Maybelline Eye Studio Master Drama Cream Pencil - Review

I'm beginning to hate the word "dupe," as applied to a less expensive product when it may be similar to a higher end product. Hate. Such a strong word, but I've found that Youtube "Gurus" seem to love to over use the mere concept of a dupe.
But, I've found one. Sort of. Because I can't help myself, and my local Fred Meyer (which still has a full display of Golden Age trios!) seems to get new makeup collections before anyone else, I found a few new things from Maybelline I had to try, and this review is for one of them. 

 Maybelline's been very busy with their new Eye Studio line. Not only do they have a new selection of palettes (which I probably won't be getting one of), but they have a new creamy-mechanical-pencil type eyeliner, called Master Drama. Maybelline says:

Experience the new generation of liner: 

• Oil-free cream formula holds the highest concentration of pigments for more intense eye drama

• Smudge-proof and waterproof for 24 hours

• Most intense line for lasting drama

• Safe for sensitive eyes and ophthalmologist-tested

• Contact lens safe

I had to try one, after being so please with the Stila Smudgestick, and I can't bear to pay $22 for an eyeliner, no matter how good. I chose Bold Brown (# 415), since brown liner is something I use every day. At first swatch, I was impressed by how similar the color was to Lionfish. At the end of the first day, I wondered if I'd ever think of buying a Stila Smudgestick again (which, I may, but... we'll get to my eyeliner problem another day). 

Color-wise, Bold Brown is very, very, very similar to Lionfish. In person, they're almost identical. Of course, on the eye, they look dead on. There is a slightly difference, which leads me to my only real problem with this liner. Lionfish is creamy, pigmented, and lovely. Master Drama is drier, potentially less pigmented (due to the dryness), and lovely, even with the other two attributes being less than stellar. I can't tell if the Maybelline liner is less pigmented, or if the consistency makes it appear to be less pigmented. It certainly doesn't glide easily on the lid like the Stila liner, but I don't have to stab myself in the eye to get the color to show up. 

Wear time on this is excellent. Really, I could cut and paste my poetic waxings about the Smudgestick here, because I found this liner to wear just as well. Does it really last 24 hours? I don't know, but I can say it looked the same after 12 hours of wear as it did immediately after I applied it. It doesn't smudge quite as well as the Stila liner, which is probably because of the drier texture, which is a slight annoyance, but for $7 or whatever it was, I can deal with that.

Overall, I'm super impressed with this liner. I wish it was a bit creamier, but that's probably the only thing I would change. If you think Stila's Smudgesticks are amazing, or you really want to try them but can't swallow the price, I think you'll like these just as much!