When applying makeup, defining the eyes is an important step most women don’t want to miss. Eye liner can be useful for creating an illusion of more evenly spaced or shaped eyes or it can help draw attention to your eyes, if they’re your very best feature. But sometimes, getting that definition with an eye liner can be tricky. Whether you want to achieve a soft line or a dramatic edge, the right eye liner application could be the perfect finishing touch on your look.
Color Perfect
First of all, you want to be sure you’re using the right type and color of eye liner to get the desired effect. Color is the easiest choice, since most people opt for the same basic colors. Shop for brown, navy, charcoal, or plum if you’d like a subtle but effective look. Save black for those dramatic eye-lining looks. Use darker shades on the upper lid and only softer tans, taupes, or soft browns if you choose to line the lower lid.
To choose the right color for you, start with your eye color. Green eyes are best complimented by smoky violets and plums, as well as mauves. Brown eyes get the best effects from slate, blue, gray, and plum. If you have blue eyes, stick to brown, camel, and taupe colors for your eye liners. Black works on everyone, but might give you a more dramatic edge than what you’re looking for, but the choice is up to you!
The Right Formula
Eye liner also comes in different formulas, including pencil, liquid, cream, cake, and cream or gel. Most women start with a pencil liner, because they are the easiest to use (and erase, if you make a mistake). Start with a pencil for good practice, but always make sure the tip is freshly sharpened to get the most defined line. Try these other formulas when you’re confidence improves:
Liquid liner, which is applied with a fine-tipped brush. This takes a steady hand and a little bit of patience to apply just right, but once you get the hang of it, you might appreciate the long-lasting look and the more defined look. Cake liner, which is used by makeup professionals. This one is hard to erase if you make a mistake, but it will last all day long. Get the makeup of the stars with a cake liner. Cream/gel liners are applied with an angle brush. Unlike liquid, you must wet the brush to pick up the cream liner, but the application is very similar.
Perfect Eye Liner Application
Eye liner is one of the last steps of your makeup application, so apply your foundation and eye shadow before you get started. When you’re ready, make sure you have a good mirror and enough lighting to be able to see what you’re doing. Keep a steady hand as you apply, no matter what formula you’re using.
Start by closing one eye, and gently push up on your eyebrow to life the eye lid just a little bit. You should have a nice, flat surface and better access to your upper lid’s lash line. Using the very tip of your pencil or applicator brush, draw short dots in a straight line as close to your eyelashes as possible. Avoid drawing a straight line as they never seem to look straight when you let go of your lid! Once you’ve dotted all the way across, let go of your brow and try to “connect the dots” into a straight line, without adding too much thickness to the line (unless you want a heavily-lined look). The point of this dot method is to avoid leaving space between your lashes and liner, which can be a terrible make up faux pas and looks sloppy. And, it takes away from the illusion of thicker eye lashes that a good liner application can give you!
If you have larger eye lids, make the line a little thicker and softer. You can smudge or soften the eye liner with the tip of a cotton swab, just gently wipe from the inside corner to the outside corner. Small eye lids are better defined by a thinner, more precise eye liner. If you have close-set eyes, opt for this thin line as well, with a thickening effect toward the outside corner to draw attention outward. Wider set eyes look best when you emphasize the inner corners of the eyes in an opposite approach.
References:
Care N Style. How to Apply Perfect Eyeliner.
Target Woman. How to Apply Eyeliner.
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