Wonect Review: MSH X Sanrio Love Liner - Gudetama Liquid Eyeliner in Noble Brown

As someone who is not a morning person at all, Sanrio's Gudetama (ぐでたま) - The Lazy Egg - is (I say this without a hint of irony) my spirit animal. This is me, in the morning, rolling over in my blankets, saying "Go away!" and hitting snooze for the umpteenth time:

Sanrio's characters are adorable across the board, but there's something about Gudetama's distinct lack of chipperness that's struck a chord. It was only introduced in 2013, but it's already inspired a cartoon series with over 500 episodes, cafes in Japan and Hong Kong, and even make-up collaborations, like the 2016 Holika Holika Lazy & Easy Collection, which now includes skincare products as well. Gudetama is also part of a limited edition lineup of eyeliners, created as part of a partnership between MSH Labo (They have a tagline that reads KILLER BEAUTY, which I love), and Sanrio.

The five-shade collection that launched in late July 2016, features five (Well, technically six) of Sanrio's most popular characters: Hello Kitty fronts the eye-catching Burgundy Brown, My Melody a girly and sweet Pink Brown, Gudetama is the peachy-toned Noble Brown, Pompompurin a caramel-hued Dark Brown, and Little Twin Stars a pitch-perfect Rich Black.

As part of September's Beauty Box, Wonect sent me MSH's Gudetama Love Liner to try, and I have to say that it's a fantastic liquid eyeliner and a definite favourite of mine now. I'm not the only one who thinks so. Love Liner has already won 19 different beauty industry awards from 2014 to 2016, and managed to hold on to the number 1 sales ranking in the entire Eyeliner category on Cosme Japan for a whole quarter this year, which is no mean feat. Apart from their more neutral colour selections (To which the Sanrio collection belongs), Love Liner also offers more brightly coloured liquid liners, which are released based on the season, and which I now covet.

My eyeliner Holy Grail was once L'Oreal's Super Liner in Carbon Gloss, felt-tipped and unwieldy, but so lasting on my horrendously oily eyelids, which tends to cause even the hardiest of liners to bleed three hours into wear. They stopped carrying it in Boots and Superdrug my third year of uni, and I haven't been able to find it since. Currently, my eyeliner stash consists of Estee Lauder's Double-Wear Stay In Place Gel Eyeliner in Stay Coffee (It doesn't actually stay on my eyelids, so I've taken to using it as a brow gel. It's going to last forever at this rate), as well as the FlowFushi Mote Liner in Brown Black.

I've been moving towards less harsh shades of eyeliner in recent years because I'm no longer 15 and emo, but it wasn't till Wonect shipped over the Noble Brown Love Liner that I've tried something quite so light. Used for tight-lining, it's absolutely extraordinary thanks to the exquisitely tapered brush: just 0.1 mm thick for better precision. The Gudetama Noble Brown is also very natural looking, and great for subtle days where you want that "no makeup" look, but the quick-dry formula also means that in no time at all, you can build and build for more drama if you need it.

Love Liner is trying to differentiate itself from the other players in the market by hyping the moisturizing elements that its eyeliners contain. To me it isn't the most compelling ingredients list: Hydrolyzed Silk (?), Pearl Extract (Hmm...), Hyaluronic Acid (Eh, that seems alright - you can read up on more comprehensive information about its benefits to the skin here at Always Healthy Living), and most bizarrely, Horse Placenta (Wait, what?!) Still, it's the only eyeliner I've used so far that hasn't caused any dryness, itchiness or irritation even after long days of wear, so that Horse Placenta might be working after all.

And all that lack of eye rubbing? Totally helps it stay in place.

After nearly a month of almost daily wear, I can honestly say that the Love Liner has far greater staying power on my oily eyelids than the Mote Liner. MSH also claims that their eyeliner is waterproof and sweat-proof, so if you're the sort of person who wears eyeliner to the gym, or if you cry a lot during movies (Like me!), then this is probably the eyeliner for you.

I haven't cried once during a movie this month (Ok, I teared a bit during Bridget Jones' Baby, but that's because I miss London so much damn it. Also, there was no ugly crying, so it doesn't count), so I designed an alternative test for the Gudetama Love Liner's ability to withstand water and sweat: I went snorkeling with it on while in Hawaii.

Fine tip aside, the Love Liner itself is heftier than other liquid eyeliners, providing greater control that feels far more like a pencil than a brush. Whether you're flicking on that perfect cat eye with great precision, or scribbling temporary tattoos onto your skin (I also drew fish, planets, and stars on my ankles), just give it a few shakes before using, and the formula glides on like a dream.

With the liner on, I swam in the ocean for over an hour gazing at sea urchin (Ugh, so close yet so far from my stomach), yellow tang, and a few dozen other mesmerizing marine creatures. When I got out, my little eyeliner heart remained, and tenaciously clung onto my skin for the rest of the evening, even when I lost my footing and spilled a bit of Pina Colada on it during a booze cruise. It is truly the eyeliner that never fails.

And yet, with a bit of makeup remover and warm water, the Love Liner washes off without a trace, no tugging or furious scrubbing necessary. I have no answer for how it manages to do this beyond witchcraft, but I already know for certain what my next eyeliner purchase is going to be. If I can't get my hands on more limited edition designs, I will miss having Gudetama look at me every morning, but who knows? There might be yet another lust-worthy collaboration in store...