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Laura Mercier Tightline Activator

What it is: A convenient way to apply Tightline Cake Eye Liner. What it does: This liquid activator mixes easily with Tightline Cake Eye Liner to form a paste for even application. The unique polymers provide a long-lasting effect that doesn’t fade throughout the day. Perfect for on the go, the activator dries quickly and feels lightweight on the eyelid. What else you need to know: This product is ophthalmologist-, dermatologist-, and allergy-tested and is appropriate for contact lens wear.
Average Rating:
3.5 out of 5
3.5
 out of 
5
Open Ratings Snapshot
38 reviews
5 stars
14
4 stars
11
3 stars
2
2 stars
2
1 star
9
Questions & Answers:
5 Questions | 18 Answers
Sort by reviews for Laura Mercier Tightline Activator
Review 1 for Tightline Activator
tippers
Location:Boston, MA
Skin Tone:Fair
Eye Color:Brown
Age:25-34
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Amazing when you use the right amount
-04.26.13
Quick Take: waterproof, long wearing
I have hooded monolids making wearing any liner extremely difficult without ending up looking like a raccoon a few minutes after application. Having spent years and hundreds of dollars on finding the right eyeliner, the only thing that I thought would ever work for me were Japanese liquid liner pens. While they are great for creating a nice cat eye, these pens are horrible when I want to tightline my eyes or want the eyeliner to last all day without caking. This activator made the cake liner budge proof, even after falling asleep more than a few times in all my makeup, I was able to wake up in the morning not looking like something my cat toyed with. Better yet, no irritation on my sensitive eye area like other liner products if I don't remove it before bed.
It definitely took me a few tries to figure out the exact right amount to use. Too much and my cake liner was a mess, too little and it wouldn't be pigmented enough. Use either the backside of the cake liner lid or put a small drop directly on the brush head, test on your hands before applying. It dries quickly so work fast. I've been trying this in combination with some of my eye shadows, it works tons better than water ever did.
Yes it is difficult to get it off your brush, but isn't that why you would want to buy this for your eyelids too? Clean your brush head off on a cotton pad soaked in makeup remover everytime after application. For the slight trouble you will have a truly unbudgeable eye line.
0points
0out of 0found this review helpful.
Review 2 for Tightline Activator
miartist
Location:Mercer Island, WA
Age:45-54
5 out of 5
5 out of 5
Laura Mercier Tightline Activator
-04.23.13
Quick Take: pratical, pragmatic, cost effectice
This is a wonderful product for my tarte clay pot eyeliner. I just add a drop into the pot and I can control how smooth eyeliner is.
0points
0out of 0found this review helpful.
Review 3 for Tightline Activator
wnikkixxz
Location:Kent, WA
Age:35-44
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
On The Fence
-04.10.13
After months of using water as an activator form my Tightline Cake Eye Liner & finally broke down & bought this. It takes awhile to perfect the way to use this product, but once you do it does work as promised. I use it above the lash line...not below the lash line as directed, found that irritated my eyes & gave me a bit of conjunctivitis. Would have given 5 stars if it wasn't for the irritation.
0points
0out of 0found this review helpful.
Review 4 for Tightline Activator
ellen0419
Location:Manhattan, NY
Skin Tone:Light
Eye Color:Brown
Age:18-24
5 out of 5
5 out of 5
amazing! exactly what I needed!
-03.31.13
Quick Take: long wearing
I always uses a gel eyeliner 'bobby brown' black color and since I uses almost every day it gets dried after few weeks of uses so have been having a hard time to putting it on after when it gets dried up.
But guess what after I read a review of this product and decided to purchased it and it was amazing decision!
I used less than one drop on my eye liner brush or the cap of eye liner n put a little bot of dried eyeliner and it melted down really quick and become a brand new eyeliner like I just bought this eye liner. It's amazing if anyone ever had a problem like me; gel eye liner getting dried up.
amazing product!
-just don't ever put more than one drop it gets too watery.
0points
0out of 0found this review helpful.
Review 5 for Tightline Activator
loveinfinity
Location:Chicago, IL
Skin Tone:Light
Eye Color:Brown
Age:18-24
2 out of 5
2 out of 5
-12.17.12
Quick Take: long wearing
I love that this can help the eyeliner itself to become long lasting and waterproof.
However, I am not a big fan that is makes the product too watery and runny.
