Makeup Basics: How to Apply Eyeliner
Monday, February 13, 2012Hi guys! I hope Monday is treating you well.
I have a really simple post to share with you all today - how to apply eyeliner. I think this is a really simple, essential step in a makeup routine, and one that, if done right, can make a huge difference to your look.
I am demonstrating this with a gel eyeliner and an eyeliner brush, but you can use any kind of eyeliner you like.
Start with the usual - close your eyes and apply your eyeliner close to your lashline - how thick you want your eyeliner to be is entirely up to you.
I will be posting another basic tutorial soon on how to wear your eyeliner to enhance your eye shape, so look out for that!
The finished result should look something like this, but the picture below shows the eyeliner mistake that a lot of people make.
If you look closely, you will notice that on the lashline itself, the flesh in between the lashes is left bare. This is a mistake made very often, and one that is extremely noticeable, and not in a good way! The fix is extremely simple, and doesn't take much longer :)
What you do to fix this is simple, and it's called 'tightlining'. Using your finger, lightly lift your eyelid so that the area of flesh in between your lashes is more accessible. Then, dot the eyeliner in between your lashes and lightly smudge, taking it all the way along the lashline.
If you are using a liquid eyeliner, doing this part takes a little patience. You'll need to dot the liner more, because it is difficult to smudge liquid eyeliner along the lashline.
This is the final result!
Now for the wings. It's important to get the angle of the wing right, especially for people with hooded lids or droopy eyes. One trick I discovered is to use my eyeliner brush and follow the angle of my lower lashline, or to angle the liner from the corner of the eye towards the end of the eyebrows, as shown below.
The best way to do it is to draw a fine line following the angle that you 'created' with the brush earlier.
Then, double back on yourself, creating a triangle that thins towards the inner corner of the eye. Fill in the triangle (though I think that this unfilled triangle look is quite cool and edgy!)
Always remember, with Asian eyelids, hooded, or monolids, you should look straight ahead into a mirror to ensure that whatever line you're drawing shows properly when your eyes are open.
Here are some other useful tips for drawing on eyeliner:
- It helps to have a mirror that swivels, so that it can be placed below you, so that you can look down into it. Looking down into the mirror helps you draw on your eyeliner without having to try and hold your eye shut or squint.
- People with hooded lids or monolids are better off using gel eyeliner, because they last longer and don't smudge when the flesh on the lids overlap, or when the lids are oily.
I hope these tips helped you. I will also be posting a list of my favourite eyeliners soon, so watch out for that post if you're interested. I'm a total eyeliner fiend so I've tried heaps!
Let me know if you have any questions, or if you have any other tips you'd like to share! :)
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