Why Eyeliner?
To me eyeliner is the most important step in my makeup routine because it helps define my eyes and give me the appearance of looking awake. If I was late for work and have very little time to put on makeup I would only put on concealer and eyeliner and I'm out the door. Besides defining the eyes their are people who put on a thin line of eyeliner to make the lashes appear fuller and thicker. Eyeliner can also be a statement and give a type of look and personality, for example someone can have a heavy dark liner to give it a rocker look or a cat eye liner to give it a fierce look.
Left eye is with liner and right eye is without
Click on the thumbnails for tutorials
Working with your eye shape
Most people would apply eyeliner depending on their eye shape. I've seen mono-lids would apply a very thick liner on upper lashes so when they look up the liner is still visible and make the eye appear bigger. While those with bigger eyes would apply a thinner liner on the top and bottom lids to make the eyes appear slightly smaller. To me however you chose to line your eyes is all up to you, you don't necessary have to follow the rules, play around with your liner and see what suits you the most.
Types of Eyeliners
1) Pencil/Retractable Pencil: These are the easiest to line your eyes with however don't expect them to be smudge/fade proof or last all day. However these are great if you want a smokey look, simply after your apply the pencil liner get a smudger or pencil brush and smudge the liner into a gradient effect.
Recommended Brands: Revlon ColorStay, Milani Liquif'eye, Urban Decay 24/7, Maybelline Eye StudioMaster Drama, Makeup Forever Pencil Aqua Eyes
2) Liquid Pen/Marker: Another easiest liner to line your eyes because it's like a pen form. These usually last longer then the pencil liner because it's in a liquid form. My only con is just like a regular marker these do dry up over time because of the felt tip. To get every drop of the product it's recommend to store these upside down in a cup so all the liquid is on the felt tip.
Recommended Brands: Physicians Formula Eye Booster, Milani Eye Tech
3) Liquid: These liners usually comes in a thin brush and a ink-well so to get the product you would dip the brush in the well. Unlike the pencil and pen liners these are usually a little more difficult to apply because majority of these liners comes with a very thin brush but with practice these should be a piece of cake. Since its a liquid formula lasting power is usually long but drying time takes a little longer.
Recommended Brands: L'oreal Lineur Intense, Maybelline Line Stiletto, Revlon Colorstay, Makeup Forever Liquid Aqua Eyes
4) Gel: These come in little pots and similar to the liquid you will need a brush to get the product and most of them don't come with a brush (except drugstore brands). It dries a little faster then the liquid and the texture is buttery soft it glides on pretty smooth. Gel liners usually don't fade and crease that much throughout the day.
Recommended Brands: Mac Fluidline, Essence Gel Liner, Maybelline Studio Gel Liner
5) Cream: Similar concept as the gel liner however overtime these do dry out faster in the pot so the texture can get hard. Otherwise when applied these dry faster on the lids so you don't have to wait in the morning.
Recommended Brand: Wet n' Wild Cream Liner, Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing, Stila Smudge Pot
Now if you ask me what kind I prefer I would have to say Gel and Liquid base liners only because these usually last the longest on my oily lids.
Color Liners
Color liners is another great way to give your eyes a pop of color or to enhance your natural eye color. I think color liners are very fun and great for summer.
Tutorial
I will show you how I typically line my eyes every morning, it takes me no more then a minute to apply both eyes because I only apply them on my upper lash line and I don't tight-line anymore like I use to.
Step 1) Apply a eyeshadow base all over the lid, I'm using Too Faced Shadow Insurance, this will help everything on your lid to last all day without fading or creasing.
Step 2) Apply a eyeshadow of your choice, I'm using a shimmery nude eyeshadow from NYX. If you have oily lids like mine it's highly recommend you apply a powdery eyeshadow to prevent eyeliners from transferring to your upper lids.
Step 3)
I'll be using Mac Fluidline gel liner and a tiny angle brush from Loew Cornell which is a painting brush but I find this brush so much easier to use then a regular eyeliner brushes, just make sure the bristles are soft.
For me the easiest way to apply is by holding a handheld mirror, look down at it while your other hand holding brush and then apply. If you have shaky hands I recommend you rest your elbow (the one holing the brush) on the table.
Step 4 First I start in the middle of my lid and then glide it down to the inner corner.
Step 5 I do the same for the other side.
Step 6) For my bottom line I usually apply only a matte brown eyeshadow instead of a liner to give it a more natural look. Here I'm using Revlon Matte Shadow in "Rich Sable".
Once you're done you may set the liner with a black eyeshadow or a translucent face power if you want it to last all day.
Whatever eyeliner you pick out and style you choose to do is all up to you, I hope you find this post helpful and if you have any questions you may drop them in my comments section or email me at aniyuna@yahoo.com.
Thank you for reading!
Disclaimer: Everything used in this tutorial is purchase by me and I'm not affiliated or sponsored and did not get paid to mention any of the products in this post, it's all my own opinion.
