If there's one eye gloss on this list that can last through dinner, drinks and a nightcap, it's Butter London Glazen Eye Gloss. After applying the gloss at 9 a.m., one editor was shocked to see her eye makeup perfectly intact come 5 p.m. Though in defense of the traditional eye glosses (you know, the ones that are actually lip glosses for your eyes), this gel-to-powder product looks and feels much more like a regular metallic shadow, which is perfect if you just cannot get past the creasing or viscous feel of a traditional eye gloss.
The formula blends out beautifully and is 100 percent buildable, depending on how much drama you're feeling that day. While it doesn't necessarily give you that high-gloss shine we see on the models in Vogue, its dazzling shimmer does make eyes pop with a metallic glimmer.
If you're going to be in front of a camera anytime soon (oh, hey Instagram) you might want to pick up this multi-purpose skin salve. Apart from giving your lids added shine, the salve also locks in moisture and repairs dry skin with antioxidants and natural emollients (so you can totally use it for other beauty purposes).
While the eye gloss gives eyes serious shine and looks beautiful on camera, it's definitely one of the thicker consistencies we tried. One editor said the texture was similar to that of Vaseline, causing her lids to feel heavy throughout the day and resulting in some major creasing two hours later. In our opinion, this eye gloss option wears best — and looks prettiest — on its own without any shadow. Time to channel your inner Alicia Keys.
If you're all about embracing your inner rock star, then we're happy to introduce you to this next eye gloss, the Yves Saint Laurent Eye Gloss Smudger. When paired with a neutral shadow, the lightweight formula adds subtle shine and a nice dewy finish. When paired with a dark shadow, it's all about embracing the grunge, since the gloss transforms the look into sexy, smudged shadow. One editor said the gloss was so comfortable on her lids, she forgot she was wearing it. Oh, and it lasted five hours. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant is a favorite among makeup artists for hydration and adding shine to dull skin. While many claim it's the end-all be-all for glossy anything, when it comes to eyelids this lanolin-based balm doesn't work well with eye shadow. Due to the thick consistency, pairing the hydrating skin cream with a pigmented shadow proved somewhat tricky. Simply applying the cream pushed the eye shadow around, and even once smoothed, we noticed creasing minutes later. Pair it with a nude eye, though? And your glossy lids look like they belong on the runway.
