I absolutely love eyeliner! It is one of my favorite makeup cosmetics to wear. I can skip all of the other steps in my makeup routine, but as long as I have eyeliner on, I feel that my look is complete. My armor is set for me to go out and take on the world.
Eyeliner can be intense, and for those learning makeup, it can be really intimidating. Eyeliner can take time and work to learn as well. So today, I will teach you all seven tips to help you learn to apply eyeliner like a pro.
1. The Type of Eyeliner You Use Matters
There are different types of eyeliner. There are inexpensive drugstore ones, high-end ones, and ones with different formulas such as gel liners. Some eyeliners are mineral-based and natural, which makes them great for sensitive skin and eyes. Some drugstore eyeliners should be avoided if you have very sensitive eyes because they can irritate your eyes and cause your makeup to fade and run.
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Eyeliner comes in different forms. The form that your eyeliner comes in makes a difference in the application.
Pencil eyeliners that you have to sharpen take more time, they can be inconvenient to apply, you can go through them quickly so they may not be very cost-effective, and you have to be careful about sharpening them because they can get too sharp or be too blunt and tear and pull the skin on the eye.
Another thing with pencil liners is that you can not control the exact shape and size of the line as easily sometimes since you may have to keep sharpening it to keep it thin, so for makeup looks that require a very thin fine eyeliner line, and which you want to create instantly in less time, you may want to avoid these kinds of pencil liners; instead, opt for a liquid liner (which I will talk about more later) or an auto pencil liner.
At the same time, pencil liners that you need to sharpen tend to be the most smudge-proof. This is why beginners tend to start with these types of eyeliners. Plus, this makes them great for heavy eyeliner looks, such as punk, rock, or goth. Auto pencil liners have all of these benefits, but you do not have to sharpen them, so they are faster to apply and you do not have to worry about them cutting the skin on the eye.
Gel liners are one of my favorite liners to use. They glide across the eye smoothly, and you can get them in a pencil form with an auto sharpener attached. Gel liners save you a lot of time and the application is smooth and easy. Unfortunately, these eyeliners tend to smudge a lot, so you will almost always have to pair it with something else like setting spray or eyeshadow to reduce smudging. The proneness for smudging can make these liners bad for long wear or places like clubs.
Some gel liner formulas are not the best either because they can cake and harden and get into your eyes and irritate them. This can happen when the liner dries too fast; it can also happen when the liner breaks up because you went over it too many times, or you applied a setting powder or eyeshadow over it. If this happens, your makeup can fade as your eyes water from irritation, and it can ruin your makeup.
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Liquid liners are the most perfect in terms of formula since they are dark in pigmentation and they do not smudge. Liquid liners do tend to contain more chemicals though that can irritate the eyes of sensitive people, and they do require a lot of practice and precision, so they are not for beginners. Liquid liners are great though for allowing you to control the exact shape of the line that you want to draw and you can even make them super thin if you want, so these liners are great for very precise or very natural makeup looks.
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All eyeliners vary greatly in terms of quality. Poor quality eyeliners tend to be too cheap in terms of cost, and the pigmentation can be terrible (too light, streaky, and sheer instead of opaque), patchy, or disappear quickly, even if you do not touch it. So for the best eyeliner application, you should start with a good quality liner, and choose the right type of eyeliner based on your needs and the kind of makeup looks that you want to create. Once you know what you want, it is time to start applying your eyeliner.
2. Prep Eyes First Before Applying Eyeliner
When it comes to applying eyeliner, you should always prep the eyes beforehand. Prepping the eyes means applying eye primer (and/or eye cream) beforehand. There are various types of eye primers. There are silicone-based ones, as well as water-based ones. A water-based primer is good for those with dry skin on their eyes, and a silicone-based primer is good for those with oily lids since it can restrict oil production in this area.
Silicone-based primers are very soft and feel almost like oil or silk, but they are not for everyone. Silicone-based eye primers do not work for me, and they tend to make my eyeliner smudge more, so I prefer water-based eye primers. You need to decide which type of eye primer you need based on the condition of the skin on your eyelids.
A good eye primer will enhance your eyeliner color and extend how long your eye makeup lasts, but a primer that is not compatible with your skin may ruin your eyeliner and cause it to run and ruin your whole look.
3. How To Line The Eyes With Eyeliner
There are many different styles available to line the eyes. If you are a beginner and not comfortable with eyeliner yet, then you may want to start with no eyeliner at all, and just focus on mascara and natural eyeshadow colors.
You can also tightline your eyes, which is easy to do since you just apply eyeliner to the upper and lower lashline and follow the natural shape and curve of the eye. Tightlining also creates thin and natural eye makeup looks, so it is great for everyday wear and when going to work.
When wanting to go beyond tightlining or the no-makeup makeup look, you can do just about anything, but here are some tips to help you practice lining your eyes better:
1. Make the liner thinner at the inner corner, and slightly thicker towards the middle of the eye/the pupil, and thickest towards the end of the eye.
2. Avoid thick eyeliner at the inner corner of the eye.
3. Try to make both eyes as even as possible with the same shape and curve. Keep the same thinness or thickness on both eyes in the same places as much as possible.
4. Setting Eyeliner
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| Photo by Marcelo Moreira from Pexels |
Most eyeliners say that they are waterproof and smudge-proof, but they usually are not, so you will almost always need to set the eyeliner you use with a setting powder, an eyeshadow, or a liquid liner on top of it to smudge-proof it. Setting your eyeliner will help keep it in place longer and reduce smudging throughout the day.
5. Smudge-Proofing Eyeliner
A simple way to help reduce smudging regardless of the eyeliner that you use is to apply it only on the upper lash line. Avoid applying eyeliner to the lower lashline, and past the outermost part of the eye. The reason for this is because these areas tend to water and have a lot of smudging, so avoiding these areas can greatly help reduce smudging.
6. Using Wild Eyeliner Colors
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| Photo by 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐇𝐃 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞- 𝐮𝐩 & 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐦𝐞 from Pexels |
When you get more comfortable with applying eyeliner, you may want to start venturing out into more wild unfamiliar territory. After all, playing with wild colors is so fun, and it is the perfect way to enjoy the holidays, the summer, and the spring season. Some popular wild eyeliner colors today are grey, blue, purple, red, and green.
Wild eyeliner colors take a bit more creativity to apply, but here is a tip to help you:
Apply dark eyeshadows around the outer part of the eye, but for lighter colors such as golds, pinks, and pastels, they look best when applied on the lid and at the inner corner. Lighter shades can also be used to highlight certain areas like underneath the eyebrow tail.
You can actually mix different wild colors in your eye makeup look, but it takes some understanding of color theory and contrast to make sure that you use colors that complement each other and do not clash, so this may be challenging for beginners.
7. Applying Eyeliner Based On Skin Color/Tan
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| Photo by Dazzle Jam from Pexels |
Women of color or women with a deep tan can have a hard time with eyeliner. Browns tend to not show up on really dark skin or some medium skin tones unless it has glitter or shimmer in it, so for those with really dark or brown skin, certain eyeliners and eyeshadows work better. These include black and blue eyeliner, bright vivid colors, shimmers, and glitter.
Also, some drugstore eyeliners are not very dark, so I always suggest going for kohl and kajal liners, rather than traditional eyeliners if your skin is tan.
Conclusion
When it comes to eye makeup, eyeliner and eyeshadow help enhance the eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul. Your eyes and the way that you decorate them can tell a story about you; they express your beliefs, your personal style, and your interests. What story or words do you think your eye makeup tells about you?
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| Photo by Jc Laurio from Pexels |
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