How to apply Liquid Eyeliner

Liquid eyeliner. Our biggest makeup struggle and the cause of one too many late arrivals to important events. Who knew one little makeup product could make us want to wail and pull our hair out?

Even if you’re a total pro at liquid eyeliner, everyone can agree that liquid eyeliner is a royal pain.

Unfortunately, there’s no secret to becoming the lining legend, but there are some tips and tricks we can offer to help you along the way.

To get started, let’s discuss the two different types of liquid eyeliners

First, we have felt tip liners. These liners are like a pen or a marker and are very easy to use. They would be my recommendation for beginners.

Then we have dip-brushes. These liners come with flexible brushes that have to be dipped into a pot to retrieve more product, much like a nail polish. Dip-brushes offer free movement when applying liner and are excellent for creating sharp, wispy ends once you get the hang of them. However, I would only try dip-brush liners once you can confidently use felt tips.

Now let’s unpack the formula

Liquid eyeliners have a very thin texture, meaning that you can create exceptionally thin, precise lines, and manipulate the tip to create intricate designs for SFX looks.

Liquid liner has better staying power than other types of eyeliner and usually sets with a satin/semi-glossy finish. This staying power however, means that you cannot easily blend out your mistakes as you can with eyeliner pencils. Those bumps and wavy lines will be locked in place for the rest of the day, so keep a steady hand when applying and carefully go over your mistakes with caution.

Ready to start lining? Here are our tips

• Make sure you’re applying your eyeliner after you’ve finished with eyeshadow. Otherwise, you’ll completely mess up all your hard work!

• Seat yourself at a desk with a mirror, resting your elbow on the desk to ensure a steady hand. This position is also good as looking down into a mirror will give you a much more accurate and precise line.

• If you feel confident enough to line from scratch, just make sure to apply your liner in short strokes, keeping them thin at the inner corner and gradually thickening them by the end of the lash line.

• If you need more guidance, use your liner to draw small, evenly spaced dots along the lash line and then simply connect the dots – ta da!

• Add the tail by creating a small, upwards stroke at the end of the lash line until you’re satisfied with the length and thickness. Keep it small for a simple look or extend your tail with a thin line for that dramatic cat-eyed look.

• Refrain from tugging the eye. This not only encourages premature wrinkles, but also changes your eye shape and leads to wobbly, crooked lines.

• Also, do not use liquid liner on your waterline. It’ll burn and sting like crazy!

Let’s get lining, ladies!