This eyeliner earns consistent praise for staying put on the waterline without smudging or migrating onto contact lenses, even through a full day. The formula is creamy and glides on without tugging, and the shade range spans both classic neutrals and unexpected colours like olive and mint green. The texture makes it easy to draw a soft, defined line, whether you want subtle definition or bolder colour payoff.
Synthesized from 2 expert reviews · most recent take April 2026
What they liked
Waterproof and stays put on waterline
Creamy texture, no tugging on lids
Wide range of colors including fun shades
What they flagged
Nothing. None of the experts who reviewed it raised a problem.
"This is a Sephora Collection eyeliner in the shade Flirting Game. It has a little bit of shimmer on it, but it's the perfect cool-toned brown look. [...] I wanted to use this right up against the lash line to add a little definition, but it's something that will stay very subtle and soft. It actually looks so nice. I feel like I need to sharpen this. Wait, that's actually so pretty and so flattering on me. I love how it looks like a brown and a gray combined, so pretty."
"I use them every single day in the waterline. You put them on, they don't budge, they don't come off until you take them off, but they're so creamy and they're easy to apply, and they come in such great colors. The main difference between them is that with the colorful eyeliners you have to sharpen them, and with the retractable there's no sharpening. Now that I'm older, I'm not a big fan of black eyeliner all the way around on me personally. I just don't think it looks so good anymore."
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"I use them every single day in the waterline. You put them on, they don't budge, they don't come off until you take them off, but they're so creamy and they're easy to apply, and they come in such great colors. The main difference between them is that with the colorful eyeliners you have to sharpen them, and with the retractable there's no sharpening. Now that I'm older, I'm not a big fan of black eyeliner all the way around on me personally. I just don't think it looks so good anymore."
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"I have the gray Slate above and below my lashes on the upper, and I have the Fresh Mint on my lower waterline. I just love a not black these days. They're waterproof, so you put them on and they stay in the waterline and they don't budge. I wear contacts, and they don't get all over my contacts. They are the best eyeliners ever. And they're in the sale at 30% off, so they're under $10 each. You really can't beat that. You can pick up a couple of nice shades in those."
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"They are the best eyeliners, hands down. They're waterproof, so when you put them on your waterline they stay put, and if you're a contact lens wearer like I am, it doesn't get all over your contact lenses. You can see perfectly with these eyeliners. So many other high-end eyeliners just aren't as good. I put them on, and they're all over my face and smudged by the end of the day, and they're all over my contacts. These never do any of that, and that's why they're my favorites."
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"For the lower waterline I'm going to use another new Holy Grail for this year it's the Sephora 12-hour colorful Contour liner in fresh mint a sparkly color is so beautiful and it really makes the eyes pop"
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"These are 30% off, and they're two different colors than the ones I used for the natural look. For my upper waterline, I'm using the matte gray color, which is called Stone. I love this in the upper waterline because it really gives me that depth of color and that darkness that I want. It's a striking eyeliner, but it's not black, so it's not harsh. These are waterproof, so it will stay in the waterline for 12 hours, with no dribbling, no flaking, and no smudging."
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"They are retractable, and they come in just as many gorgeous colors. This one is a really pretty shimmery taupe. Then there is another gorgeous olive, this one is called Shimmer Green. The one I'm wearing today is called Slate. It's a really dark navy blue, and I'm wearing it on my uppers and above my lashes. This eyeliner has not transferred down onto the lighter eyeliner that I'm wearing on my lower lid, and that's what makes these so great for me."
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"The eyeliner that I always recommend is the Sephora house brand. These are the retractable liners, and they come in so many colors and they are really great. They have a nice fine tip, so it's really easy to do your top liner. This is a really dark grayish brown, and I'm wearing this color on my upper lashes today. They also have a nice matte gray, and I'm wearing this one on my upper waterline. When you put these on the upper waterline, they are just going to stay where you put them."
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"The last two are the Sephora Collection ones. This one is the olive, and this one is fresh mint. They are just beautiful, I love them so much, and they're so easy to work with, whether you want to do a wing or your tight lining. They are just fantastic, and I highly recommend them."
