Feline Fine - Top Tips for Eyeliner Application

After my post on Top 10 Beauty Buys and an extensive discussion on Twitter about eye-liner application, I thought I'd go off tangent - again - and do a post on just that! The post is split by kit, key things to remember, tips for pencil/tips for liquid liner and then some 'don'ts'. To add, I bought everything myself, nothing has been sent to me to review. 

The Kit
Al of these have helped me with eye-liner application:

• Good magnifying mirror, free standing and lit, ideally. I love this one from Boots. I use it to apply all my make up and it really means I get a very polished look. It's not essential but it does help. It's very helpful for spotting small errors and easy correction.
• Cotton buds - any brand, but they are *perfect* for quickly swiping in to remove smudges, splotches and errors without needing to re-do your whole eye.
• Pencil eye liner. I find the best pencil liners are soft and waxy, meaning they have a strong pigment, go on smoothly with little pressure but also smudge well - either to conceal errors or for a smoky look.  My top 3 pencil liners at different price points are Rimmel Soft Khol, Benefit Bad Gal and Lancome Crayon Khol.

• Liquid liner. I recommend using a liner with a fibre tipped brush - like a felt pen - rather than a standard fine brush. The reason for this is that they are firmer, giving easy application and a solid line. They also go on smoothly and evenly. I like Rimmel as it lasts all day (or longer) and you get a lot in the tiny pot. I also recommend Sleek's liquid liner. 
• Facial wipes/Baby wipes - self explanatory really but good for removing make up! And having a quick swipe in specific places without needing to remove everything.

Key Things To Remember:
1. Your eyes are sisters, not twins. So don't worry if your lines are not identical.
2. Practice makes perfect
3. Don't stress if you start out with mostly thicker lines, as you practice you'll get better at doing finer lines.
4. Start with a well prepped eye - apply foundation/concealer to your face if required and but key is to dust translucent powder over your face and *eyes*.
5. If you are wearing eye shadow(s) apply as normal prior to liner but save your darkest shade for *after* your eye-liner application.
6. Always pull your eyelid skin taut when using either type of liner. Not everyone agrees with this but it works for me.
7. If you have sensitive eyes, all these products *should* be okay but do check the labels. I have sensitive eyes/wear hard lenses and am fine with all these products. Also, when applying, go slow and allow your eyes to adjust between applying products.

Pencil Application Tips:

• Start at the outer corner of your eye but with the pencil pointing up (this is key) and pressed against your skin. Then drag the pencil along the line of your eye, as close to your lashes as possible. This will give you a neat little flick, turning into a graduated line. Once you get about 3/4 across, I find it easier to then work from the inside corner out to meet the other line. This picture shows the pencil starting position although I prefer the pencil to be pointing straight up. 

credit. TNKHY

• If you have any unevenness, the great thing about pencil is that you can just smudge and smooth it across and touch up if needed.
• Dust your darkest eye shadow over your pencil line. This hides mistakes, softens the line and gives slight smoky effect. If you use a colour that highlights your eye colour (eg green eyes/dark purple shadow) it can really make your eyes "pop".

Liquid Liner Application Tips:

• Rest your arm on a solid surface. It does help a lot. 
• Trace the line in pencil first. Then go over in liquid liner - much easier!
• Fill in gaps with your eyes open. This sounds nuts but if you've got a few wiggly bits/uneven application, a fibre tipped brush makes it surprisingly easy to correct these with your eyes open and a steady hand. You can almost 'dot' or 'dash' it on.
• To get a decent cat-eye flick, I use this trick.  It it *so* easy!

credit http://avintageaffairgal.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/how-to-eyeliner-for-all.html

Don'ts:

1. Don't apply liquid liner under your eyes

2. Don't apply liner in a hurry, you'll f*ck it. I speak from experience.

3. Don't curl your lashes until your liner is dry or you'll remove it!

4. If you have sensitive eyes, be careful of applying liner on your water line.

5. If using pencil liner on your bottom lids, don't join it up with top lids with a line, just smudge it together.

So, that's all - hope it was helpful and useful, do let me know how you get on in the comments or hit me up with a tweet on @stupidgirl45

Thank you and goodnight,

Stupidgirl has left the building.