The packaging can improve a lot as well; every time I screw the bottle shut tightly, the liquid sometimes still oozes out.
Honestly don't think this was a wise purchase.
+4points
4out of 4found this review helpful.
Review 6 for Tightline Activator
jhm84
1 out of 5
1 out of 5
Not worth it; not necessary
-11.19.12
I bought this a few weeks after buying the Tightline Cake Eye Liner, as I was told in-store that it works better than water, and it was sold out when I originally bought Tightline. After using water for a few weeks, I expected something amazing. Turns out, this activator is completely unnecessary, and I actually returned it. With the activator, I found the liner wasn't quite dark enough for my liking. Water works just fine for me.
+4points
5out of 6found this review helpful.
Review 7 for Tightline Activator
awedstuff
Location:Denver, CO
Skin Tone:Light
Eye Color:Green
Age:35-44
5 out of 5
5 out of 5
Like eyeliner super glue (in a good way)
-10.25.12
Quick Take: waterproof, long wearing
The other reviewers that say that you can use water on your cake eyeliner for the same effect must not have super-oily lids. The only way for me to line above the lash linea and have it last more than 3 hours is to use this. That's how oily my lids are. Even "waterproof" liners will smudge onto my lids by 5:00, but this won't. Be forwarned, you WILL need eye makeup remover--soap and water won't budge it. Also, you need to use a spray on alcohol-based brush cleaner (the Sephora brand is awesome) to keep the bristles of your brushes from turning plastic and inflexible. Soap and water doesn't even touch it, and it glues together the bristles. But the spray on brush cleaner is fast and restores the bristles to new.
+8points
8out of 8found this review helpful.
Review 8 for Tightline Activator
apostolou3
Location:Austin, Texas
Age:35-44
1 out of 5
1 out of 5
Tolou
-07.23.12
Quick Take: as good as water
As the product states - ACTIVATOR. Why use a product with so many chemicals? Use water and get the same effect. I tried one eye with the activator and one eye with water. The eye with the water showed better wear than the eye with the activator. The eye with the activator, smudged and transferred earlier on in the day. Both the Caviar cake eye liner and the Tightline cake liner had a tackier feel when applied with the activator, as where when used with water, the water evaporated leaving just the tinted product behind.
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
Review 9 for Tightline Activator
gossamer1013
Location:Huntsville, AL
Age:35-44
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Great if you have oily lids
-07.21.12
Quick Take: pricey worth it for oily lids
I'd used water for the longest time, but finally broke down and got this. The way you dot it on the back of your hand, swipe the brush on your hand, and repeat for your other eye leaves a seriously hard-to-remove smudge on your hand----that's actually great proof that it's going to stay put on your eyes. With water, it lasted half-way through the day. With this, it does last all day. It's more work to remove at night, and you need to try holding your eyes open for 3-4 seconds to let it set when applying---use that time to screw the lid back on because if you knock it over, you've just made a rather expensive mess. Yes, it will stiffen up your liner brush, but use one of those daily brush cleaners. This goes so close to your eye that you really should be doing that anyway.
+3points
3out of 3found this review helpful.
Review 10 for Tightline Activator
Manisha11
Age:35-44
1 out of 5
1 out of 5
Didn't need for Laura Mercier Tightline Shadow
-07.16.12
I initially bought this to use with Laura Mercier Tighline cake eyeshadow but didn't need it. The powder works just fine with water.
0points
1out of 2found this review helpful.
Review 11 for Tightline Activator
cathyofla
Location:montebello, ca
Age:45-54
5 out of 5
5 out of 5
Excellent line
-06.17.12
Quick Take: pure, mild on the eyes, can be used on the inner rims safely
The activator makes an excellent paste for a nice liner that stays put until washed off. Lasts all day.
+1point
1out of 1found this review helpful.
Review 12 for Tightline Activator
aerin
1 out of 5
1 out of 5
Stick to Visine or some other activator
-03.28.12
Quick Take: useless
The tight line activator was so greasy. It ruined cake liner pot and flat brush. It barely picks up color now, even if a different brush was used. Epic fail for sure. Visine did a better job as activator.
+2points
3out of 4found this review helpful.