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"I just got this one this year and it's in this really pretty green color called Fresh Mint and this is going to look so beautiful on so many different eye colors. I have blue eyes but it'll look great on brown eyes, hazel eyes. It just gives a little bit of definition to the lower lid but without being super heavy and super black and making you look kind of like raccoon-like or super rock and roll-ish, but it gives you a little definition down there, a little sparkle, a little brightness."
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"For the lowers I have a Sephora 12 hour colorful liner this is waterproof and this is in this gorgeous green shade I'm really excited about this it's called fresh mint. I'm gonna wear this all the time now this beautiful green color. Still in place looks really good."
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"The Sephora Collection retractable waterproof eyeliner [...] is truly waterproof. It doesn't transfer from my upper to my lower waterline. It doesn't smudge. It doesn't dribble. It doesn't do any of the naughty things."
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"This one is the Sephora [...] retractable liner in shimmering taupe. [...] It gives the lower waterline just a little bit of an accent but it doesn't make it look droopy."
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"These are a great price point, they're like dollars a piece, and they come in so many beautiful colors. [...] I bought this in like three or four, maybe five colors already and I love every single one of them. This one is called Shimmering Taupe and it is super pretty. I tend to use this one on my lower lash line. [...] It's such a gorgeous taupe color and it just gives the slightest little bit of brightness at the lower waterline."
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"This is another style of eyeliner from Sephora Collection that I love, the retractable pencil. It's the kind that's more of a mechanical pencil you twist it and it comes up. This one has a smudger on the other end and [...] also has a sharpener on the other end. They normally cost about ten dollars a piece, thirty percent off, and they come in beautiful colors as well."
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"I have moved away a little bit from the Sephora Contour Liners and more into the Sephora Retractable Liners. It seems to me that these are very similar to the Contour Liners except they're a mechanical pencil and I kind of like a mechanical pencil a little bit better. I think my favorite one is Shimmer Taupe. I love this one. It makes a great lower liner."
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"My original Sephora love is the Contour liners. These are 12 hour waterproof. They come in great colors. If they have this one Lavender Fields, this is one of my all-time favorites. It comes in shimmers, it comes in mattes. Beautiful, beautiful eyeliner, also waterproof, also great in the waterline."
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"My Holy Grail eyeliners are from the Sephora Collection. They are the Sephora Retractable Liners. I love these. They're waterproof and they come in the best selection of shades and colors. [...] Being retractable you don't have to sharpen it. You just get this nice little petite tip so it's easy to do a tight line that stays in your water line unbelievably. I have the brown up here in my upper water line today and it's not transferring. It lasts all day but yet it's easy to remove."
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"For upper waterline liner I use the Sephora retractable eyeliner pencil."
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"This is the Sephora retractable liner in Shimmer Taupe—just a nice pale brown—and I'm just going to add that at the outer corner, not exactly in the water line but more along the lash line."
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"I'm using Sephora Waterproof Retractable Liner in Shimmering Taupe on my lower waterline. It's a lovely shimmery color that adds dimension."
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"I have been wearing like non-stop [...] these Sephora retractable mechanical eyeliner pencils. These are great, they're waterproof, and I love that the tip is so tiny. The one I have on my upper waterline is called Matte Charcoal. [...] They don't irritate my eyes, I put them in my waterline, and I get no tearing. They don't get all over my contacts or anything. So I really love these, and they're a great price. I think they're only like 10 or 12 dollars a piece."
What the evidence says.
Independent of what the gurus think, this is what
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Frequently asked.
What is Sephora Collection 24-Hour Contour Eyeliner / Retractable Liner?
A retractable and sharpnable eyeliner available in a wide range of shades, designed for defining eyes with a creamy, glide-on formula.
Yes. All 2 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 81%.
What is Sephora Collection 24-Hour Contour Eyeliner / Retractable Liner's Guru Score?
Sephora Collection 24-Hour Contour Eyeliner / Retractable Liner holds a Guru Score of 81%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 2 expert reviewers we have collected.
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