Sleek Ink Pot Gel Eyeliner // Review

I had been on the lookout for a new gel eyeliner for a while, I've only tried what I believe is more of a cream eyeliner by BYS which did not make me think much of gel eyeliners except they smudged easily and didn't last long, until I came to the realization that I needed to set it with a shadow.

Here are the gel liners that were contending for my attention:

• Essence gel eyeliner in Midnight in Paris; with no Essence near me and it never being available on the Priceline website, not to mention they are apparently being discontinued was a bit of a challenge for me.
• Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner; I had heard it took a while to set which I aint got no time for that.... except maybe if I had only used it as a waterline eyeliner...
• Coastal Scents/ Makeup Geek eyeliner (Immortal); looks extremely pigmented but I had tried another gel eyeliner before like this that had dried out really fast.
• Maybelline & L'oreal: I have heard a lot of good things about these.... but I do not want to pay the exuberant taxed-up prices and didn't feel like buying them online because I was going to buy from Sleek anyway.

So here are my thoughts on the Sleek Gel liner!

 The shade is called Dominatrix and it is a really nice, pigmented jet black liner. The swatch below was done with one swipe using the little brush that it came with, which is, of course useless as most mini-sized brushes are. It is creamy and sets fairly quickly, so if you wish to smudge it out, do one eye at a time so it doesn't set completely before you have a chance to.

As this sets so well, I find this waterproof and long lasting on the lash line, but it is not the same for the waterline. Setting it with a black eyeshadow prolongs the wear for a bit longer, and although I may not have much left at the end of the night the remnants are still hard to remove as it smudges into the lower lash line. I can remove most of it with a makeup wipe but I also need to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil to get the rest of it, which can go into the eye & sting. I then cleanse & lightly go over my eyes to take the oil off.

Comparison to BYS
 As this is the only other "gel" eyeliner I have tried, I will compare it to the BYS Black Magic Eyeliner, which definitely needs to be set to avoid smudging/ fading almost instantly.

 The picture on the left is applied and smudged not long after, the right picture is after going over with a makeup wipe. This is where the EVOO comes in handy. Although the BYS one has left a stain it is nowhere near like Sleek, and it also doesn't last as long on the eye on it's own.

I have worn the Sleek Gel eyeliner for about 5 hours here, and although you can see some wear, and the wing wasn't applied heavily so it looks faded to begin with, but the majority of it is still there. This is without setting it.
I have also tried tight-lining only, letting it set, wiping the waterline to remove any oils & moisture & applying a nude eyeliner. It stayed clear for a little bit but then I noticed some transfer from the top waterline so I wouldn't tightline only with this.

Overall I do like the Sleek Ink Pot gel eyeliner for it's long lasting (*on the lash line) & fast setting qualities. I'm still in search of the perfect waterline eyeliner, though! I would rate this 8/10 because of that.

What's your favourite gel eyeliner?
xx