Review 13 for Tightline Activator
camilla1993
Location:Miami, FL
Eye Color:Brown
Skin Tone:Light
Age:18-24
5 out of 5
5 out of 5
Eyeliner will last all day
-03.23.12
Quick Take: waterproof, long wearing
Use this with the laura mercier tight line eyeliner and you will still have the liner on till nighttime and it will look like you have just put it on too. This product is by far the best I have ever used.
0points
0out of 0found this review helpful.
Review 14 for Tightline Activator
bmacc
Location:Philadelphia
Eye Color:Hazel
Skin Tone:Fair
Age:35-44
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Great but makes the tightline cake hard to remove
-03.15.12
Quick Take: waterproof, long wearing
I guess it does what it is supposed to do for the tightline cake b/c I couldn't get the tighline cake off. Any suggestions? Thanks.
+1point
1out of 1found this review helpful.
Review 15 for Tightline Activator
jane10
Location:Seattle, WA
Eye Color:Brown
Skin Tone:Medium
Age:25-34
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
-03.08.12
Quick Take: waterproof, long wearing
This stuff really does set the Laura Mercier Tightline Liner, it's amazing. I have very ridiculously oily skin, even around my eyes. I've tried Dior, MUFE, and Urban Decay eyeliners and they always smudge and fade. This with the Tightline liner maybe faded a tiny bit on my bottom lashes but didn't smudge and looked fresh and sharp all day.
However, I've been using it 3 days now and it really irritates my eyelids. Unfortunately, I love this product so much I don't want to return it and I'm going to keep using it in hopes that my skin will just get used to it.
Like other people have mentioned, the activator does make the brush a little stiff when dry, but once you saturate it with the activator it softens up again. I also wipe it down really well afterwards to try and minimize the stiffness. I used it with the slanted Sephora brush.
+1point
1out of 1found this review helpful.
Review 16 for Tightline Activator
jessp123
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Good stuff
-02.23.12
I don't follow the instructions with this, I put it right on the eyeliner rather than the hand and then in, I feel like it's a waste to put it on my hand plus then I have a black smudge on my hand for the rest of the day. I really like it, especially with the Sephora brush for cream eyeliner.
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
Review 17 for Tightline Activator
kcmakeup
Location:Baldwin City, KS
Eye Color:Blue
Skin Tone:Fair
Age:35-44
5 out of 5
5 out of 5
works really well
-01.18.12
Quick Take: waterproof, long wearing
The Laura Mercier Tightline Activator is designed to work with the Tightline product and their brush. It is one of my favorite things for my eyes. It helps to define my eyes and it really adds a look of fullness to your eyelash base. You can use the tightliner without the activator, however; you will find that the product sometimes smears to your lower lids. With the tigthliner this RARELY happens - you do have to wait a few seconds for it to dry once it is applied, so that when you blink the product really stays put.
0points
0out of 0found this review helpful.
Review 18 for Tightline Activator
redredred
Location:New York, New York
Eye Color:Green
Skin Tone:Fair
Age:45-54
5 out of 5
5 out of 5
Amazing Miracle product!
-01.06.12
Quick Take: smudgable, waterproof, long wearing, magic
Turn any eye shadow into a gel like substance, perfect for tightling that looks gorgeous and lasts until you remove it. This product is truly magic. I don't know what I have done for so long without it. You can chsnge your eyeshadows into a completely different product in seconds and all with this inexpensive product. This is a must have for me. Also, I tend to have very sensitive eyes and this product does not irritae them at all.!
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
Review 19 for Tightline Activator
zeldatoday
Location:austin, tx
Eye Color:Hazel
Age:over 54
1 out of 5
1 out of 5
Awful product don't buy
-01.02.12
Quick Take: awful
This product is too expensive, ruins the tightline brush and tighline cake. It is not worth it. Run away. Laura Mercier-you should be ashamed.
+1point
3out of 5found this review helpful.
Review 20 for Tightline Activator
dorey
Location:chicago
Eye Color:Hazel
Skin Tone:Olive
Age:45-54
5 out of 5
5 out of 5
Practice made Perfect!
-12.01.11
Quick Take: long wearing
It took some practice, but now it's perfect. The tech told me to use by putting a drop onto my hand to "wet" the brush. Didn't work that well AND I found I had to keep putting droplets onto my wrist to get the right amount. Don't do that. Now I actually take the brush and "dip" lightly into the jar. The trick: only dip the very tip - not the entire brush. Turns out perfect every time and takes 2 seconds to apply with perfection.
+6points
6out of 6found this review helpful.
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