The following is an answer given right here on this sight. I hope it will help achieve the effect you are looking for.
What's the best way to apply eyeliner?
There's not really any one perfect method — because there are so many great ways to line eyes. You can create a number of lined looks with some clever tricks — and there's also a heap of different pencils and formulations out there to get artistic with.
The most standard way, of course, is your classic, subtle, black-defined eye. Although liner quality does vary, you can achieve this look with any thin black pencil (for the record, two of my favourites are those by Bloom and Lancôme). The idea is to simply edge along the upper and lower lashline, right at the base of the hairs, to give the impression of lusher lashes — as opposed to an obvious black line. You may even need to actually draw in-between the lashes, to avoid a gappy effect. Also, watch out you don't drag the delicate skin as you draw — if your pencil tip is hard, blast it with hot hairdryer air for a few seconds, until it softens.
As for lining along the inner rims, that's a personal preference (although ophthalmologists would advise against it). You may like the harder-edged, rock-chick effect it can give — or else you may think it makes your eyes look too puny.
For naturally smaller eyes, you could instead line the inner rim with a white, pale yellow or even lilac pencil (check out those by Rimmel, L'Oréal and Poppy respectively) — to both disguise any redness and to add an open-eyed brightness.
Want more of a smudgy liner look? That's where those big eye crayons come into the picture. No-brainer make-up; you simply draw around the lashes and use your pinkie to soften the line into a smokiness. Black is an option — but it can look heavy, so consider buying a thick pencil in another dark shade, like a bronze or a navy. Check out the colour line-ups in the L'Oréal Eye Smoker, the Maybelline Cool Effects and the CoverGirl CG Smoothers crayons.
Another dramatic look is the glamorous, 1950s feline eye. It's often achieved with liquid liner but, in my opinion, you're best off working on this winged-out look with a cake liner (or wet-dry eyeshadow in black) and an eyeliner brush — which is much easier to control than the often-messy liquid liner brushes. My favourite black is the Napoleon Cake Eyeliner, and my preferred brush the MAC Small Angle one. All you need to do is dampen the brush bristles, dab onto the liner cake, and then whisk the brush along the upper lashline in small steady strokes until you get the sweep-out you want. You can repeat for a more intense black, and you can build above for a thicker line. Allow a few minutes to dry, slick on mascara and va-voom!
The above are the most common eye-lining methods. Don't forget to get creative though. Try different colours — either "stack" them for a two-tone effect, or give a black line some light relief by lining at the inner corner with a brightly coloured pencil. You can also try a black line on the upper lid, a bright one down below. Or, you can leave the upper lashline pencil-free, and just line below the lower lashes. Only one colour rule-of-thumb — electric blue pencil will always look disco-dolly!
Be aware of the different effects you can create — and the illusions, too. For instance, emphasising liner at the outer corners will "pull" closely-set eyes outwards; while placing more pencil around the inner corners will visually fix wide-apart peepers.
In the end, there's no right or wrong way — just what looks best on you.
2 years ago
Source(s):