We all know that an eyeliner is one of the all-essential eye make-up products to define your eyes, but what if your hands start shaking the second you pick up that eyeliner pencil? Have you seen that girl with the perfect make-up and wondered how to apply eyeliner like a pro? Don’t worry, we have all been there.
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You try your best to draw a straight line across your lids but you just can’t do it and those trendy cat eyes are straight up impossible? Well, we’re about to change that! Here are some totally awesome (and easy!) eyeliner tips for apply eyeliner for beginners who just can’t get rid of that shaky fingers syndrome. Follow these tips to apply matte eyeliner pencil for women perfectly.
Step-By-Step Guide To Apply Eyeliner For Beginners
No need for you to sift through an endless stream of eyeliner tutorial for beginners, for we have got everything for you, right here! So read on and master that perfect, even streak and apply eyeliner perfectly!
Step 1: Find Your Eyeliner
First of all, before you can even think about perfecting your liner you need to make sure the type of eyeliner that you’re using works for you. So let’s get down to the basics. There are 3 different types of eyeliners you can use – pencil, gel and liquid liner.
Pencil liners are the easiest to apply but may not spread as easily, gel liners glide on very easily and sometimes come with a brush to dip in a pot and liquid liners are great for precision but can require lots of practice before you can apply them perfectly.
Let’s stay clear of liquid liner for now till you can master those straight lines and flicks for your eyeliner makeup. Pencils and gel liners are great for you as they are much easier to apply and mistakes can be corrected more easily than with liquid eyeliners.
Step 2: Steady Those Hands
You hopelessly end up with the question of how to apply eyeliner perfectly for your hands shake like a leaf the second your eyeliner touches your skin and you end up looking like it’s been applied by a drunken baby?
The solution is super simple – you just need to provide support for your arm to steady your hands. Just rest your elbow on a table or even on the mirror. You can also place your pinky on your cheek at the same time for some extra support. Go on, try it, it REALLY works!
Step 3: Prepare Your Eyes
Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t just apply eyeliner directly to your lids. You can, but you would only complain of it getting smudged after a couple of hours. To ensure that your eyeliner stays on for long, make sure that you prep your eyes properly before going ahead with the main act.
After cleansing your face, deeply moisturize the skin around your eyes with a hydrating moisturizer. If not, then an eye cream works too!
Step 4: Give Your Eyes A Clean Base
Your eyeliner won’t have the effect you want if it doesn’t have a clean base. So start with applying a small amount of primer to the lid, around your eyes, and in the general eye region to make sure that the skin around your eyes is super smooth.
Not only will this give your lids a proper finish but it also makes sure that your primer stays for a long period of time. Top it off with foundation and concealer and evenly blend it with your skin. If you blend these products on the rest of your face, then why skip the eyes?
Step 5: Line Away!
After you’re done prepping your lids, now comes the main part, that is applying the eyeliner. If you have one with gel base, then you can either use the brush that comes with it, or buy another one that promises a better grip.
However, do make sure that you start with small strokes and then build up to longer lines. If you make the streak too think, you might create a mess and end up with racoon eyes. Once you are satisfied with your result with one eye, you can repeat the same strategy to the other one.
Types Of Eyeliner
Now that you’ve got acquainted with the step-by-step guide on eyeliner application, let us now introduce you to all the types of eyeliners available so that you can decide which one you will be most comfortable with!
Liquid Eyeliner
One of the most conventional form of perfect eyeliner, with a precise application. They come in two forms, a market pen type with a felt tip, and a vial type with an extremely fine brush. We suggest you go for the marker type if you’re a beginner, since this would give your more ease of application.
There are many tutorials you would find on how to apply liquid eyeliner, solely because it is such a diverse product! But we love it best for the super sleek and chic lines!
Pencil Eyeliner
By far the perfect kind of eyeliner for beginners, this one promises ease of application as you just have to glide the pencil eyeliner on top of your lids. We consider it used best when lined on the water line to create a smokey look, but it can also be used to create that simple stroke of line above your lids.
Gel Eyeliner
While gel eyeliners may seem a tad bit overwhelming in the beginning, they will definitely become your go-to choice once you get the hang of them. There is a lot you can find on how to apply gel eyeliner, and can check out the different styles. They usually come with an applicator brush, which allows you to control the quantity of products that goes on your lids.
In addition to this, the brush requires you to apply the product in paint-like strokes, which makes it a tad bit easier to apply when you’re in a hurry!
Some Extra Tips For That Perfect Streak
Now that you’ve got the basics right, let’s look at some extra tips for you to get those dramatic eyes on fleek!
