This article is on how to apply eyeliner. There are various types of eyeliners and methods you can use. I’m going to cover eye pencil, gel eyeliner as well as liquid eyeliner and I will stick to the basic method to apply them.
Eyeliner styles are very different. They range from soft like an eye pencil to crisp like liquid eyeliners. In addition your eyeliner style can be anything from casual to winged eyeliner. Make your choice according to your outfit and the occasion. Always focus on one part of your face so if you go for the winged eyeliner you want subtle lips and blush and vice versa.
How To Apply Eye Pencil
Eye pencil is the most commonly used tool to apply eyeliner styles. It gives a very smooth look and is easy to apply.
Use short strokes to apply eyeliner. Close the eye that you want to line. Start at the outer edge. Make short strokes away from your nose to the outside. Draw your line as close to the eye as possible. If the pencil is creamy enough it should glide right on the lid. If you want to wing your eyeline out just draw it by flicking your wrist.
Don’t draw the line all the way to the center. Leave about one half to one third of your eyeline free of color to leave the eye open and make it wider. This is especially true if you have small eyes. If you draw the eyeliner all the way to the center this will close your eye and make it look even smaller.
Eye pencils are also best for your water line. Do not use liquid eyeliners for the waterline it will hurt your eyes. You could use gel eyeliner but I wouldn’t recommend it.
To line the water line open your eye and pull down the lower lid so that the waterline shows. Now rub the eye pencil on the water line with short strokes. You can go all the way to the center or leave the same amount of free space as you did for the upper lid.
Especially when you want to create smokey eyes your eye pencil is the best eyeliner to choose (that and some eyeshadow of course).
How To Apply Gel Liner
A gel eyeliner creates a sharper lines and is used for more dramatic looks. Gel liners usually come in small containers. You can use a cheap old eyeliner pencil and dip it into the gel to apply the product just as explained above.
You can also use a very thin brush to apply the gel eyeliner. If you use a brush with a tilted end some people find it easer to apply the gel without smudging. Keep applying the gel with small strokes as explained above.
Liquid Eyeliner
A liquid eyeliner is the most permanent eyeliner. Due ot their consistency liquid eyeliners dry very quickly and once they’re dry they are very hard to get off. So if you make a mistake you probably will have to redo your whole makeup.
But this fact also means that the best liquid eyeliner lasts very long and won’t smudge as fast as eye pencils or gel liners. Hence, I wouldn’t recommend liquid eyeliners for beginners, but if you’re used to put on eyeliner you will most likely benefit from their long lasting nature.
If you buy a liquid eyeliner you might want to go for one that has a sharp pointed felt tip for application. Brushes can be hard to use becaue the brush tip feathers while you stroke and makes it hard to apply the color right where you want it.
Before you start applying eyeliner wipe the felt tip off so you don’t have any clumps or excess that smudges all over the place. Apply the liquid eyeliner with short stroke just as discribed above. This will give you a very harsh and dramatic look.
If you want to use winged eyeliner let the wing point to the end of your eyebrow or keep it almost horizontal.
Don’t use liquid eyeliner on the waterline because it is very harsh it will only make your eye look heavy.
Now that you know how to apply eyeliner the only thing left is to choose a look you like and then go for it
