The new, simple way to do liquid eye liner*

(Just for Aimee, who keeps asking me to post this because I keep not posting it when I say I will.)

• Apply a nude, neutral shadow over your eyelid, or even just some loose powder. This hides veins and gives the eyes a fresher, open look.
• Use an angled, thin, flat brush, they are crucial for good liner application, (and make any eye shadow into liner with a bit of water.)

  

• Wet it and dip into a light-medium brown shadow.
• Take the brush very carefully along your lash line, trying to keep the line half on your lashes and half on your eyelid so that it’s not an obvious line, and so your lashes are boosted and look fatter. There absolutely shouldn’t be any skin showing between the line and your lashes.
• Take the brush and kick it up into a little “wing” around ½ cm before you get to the end. It needn’t be perfect, mine never are, but you must must flick up at the ends, otherwise you drag your whole eye – and subsequently face – down. (Maybe Google ‘Eye liner wing’ for a more in-depth how-to on this technique.)
• Once you’re happy with the line, get out your cream or gel liner. Take your brush and pop the tiniest amount of gel or creamy liner on it, both sides. Using one of these liners is key: They’re the New Breed liners and they’ve come in their little pots to revolutionise eye makeup forever. Try Clinique, M.A.C or Bobbi Brown: They’re all quick to dry, look crisp but soft simultaneously and are very long lasting. In short, they’re a dream.

  

• Very carefully follow the line you made with your brown shadow, including the wing.
• Apply two coats of mascara.
• Look eerily similar to this woman:

  

*No hard, scary, messy, I-can't-do-it-and-fug-it-i-give-up, liquid liners required.

Comments

[arrogant_but_right]

You are all wrong.
The best one is by Wet n Wild and it's called "Creme eyeliner in black"

SO THERE!

[Liz]

I can't wait to try this! I wrote it all down.
I've been trying to perfect liquid liner for yonks, I always get stupid wobbly bits and uneven bits.

xx

[rach]

I keep meaning to try gel liners. My only real Womanly Skill is liquid liner, and I find Almay Amazing does the trick, but it only comes in black and brown. I really want a good, inky navy liner, and I suspect MAC will have one amongst its fluidlines.

As an aside, the MAC N collection has the most amazing neutral shadows. I use the Groundwork paint pot nearly every day, it's so good. However, I get the feeling Fafi has either dropped or is about to very soon, and then none of us shall have any disposable income for a good long time.

[Joanna]

Fruity - with doing the line on your upper lid, can you tell us whether you should have a line on the lower lid?

[ponikuta]

I absolutely love Bobby Brown's gel eyeliner in Black ink. It is the blackest black you can find out there. But I have always find it a little tricky to draw with the extra fine flat tip bobby brown brush.

I used to be partial to liquid liner that comes with the brush.

[lucy]

ur so true fruity, go 2 tvsn.com and go 2 the smashbox videos, tats were i learned bout the liner brush 1st

[Charlotte]

Thanks so much for that fruity, I had absolutely no idea about eyeliner and always thought it was way too tricky for me.. but you just made it sound so easy and do-able!

[Belle]

For a really really cheap alternative, prestige liquid eyeliners are beautiful- the brush is less of a brush than a perfectly little tapered thing.. (great description)...
Regardless- they apply so easily, are very pigmented and last all day. 5-6 colours to choose from too. Hope that helps.

[Chinalilly]

A good brush is honestly half the work done. I prefer Paula Dorf's eyeliner brush, but it's not angled, just tiny and perfect.

BB's gel inks are my fave (I find MAC's a little too wet). I use Espresso almost every day. But for a cheap option, you can't go past www.madminerals.org - their gel liners are only US$8.99!

[isabelle]

explanatory diagram please!

[Natalie]

But, but.. I just bought a little bloom liquid liner - with it's own skinny brush incorporated and all.

Guess I'll have to learn alone.

& it would seem winged eyeliner also lifts up your boobs in Angie's case.