her wedding day.

If you were to, hypothetically speaking, wake up with last night's makeup still on your face, you'd find a wing as sharp as it was 24 hours prior with this everlasting MAC Cosmetics liner.

Any product that bears the Pillow Talk name is destined to acquire a cult following. This pencil adheres to the neutral palette Charlotte Tilbury's best-selling collection is known for with its universally loved dark berry color.

Speaking of color, Julep's waterproof gel pencil comes in more than 20 shades, among them shimmery copper, matte violet, blackberry, amethyst, navy, forest green, and sunset gold.

If there's one celebrity who consistently pushes the boundaries of eyeliner (into avant-garde geometrics and unorthodox colors), it's Lucy Boynton. Yet, even she has used this $5 pencil for a Twiggy-like spider lashes look.

Eyes are perhaps the most sensitive parts of our faces while also being the feature that seeks the most attention from beauty products. Jojoba, macadamia seed, and meadowfoam seed oil is the key recipe for extra-fussy eyes.

Another drugstore gem, this super-soft kohl liner is perfection for a beginner. It glides on smoothly and is smudge-, heat-, and sweat-proof. What's more, it costs less than $5.

Equipped with a built-in smudger and pull-out sharpener, this intensely pigmented pencil lasts for up to 16 hours without fading or smearing.

Maybelline's lightened-up Lasting Drama liner is designed to illuminate eyes rather than darken them as a smoky eye normally would.

The perfect introduction to non-pencil products, this liquid liner features an easy-to-use felt applicator. The thickness of the line depends on the firmness of your touch. You won't have to spend a fortune on it, either.

Drawing the perfect wings doesn't come without hours of laborious, mostly frustrating practice. For those of us who just don't have the patience (ehem), there's this ingenious stencil. Oh, and it comes with an eyeliner pen attached.

Available in a range of sparkling shimmers and bold mattes (mustard, lilac, sky blue, and burgundy), the beloved Inglot pot provides whatever color you may fancy in the highest intensity.

Lady Gaga's Eye-Lie-Ner promises to recreate the singer's signature extremist wing. Its jet-black matte liquid is applied by a flexible felt tip and doesn't feather, tug, or flake for 24 hours after it's set.

When it comes to colorful eyeliner, Marc Jacobs Beauty's Highliner Gel Eye Crayon is the holy grail. It comes in a whopping 30-some hues — peach, pearly pink, sage, and teal included — and three finishes: shimmer, matte, and satin. This is a gel formula that comes in a convenient crayon.

Watery eyes and workouts are no match for this longwear liner. The super-fine tip allows for the kind of precision you'd never get by applying gel formulas with a brush.

An inky pigment that holds in humidity and can withstand sweaty dance floors and gym sessions (even marathons, in some cases), Pat McGrath Labs' Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner is the be-all, end-all of eyeliners. "The only way this stuff could be better is if it applied itself," one Sephora reviewer wrote.

When you're working with a vibrant shade like cobalt blue, some drugstore eyeliners wind up looking as cheap as they are. Givenchy's Khol Couture pencil has a way of making blue/green/purple cat-eyes look, well, expensive.

For those who just can't choose between a pencil and a liquid, this double-sided wonder has both. One side is smooth-gliding Amazonian clay and the other is an inky liquid. Wear one at a time or both at once for a dramatic effect.

The unique design of this eyeliner pen makes maneuvering a breeze. You shouldn't have any problem creating fine lines with its angled tip, perfect for getting between lashes and other hard-to-reach places.

Glossier's liquid liner goes on with a brush tip to give you the precision of a professional job, but with the ease of a traditional pen. And as a bonus, its dense pigment has 12-hour lasting power.

Highly pigmented is an understatement — Kulfi’s creamy, gliding eyeliner sticks and saturated with color for a long-lasting stain. Not to mention, it’s not only waterproof but also smudge proof — definitely adding to cart.

A knockout product from Tom Ford, this liquid eyeliner has an ultra fine tip for a calligraphy-like finish. And to make it even better, it’s dual-ended, with one side for painting on liner and the other side for smudging — perfect for a smokey cat eye.

Aptly named, this eyeliner literally feels like satin on your lids. Whether you want a jet black liner, a warm bronze, cool ash, or a rich bordeaux shade, this liner runs the gamut with six essential shades.

“Best eyeliner ever! Please don’t discontinue!” says one buyer review on the brand’s website, along with a five star rating. One of the brand’s best-selling products, this liner comes in 10 different shades and boasts an impressive 24-hour wear time — according to the multiple five star reviews , it’s safe to assume that this claim is accurate and this eyeliner is a must-have.

Easy-glide, precision felt tip for sharp, controlled lines, and a super-smooth application — what more could you need in an eyeliner? Benefit’s matte liquid eyeliner is perfect for everyday use, but it’s also a great go-to for those more outlandish eyeliner looks.

One thing about Fenty Beauty products is that you can always expect to find a wide, versatile shade range, and that’s not restricted to complexion products. The Flypencil eyeliner comes in four finishes: matte, glitter, shimmer, and metallic, with 19 shades across the four categories. Trust, you’re guaranteed to find one, or two, or seven shades of this liner that suit your makeup needs.