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Four Women, Four Different Takes on Classic Black Eyeliner
I remember reading a post Sarai wrote about red lipstick and feeling envious of her ability to pull off bold red lips.
But then I realized something – we all have our own favorite features we like to play up. For me, it has always been my eyes. I started wearing winged black eyeliner in 6th grade. Now I hardly feel I look like myself without it.
A few months back, I noticed three other lady bloggers also have signature black cat eyeliner. But we all have our own slight twist on the look, so I thought it would be fun to compare our preferred application methods.
Rochelle
Rochelle of Lucky Lucille uses a soft eye pencil for the basic shape, then sharpens it up with a felt tip liquid liner.
Erin
Erin, Miss Crayola Creepy, prefers Kat Von D’s liquid eyeliner (here). “It’s the only one I will use!”
Lauren
Lauren, Lladybird, uses Liquidlast eyeliner from MAC (here). “It’s the only one that has the brush I like. No felt tip here!”
Rachel
And then there is me. I’ve used many different styles of eyeliner over the years. At the moment, I am using a combination:
- The felt tipped liquid liner by MAC (here) is my base. It lasts all day and night without smudging.
- I then clean up the lines, using an angle brush and Long-wear Gel Eyeliner by Bobbi Brown (here).
My Cat Eye Application Method
Step 1: Using the liquid liner, I start at the center of my eyelid and draw a line outward. The line should be as thin as possible at the center, then gradually thicken till you reach the outer corner.
Step 2: Add a bit of an upward sweeping wing.
Step 3: Using the angle brush and gel liner, go back over the line you just made, sweeping out at the wing so it fades to nothing.
Step 4: Use the angle brush and gel liner to make a super fine line from the center of your lid to the inner corner.
Step 5: Further exaggerate the look with mascara. Do not curl your lashes, and apply the mascara to your outermost lashes only.
Do you have any tips or tricks for eyeliner application?
Comments
Johanna@projects by me
October 9, 2013 #
I have no eyelashes and use eyeliner to fake them, I couldn’t live without it. I make quite a bold line, sort of like Lauren/Lladybird. It was hard at first to put on eyeliner when you don’t have the lashes to guide you but now it’s no problem. I used to prefer eyeliner with a brush, but now I have a brand that uses something between a brush and a felt tip, it softens with use.
Heidilea
October 9, 2013 #
A steady hand, that’s my only advice!
As a teenager, I used to use pencils–usually the cheap kind (Wet N Wild, Emerge–NYC hadn’t come out yet). I’m not sure when I bought my first liquid eyeliner–I’m guessing around one of my proms (Junior prom, I wore a black sheath with a shell that had been my grandmother’s; Senior, I wore a gothic dress, also black). What I do remember is that it wasn’t very good–it became watery and thin like watercolor paints.
After trial and error of a few different brands, I find I like Palladio best (Sally Beauty). I do have a tiny bottle of Lancome gunmetal eyeliner that I like a lot, from my aunt when she worked for them (going to her house was like Second Christmas). However, it’s too expensive for me to buy outright.
Another thing: I am too pale and blonde to properly pull of black. It looks really terrible, unless I am doing full goth. Sometimes I soften black with a silvery eyeshadow, but most of the time, I wear either bronze or lavender.
El
October 9, 2013 #
This is so great you posted this. I never wore makeup until I was in my 20s and just yesterday I was trying to decide if I wanted to try eyeliner. I have never even tried it and felt totally lost knowing how to apply it. I think you wrote this just for me! Thank you! :) I shall now forge ahead with confidence and try it!
Angela
October 9, 2013 #
I read a tip with eyeliner that helped me so much- instead of trying to do the line all together, draw short dashes, and then connect them. Changed my life.
Jeanine
October 9, 2013 #
Love the suggestions—I too, love MAC for non-budge, but have found a drugstore brand that works even better. I play in a rock band and have oily skin, which proves to be a messy situation for eyeliner. Milani makes a liquid liner that stays and DOES NOT SMEAR! I tend to use the dark brown though, since black is too stark for my coloring. For day, I use pencil by Urban Decay in bourbon and smudge it a bit.
New Ribena
October 9, 2013 #
After I tried Becca Cake liner applied with a very thin Hakuhodo brush I have never looked back…
Jen
October 9, 2013 #
I rarely have the occasion or the time to put on more than sunblock (I have 4 kids,ages 13 to newborn) but on those few that I do, I like the sharpness of gel liner and a slight cat eye because it’s the only look I can do and not truly screw up. But because I don’t do it often, I’m not the greatest at it. I wish I was better at everyday makeup; I do so much better with wilder looks on Halloween or some other costume event.
