I Tried Taylor Swift’s Alleged Eras Tour Eyeliner & It Didn’t Hold Up Like You’d Think

Taylor Swift’s makeup is already notable. Specifically, think of Swift's red lip and her winged eyeliner that’s “sharp enough to kill a man.” But after rain became an unexpected guest at a May performance on her Eras Tour in Nashville, the makeup Swift used was all anyone could talk about because her full face of makeup held up even while the stage got poured on. What was she using that could stay on through a rainstorm?

If I put any makeup on for an event, it’s always gonna be a liquid liner and some mascara. It took me a few years to get used to liquid liners, but its now my go-to eyeliner. I currently use an E.L.F. liquid eyeliner, and it does its job and it does it well. But when I saw footage of how well Swift’s makeup held up through the rain, I knew that I had to try the eyeliner Swift allegedly used: Pat McGrath Labs’ Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner.

I was curious: would Swift’s alleged Eras Tour eyeliner from Pat McGrath work better? Would my life change with a $35 eyeliner vs. my current $3 liner? I had to put it to the test. And this is what happened when I tried Taylor Swift’s alleged Eras Tour Eyeliner for a week.

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Related: 82 Best Taylor Swift-Inspired Outfits for the Eras Tour

What eyeliner does Taylor Swift use on the Eras tour?

Shop it: Pat McGrath Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner, $35 at Sephora

As In The Know reported, the celebrity blind items and gossip account, DeuxMoi, shared an anonymous tip about what makeup Taylor Swift used on tour. It included all Pat McGrath products, from their LiquiLUST Legendary Matte Lipstick in Elson 4 to their Skin Fetish setting powder and foundation.

But of course, this makeup list is all alleged. The only “confirmation” fans have to Pat McGrath’s eyeliner and makeup being Swift’s makeup of choice is the company commenting, “SO MAJOR” on a TikTok talking about it. Regardless, that's good enough for me to try out Swift's (maybe) Eras Tour eyeliner.

Taylor Swift’s alleged Eras Tour eyeliner had a learning curve

After acquiring the liner—which was in a very pretty, holographic blue packaging—I started off a bit shaky (literally). I think moving from the thicker applicator I’m accustomed to, to a pen-like liner applicator was a bit harder to maneuver than I originally thought it would be. And liquid eyeliner is tricky, okay?

On top of that, the Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner was hard to work with in general. It was easy to get on—it glided onto my lid nicely—but if you made a mistake, it was hard to just wipe off even though it hadn’t dried yet.

But I eventually got the eyeliner on (although it looked a little rough for the first day or so thanks to me, of course). And weirdly, despite the Perma Precision liner not wanting to wipe off right after application to fix mistakes, it didn’t stay on all day long.

The first few days were rough…

First off, I will say that I get somewhat sweaty (or greasy?) eyelids if I have product on them. And the majority of the days I wore this eyeliner, I didn’t wear eyeshadow and therefore didn’t use an eyelid primer. This might be why the eyeliner was able to slide right off throughout the day. By nighttime, I was no longer left with a solid black line, but a patchy one instead.

Some days were better than others, but it wasn't waterproof like what I'm used to. Which is okay, since the packaging didn’t promise that. However, at this point, I am convinced Swift used a setting spray during her 3-hour rained-on setlist (which is, like, duh. But still! Worth noting).

And don’t worry, there was water involved in my experiment, too. I knew that I cried a lot before this, but having to document how well my makeup lasted for seven days really made me aware of just how much I cry on a weekly basis. From therapy to just plain ‘ole life struggles, I cried a good four days out of seven in this experiment.

Every time the liner acted a bit different, though, and the outcomes weren’t all bad. When I cried the first time, I did a lot of wiping and therefore it was just all over the place and had to be removed. But I found that if I blotted under the eye I could somewhat save my eyeliner. Granted, every time did result in bits of the eyeliner coming off, but some days I was able to get away with the aftermath.

Overall, is Taylor Swift’s alleged eyeliner worth it?

Unfortunately I didn’t get to wear this to the Eras Tour in my city because I didn’t score tickets. And despite wearing it during one rainy day, I don’t think I full put it to a torrential downpour test. However, after hitting it with my amateur makeup skills, several crying sessions and summer sweat, I think I have a pretty good idea of how well this eyeliner works.

I was able to get the hang of the eyeliner and by Day 5 or so, I was creating crisp, clean lines with it. Despite this, I did find that I have a weird problem of making the liner too thick in the middle of my lid, giving me a weird doll effect. I don't have this issue with my other liner, so this also might be user error and have to do with the applicator. But since it's hard to adjust once it's on the lid, it is a bit frustrating.

So, overall? The Pat McGrath Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner is not worth the price, even if Swift does wear this during her Eras Tour. Her setting spray or powder is doing all of the work, because the Perma Precision liner is not going to stay on in a rain storm. At least, not without melting off of your face.

And while this eyeliner might work well with the right setting technique, that’s too much work for a $35 liner. Again, as someone who’s been buying drugstore eyeliners my whole life, I’m very content to keep doing so after this little experiment. The Perma Precision liner is pretty and very pigmented. However, it’s not worth the price point or hassle.

Next up, here are 14 Taylor Swift songs that reference depression, according to a mental health expert.