(Beauty)

Eyeliner Tips and Tricks

If you aren’t an eyeliner fan you’ve either been living under a rock, or were blessed with preternatural lashes. For the rest of us, we subscribe to one of two camps: the traditional swipe-and-run, or the ’60s flick of liquid liner. We think it’s time to shake things up, so here are three new ways to apply the wonder product, all of which are incredibly simple and fast. Sharpen your pencils, ladies.

Simple and Straightforward

Eyeliner is incredibly easy to use once you know a few basic tricks. Read on for our newest tips.

The Tightline Tools

Many people over-apply mascara to achieve a fuller lashline. Instead, try tightlining to create the illusion of thicker lashes without unsightly clumps. You'll need a gel pot and an eyeliner brush.

The Tightline

Coat the tip of the brush with eyeliner gel and trace the inner waterline of your upper lid. Stay as close to the lashes as possible so as not to irritate your eye.

The Tightline

Repeat on the other eye, drawing from the inner corner to the outer edge, without flicking past the lid. Add a coat of mascara or curl your lashes to complete the natural look.

The Shower Smudge

The perfect morning-after eyeliner smudge is difficult to achieve any other way, until now. Apply your liner before showering to score instant lived-in smokiness. Choose a creamy, long lasting formula and feel free to play with the color. We opted for navy.

The Shower Smudge

Rim your entire eye in the liner and instead of smudging yourself, allow the steam of the shower to loosen the pigment.

The Shower Smudge

Finish by using a Q-tip to prevent any undereye smears.

The Futuristic Cat Eye

A subtle variation on the tried-and-true '60s style, this look focuses on the outer and inner corners only.

The Futuristic Cat Eye

Using a pencil, line the inner V of your eye only, then draw a dot a little past the outer corner as a benchmark for the next step.

The Futuristic Cat Eye

Starting in line with the outer edge of your iris, draw from your lid to the dot and fill in to create an elongated triangle shape.

The Futuristic Cat Eye

Finish by tracing over the pencil lines with liquid eyeliner for added definition.