Can’t Manage Eyeliner? Five Unbeatable Tips To Get It Right
“I can’t do eyeliner. Please come to my house everyday to do this,” chuckled the female professor sitting in my makeup chair. Dressed in a blue pantsuit and cream blouse, she was preparing to go on camera and talk about her research in the field of biomechanics, yet when it came to eyeliner, she was at a loss.
For every woman I have made up in my career, probably one out of two reiterates this sentence. Do you want to know how to apply eyeliner like a pro? Here are my top five tips to get it right.
“I CAN’T SEE WHAT I’M DOING!”
This is probably one of the most common iterations from older women on applying eyeliner. What do you do when you can’t see what your doing? When I turned forty-eight, my perfect vision flung itself out the door never to return. Having said that, I’ve made modifications in my morning routine to allow for this awkward arrival.
To get your eyeliner right, try using a magnifying mirror to make up for the problem, however; this strategy comes with a warning. Do not linger with the mirror over the rest of your face. As women, we are already so hard on ourselves and a magnifying mirror doesn’t help us in this regard. Just remember, when people look at us, they don’t see our skin as the close-up mirror see’s it. Pull back from the magnifying mirror, look into the regular mirror, and say, I love you, you are beautiful.
IT’S ABOUT THE PRODUCT
There are many cosmetics you can buy from the drug store, but not eyeliner pencil. Cheaper brands will have a harder feel, blend less well, and frankly aren’t worth it.
In order to apply eyeliner on mature skin, you need a soft pencil that doesn’t melt down your face at the first sign of warmer temperatures or, dare I say it, a hot flash! Have you ever dashed to the bathroom to clean up your eyeliner after one of these? I have. That’s why I recommend a waterproof or water repellent eyeliner pencil so that this doesn’t happen.
Try MAC Cosmetics Technakohl Liner. This liner stays put under hot lights, and during hot moments-whatever that may be. Remember, though, that each of our skin reacts differently and you have to find a liner that works specifically for you. For clean beauty brands, try 100% Pure Creamy Long Last Liner.
BETWEEN THE LASHES, BABY
A technique that has served me well is to look down my nose into the mirror, and bring the pencil from below rather than above the eye-line. In this way, you can apply the product in small strokes that go between the lashes, not on top of them.
Messy eyeliner is usually caused by trying to apply liner above the lash line, as opposed to between it! Pull your eye to the side a little as you work with the liner and it will go on easier. Start from the outer edge of your eye and work your way slowly inward, going all the way to the inner corner, using small movements. It doesn’t matter if it isn’t perfect, because of point #4 . . .
BLEND, BLEND, BLEND!
This is key! Use a stiff, narrow brush and run it over the liner in order to blend the edges to a smoky finish. This technique ensures that your eyeliner isn’t bumpy and messy, but rather soft and without solid edges. As much as possible, keep the inner liner as narrow as you can, and the outer liner as blended as you can.
Also, if you have dark circles, I would avoid putting eyeliner under you eye as it can draw attention to the circles. If this isn’t an issue for you, then put a little on the outer edge of your under eye area and blend it with the brush.
DO EYELINER BEFORE EYESHADOW
There is no “correct” order to apply makeup. Try applying your liner first before anything else except an eye base, if you use one. Eye base can help makeup not crease and stay on longer. You can also add a bit of eye base under your bottom lashes to keep pencils from smudging.
In any case, putting liner on first makes any mistakes less dramatic and easier to repair. Be sure, however, to keep your eye shadow color off of the already applied liner to keep it from looking muddy. Try your eye makeup in this order: eye base, eye liner pencil, blend the pencil with a brush, crease color, then a dot of something shimmery on your eyelid for glamour!
Glamour is one of the greatest gifts of being a woman and should be used with panache. This look is pretty and simple to create once you get the hang of it.
I hope this has been helpful to you. Please let me know if you have any questions and remember that you are a beautiful creation!
First published at SixtyandMe 11/24/19
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