Sarah
October 9, 2013 #
Practise, practise practise is my advise.
Eyeliner in my thing too, I tend to try out different things from time to time but I like to use a soft pencil to draw in the shape and then I go over it using liquid eye liner, my current favorite is urban decay!
I also like to line the inner rim of my bottom lash line and for this I use a soft pencil, which I then go over using an eyeliner make up brush with black eyeshadow that I dampen with the tip of my tongue and it stays put all day :)
Laurel
October 15, 2013 #
Don’t, please don’t line inside lower lashes! It does make blue eyes pop when done with blue liner, but it also gives a really bad infection that takes forever to clear up. The blue was good. The red? Not so good. And it can permanently scar your cornea too.
Vicki Ball
October 9, 2013 #
Really useful thank you
Alyson Clair
October 9, 2013 #
I don’t mess around with anything with a brush. I’ve been rocking the cat-eye daily since 9th grade. The key is a tapered felt tip brush.
The best bulletproof one – and waterproof is:
http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod560126
For non-waterproof I love this best. Goes on nice, and is vegan.
https://www.gabrielcosmeticsinc.com/index.cfm/product/61/zuzu-luxe-liquid-eyeliner.cfm
Lisa
October 9, 2013 #
Thanks for a great post! If I ever splurge on a gel liner and a brush, I will definitely be coming back to this to figure out what to do with them.
I remember the first time trying to use eyeliner. It was the morning of my first performance in an actual (albeit small) ballet, before dress rehearsal. I used a felt-tip pen and scared the dickens out of myself. It may have taken about 30 minutes to get a smudgy-but-at-least-dark pair of lines around my eyes. :)
Now that I can actually use it properly, I use black liquid liner (when I do) by NYC. It’s cheap, which is good for the college girl’s budget, but not much else.
Sarah
October 9, 2013 #
My all time favourite black eyeliner is a liquid eyeliner from Lush Cosmetics. It’s quick dry and has a fine tip brush. I also love the purple liquid liner, it makes blue eyes look amazing.
When I was first learning, I found the best way to hide mistakes was to line my lashes with a black powder then going back over with the liquid liner.
Ami
October 9, 2013 #
Ah what a fun post! I love eyeliner- I also love lipstick and blusher tho- I’m just generally a bit makeup obsessed! Hehe!
I used the mac pot of gel liner with the angled brush for years and then recently tried a drugstore option on a whim and I actually love it- Bourjois pinceau liner. I sometimes go for very very dark brown over black as it still reads as black but I think it works as quite a colour lifter with green/ blue eyes.
Thanks for the post ladies! Love all your looks :)
Elena Knits
October 10, 2013 #
Thank you for this tips. I’m getting a new eyeliner this week :)
Claire
October 10, 2013 #
Watch videos of Bobbi Brown doing Sali Hughes eyes in the guardian. Also watch Sali Hughes videos in both the guardian and her own website Sali Hughes beauty. Also Lisa Eldridge’s videos are amazing too!!!!
Miss Crayola Creepy
October 10, 2013 #
Thanks for the mention! xoxo!
Maren
October 10, 2013 #
Lancôme ArtLiner – it’s pricey, but completely worth it. The felt-tip brush has the best shape out of all the liquid liners I’ve tried (and I’ve tried many!). It’s thin enough at the end that you can get a really precise line and the liner always comes out evenly. I can’t recommend it enough!
LORI
October 10, 2013 #
I have permanent eyeliner and brows which is the best investment I have ever made for myself. I have to darken it, but it always looks just put on. When I roll out of bed, I look great. It is a real look changer.
Joyce Giordano
October 15, 2013 #
I’ll have to agree with Lori’s comment about permanent eyeliner. It’s, by far, the best investment I ever made!
Rochelle New
October 10, 2013 #
Great post, Rachel! I’ll be on the lookout for some gel liner to try now :)
PendleStitches
October 13, 2013 #
I love the felt pen liners…you can easily go delicate or bold as the mood takes you.
Alessa
October 14, 2013 #
I figured out how to do eyeliner in the dressing room of a small theater, an hour before my very first dress rehersal as a (hobby) actress started. That time I used cake make-up (the one that looks like watercolour) and a tiny paintbrush. Every time before I had used felt-tip eyeliner and it was a mess. Now I mostly use brush tip liquid eyeliner when I do wear it (which is mostly just for special occasions) and do multiple little wings at the end, like false lashes.