How to Save Gel Liner

Gel liners have been a craze for a while now in the beauty and make up world, and who doesn't love opening a brand new, creamy gel liner that smooths on your eyes like a dream?  Unfortunately, the reality of a gel liner's moisture lifespan is dependent on the quality of the packaging, how tight you close it, and how easily the formula dries out. So many things to keep in mind for just a gel liner, right?
  Luckily, there is a way you can save dried up gel liners (and your money!) and learn a cute way to store them so your gel liners can last as long as the first day you bought and fell in love with them.  : )


Materials needed: Your dried up gel liner, good eye drops to hydrate the gel liner formula (I recommend using eye drops that will not irritate your eyes), a small disposable brush with a skinny handle (a toothpick or a small plastic spatula will do as well), a tightly wound cotton swab(not the furry ones, because you don't want to incorporate lint into your liner), makeup remover and hand soap (just in case things get a little messy)


I'm using a dried up gel liner from Lorac's On Screen Duo in Fame & Fortune that I bought from Hautelook.com a while back, Systane Ultra High Performance Lubricant eye drops, and E.L.F.'s eye liner brush that came with one of their cream liners.

Step 1.  Put 2-3 eye drops in the gel liner pot (drops may vary with the size of the eyeliner pot) I used 2 eye drops for my 0.36 oz of Lorac gel liner.  Be careful not to put too many eye drops because this could cause the formula to become too tacky and soft, which makes it extremely hard to work the liner back it's original shape.

Step 2. Using the nonbrush end of your disposable brush, crush up the eyeliner formula to incorporate and mix in the eye drops to rehydrate the gel liner.  This process can be very messy so be careful to not let the mixture get too far up your mixing utensil because it'll be difficult to remove off your fingers and hands. But if things get too messy, thank goodness you have your makeup remover and hand soap to back you up! 

Step 3. Using your tightly wound cotton swab, work the gel liner back to its original shape.  The formula may be extremely soft, so take caution when patting the liner back  down into the pot.

My formula turned out to be a tad too moistened, but don't worry if yours is the same because gel liners tend to eventually lose their moisture again, and also go back to the desired original consistency.


....and voila! In just three steps you just saved your favorite eye liner and hard earned money!

I also tried smudging the liners to see if the eye drops made a different in staying power, and it resulted the gel liner becoming very smudgable and a tad bit watery due to overhydration.  So if you're concerned with your liner getting too easily smudged, I'd recommend setting your liner with a shadow or waiting a week or two leaving the top open to let the liner dry a bit more towards your desired consistency.

Other than these few cons, here are my results!

Here is also another idea on how to store your gel liners, cream liners, and whatever else that tends to dry out!----Candy jars! Say what?

Yep. That's right. Candy jars, cookie jars, pasta jars, tea jars or any jar that has an airtight sealing rubber part that's attached to the top to keep air from coming in and moisture from coming out!  I used a chrysanthemum tea jar that I bought from the Asian market

This storage idea so cute because I love makeup as much as I love tea as much as I love chocolate as much as I love pasta, and it's like storing little gems or jewels in a fancy jar  : )

much lovemusicbeautynerds,


Lynn <3