For Small Eyes
The problem with small eyes is that you have to be extremely careful while applying your eyeliner since extra product tends to weigh down your eyes, thus making them look smaller than usual. So on our section of how to apply eyeliner on small eyes, we suggest you change the way in which you apply your eyeliner.
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Start with tightlining your upper lash line, that is, apply the eyeliner on your upper waterline. This will enhance your eyes while giving it a more ‘awake’ look.
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Next, instead of going for the conventional thick line on your lid, go for a subtle cat eye. This would extend the shape of your eye outwards, thus giving the illusion of bigger, elongated eyes.
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You can now play around with as much product as you want depending upon the look that you’re going for. So top it off with mascara and eyeshadow for a dramatic, smokey look!
For Big Eyes
Now that we’re done with eyeliner tips for small eyes, it’s time we move on to eyeliner tips for big eyes. There is a lot you can experiment with when it comes to applying eyeliner to big eyes. Whatever you do, it is only going to enhance the appeal of your already big eyes, and in our opinion, there is nothing you can stop at.
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To start with, apply kohl to both upper and bottom water lines to accentuate the shape of your eyes.
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Follow with applying the eyeliner to the upper lid and then lightly line the bottom lash line if you’re going for a dramatic look.
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Our expert tip, don’t hesitate on experimenting with cat eyeliner or winged eyes, for they will only complement your eyes.
Double Up Your Kajal As a Pencil
While we suggest you to get a eyeliner for the express purpose of putting on an eyeliner, but if you’re running out of product and just have your kajal at hand, we’ll tell you what to do!
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To start with, since kohl is lighter in consistency, it tends to smudge very soon. So, to prevent that, prep your eyes with a foundation and concealer. This will make sure that your kajal stays on for longer.
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Now when it comes to application, do stick to making simple strokes. Stray away from making bold strokes like cat eyes or winged eyes as they are more likely to smudge.
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Keep reapplying after regular intervals to maintain that beautiful black streak!
Connect The Dots
One super simple trick to try for getting those eyeliner styles perfect is by creating dots along your lash line and then connecting them. You can try the same trick by making dashes as well. It’s perfect to help you master drawing precise lines.
Be The Queen Of Smudged Smokey Eyes
When you’re using a pencil, take advantage of those little errors and not-so-perfect lines for a smudged look. Instead of starting all over again, if you make a small mistake, just smudge your lines for a subtle smokey eye look.
You get plenty of eyeliners with a smudge brush on the other side, which are fabulously handy to have around. We love Colorbar’s Just Smoky Eye Pencil. No one will ever know that the sexy, smudged look was never your intention to begin with.
Concealer To The Rescue
If you’re one of those who can never draw their liner without messing it up with wonky lines, then it’s helpful to have your concealer at hand. Instead of taking off all your smudged eyeliner make-up and undoing your hard work, just use a Q-tip dipped in concealer to cover up those errors and draw over it.
Pretty simple right? Petroleum jelly also works. Draw a messy line if you like and clean it up by running a Q-tip dipped in petroleum jelly over your lid to sharpen your line.
Think About The Thickness
The first step in learning how to apply eyeliner is to be careful about how thick you draw on your eyeliner. Ideally, perfect eyeliner should be thinner near the inner corners of your eye and thicker towards the outer corner. Remember to take your time, eyeliner makeup is tricky to get right and rushing it will end in disaster more often than not.
When You Desperately Want Those Cat Eyes
Cat eyes are one of the most sought-after eyeliner styles today. If you’ve got a little time on your hands then yes, you can get those cat eyes even if you’re not exactly a pro at drawing straight lines.
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Once you’ve lined both your eyes, simply draw a small flick extending from the outer corner of your eyes towards the tip of your eyebrow.
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Connect the tip of your flick to your line and colour it in and repeat the same on the other side.
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Start small with little flicks and make them bigger and more dramatic once you get the hang of it.
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If all else fails, you can always try the good old scotch tape trick.
Just use two small pieces of scotch tape – one across the lower edge of your eye and one across the upper edge.
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Fill in the gap in-between both pieces with your liner, slowly remove the tape (be careful not to pull out any lashes) and voila, perfect flicks.
Mascara Comes Last
As a rule of thumb, remember to always apply your mascara after you have lined your eyes. Putting your mascara on will only lead to even more smudges and mess when you’re trying to draw your lines and fix mistakes. Remember, take a deep breath and don’t rush it.
Now that you know all about how to apply eyeliner perfectly, go ahead and get dramatic!
Images: Shutterstock
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This story was updated in March 2019.