How To Use Eyeliner

Eyeliner has been used in one form or another for thousands of years, believe it or not. Today, it is still one of the important fundamental makeup tools used by women all around the world to create their makeup look. There are a variety of options ranging from cheap eyeliner to high-end eyeliner and it can be used in a variety of ways to create a variety of effects and in this article designed for the beginner or novice, we will teach you how to enhance (arguably) the most important feature on your face – the windows to your soul – your eyes.

There are 3 main types of eyeliner that you can choose from:

Pencil eyeliner

Liquid eyeliner

Gel eyeliner

Depending on your level of experience and depending on the look that you would like to achieve will dictate what type you use.

Generally, a good place to start is with pencil eyeliners. This is in part because it is harder to apply too much or too little. Depending on the look you want to create either make sure your pencil is sharp for more precise and fine lines or make sure it is dull to create thicker lines. Pencils are a great place to start because they require slightly less accuracy than the other options and you can create some unique looks, ranging from a natural look to a smoky sexy look.

To apply the pencil eyeliner, pull taught the eyelid by gently pulling the outer eyelid away from your nose and raise your eyebrow. We recommend starting from the inner corner and moving outwards with light short strokes to ensure that the line you are creating is straight. You can get a bit creative and use a slightly lighter coloured eyeliner and put this in the inner corner of your eyelid to create a more open, bigger and brighter eye effect. In order to apply eyeliner to the lower lid then you will need to pull it taught just like you did with the upper lid and similarly use short strokes to ensure accuracy. For a dramatic and bold look you can fill the entire bottom lid line or for a more subtle look, try only filling in the outer half only. To go one step further you could also use different coloured eyeliners like browns and suede.

For liquid liner the technique is slightly different. You want to prepare the eyeliner first but this obviously doesn’t involve sharpening or dulling the tool, instead, just give it a good shake for a couple seconds and when opening, removing any excess that may be on the brush by gently wiping it on the rim of the bottle. With liquid liners you should start in the middle and work outwards. Make sure that the brush is nice and close to the eyelid line. Once you’ve got this sorted, move to the inner corner of your eye and start applying outwards, in small strokes towards the middle in order to connect the two segments.

QUICK TIP

Create that wing look when applying to your lower lid by following the outer lash curve, upwards!

Finally, in our simple beginner’s guide we come to gel liners. When adding the gel to the brush, make sure that you don’t add too much. Add the gel just to the tip or perhaps to one side of the brush. A good little tip to apply this type of eyeliner is to start at either corner of your lash line and to use strokes that move to the outer edge of you lid. When doing this do not fill in the centre of the lash line yet. To fill this area use gentle small strokes to connect the two lines and build up the thickness/opacity gradually – applying more gel to the brush if necessary.

The art of applying eyeliner is one that takes time and practice to perfect. You need a steady hand and perhaps some trial and error to find out which type of eyeliner is right for you. If this has inspired you to start practicing your new found techniques then you can buy cheap eyeliner online from our store. We have loads to choose from and our prices are some of the best on the internet.