Best Brightening Eyeliner Pencils We Love for Bright Eyes

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but they’re often the first place to reveal how well we’ve slept, too. After a restless night, it’s usually our eyes that give the game away. From puffiness and dehydration lines to dark circles, there’s often no hiding the signs of too little shut-eye. And even with the best eye creams to hand, the delicate skin around our eyes can still become irritated, leaving behind noticeable redness. Which is why I like to keep a brightening eyeliner pencil in my makeup bag on those mornings when I want to look wide-awake and fake a good night’s sleep.

Brightening waterline eyeliner pencils are a quick and easy way to fake a well-rested look. Unlike traditional liquid eyeliner or eyeliner pencils that have dark pigments, these neutral-toned liners are designed to glide along the waterline (the strip of skin between your lashes and your eyeball), where they help neutralise redness and disguise the tell-tale signs of a bad night’s sleep. They can also make your eyes appear bigger and brighter (as someone with hooded eyes, it’s my go-to for making my eyes look bigger), or give any eye look a little extra impact.

Here, I’ve rounded up the best options to keep in your makeup bag for the mornings when coffee alone just won’t cut it. These are the best waterline eyeliners for bright and perkly eyes in an instant.

Best Brightening Eyeliners

1. Victoria Beckham Beauty Instant Brightening Waterline PencilBest Overall

You might be familiar with the iconic Satin Kajal Eyeliners from the brand, but this creamy, ivory-toned formula from Victoria Beckham Beauty glides effortlessly along the lower lash line. Infused with soothing aloe vera and ginseng, it also helps nourish the lashes. Victoria herself often pairs it with her signature smoky eye, and so I’m following her lead.