My Experience with Eyeliner

Eyeliner is very precious to people such as myself, who have small eyes that crave definition and attention. One of my aunts even has tattooed eyeliner onto her lash line because she basically never left home without it, so she figured a tattoo was the way to go. (And, in a queasy kind of way, it makes sense.) But as I learned, there are many ways to do this right… and many more ways to do it wrong.

My use of eyeliner started with pencil liner. I liked the look of a precise, thin line on my lash line, and I figured that it was the easiest to apply and therefore the hardest to get wrong. Not the case. While pencil liners are indeed easy to apply, different kinds of pencils have led to different kinds of disasters.

For instance, I once used a Revlon pencil liner that was meant to be… not very fallible (wink). But on my small eyes, the color wouldn’t catch with light pressure! I had to stab the pencil into my lash line to get any color going in the first place, and this led to my eyes getting quite irritated and also plenty of smeared eyeliner. Not fun… and that’s just ONE of many pencil liners I’ve tried. On a friend’s recommendation, I’ve also used khol pencils as eyeliner, going with Bourjois’ Khol & Contour Pencils. They applied very smoothly and were very deep in color (especially if I sharpened them after every use), but then I realized: holy crap, they’re smudging, I look like a panda, what is happening.

That is, I didn’t realize that khol pencils were chalky in consistency because they were meant to be easy smudge and create softer, smokier looks. As I was after a precise line, the smudgable kohl pencils weren’t doing the job.

I eventually went to liquid eyeliner (going with Revlon, who make a very fantastic liquid liner for a reasonable price). This was a pretty extreme jump for me, because liquid liner is, as a liquid, much harder to control and apply than pencil. But with some ace suggestions from some good friends, I picked my game up and was soon able to apply a decent line with only one or two tries! I got a very precise line every time, and I used this for quite some time.

When it came time to replace my eyeliner, I came across suggestions and mentions for gel eyeliner. This stuff is much softer than khol pencils, thicker than liquid,  usually come in pots, and are applied with a brush. So it was easier to apply than a liquid liner, but also far more precise and dramatic a look than pencils. Awesome, where do I get some to try? While MAC and Bobbi Brown seemed to get ace reviews across the board for their respective gel eyeliners, my research also showed that Maybelline made an affordable gel liner that is comparable in quality.

So, I had the product, but what about an applicator? Reviews and general opinion showed that the brush that came with this liner wasn’t great. I poked around on BeautyHeaven and a few helpful users pointed me to videos and articles that talked about how to apply gel liner with an angled brush (and this is the one I actually have). Marlena at MakeupGeek also talked about applying gel liner with a bent angle brush (also one that I actually have). I tried both.

As it turns out, gel eyeliner is my current go-to eyeliner. I love it, and both brushes turned out to be easy to use and made application a breeze. I use the angle brush for thicker lines while I use the bent angle brush when I need thinner, more precise liners. The product itself is extremely pigmented and does not budge or smudge, so yeah… still using that Maybelline eyeliner even now.

Some other friends and sources have also pointed to using eyeshadow as eyeliner, applied much in the same way as gel eyeliner, except you wet the brush a tiny bit before dipping it into the eyeshadow. You just have to make sure the eyeshadow is a decent enough quality to do this (not too chalky, a bit creamy, and highly pigmented). I haven’t done tried this particular technique, but I have heard good things about it and intend to try it out if I ever need crazier or more dramatic looks.

Currently, my makeup kit includes one khol pencil (the Bourjois one as previously mentioned) in black and my gel eyeliner (also in Black), each for different purposes. What with my eyes being as small as they are, black is really the only color I need… any other colored eyeliner would go wasted on me.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Pencil Eyeliner - as mentioned, pencil eyeliner comes in a variety of forms. Make sure you try the pencils out in the store before you buy them so that you know what you’re getting. Sharpen for thinner liners or leave them a bit blunter if you like smokier looks. Generally, because pencils are easy to control, they make for really good “smudgable” eyeliners that blend into the rest of your eye makeup.

Waxier pencil liners (i.e., not khols) are the ones that can need a bit of pressure to get them started. Use the back of your hand to get them going before bringing it to your lashline… this was the only way I didn’t waste the rest of my pencil liners!

Pencil liners also tend to fade more quickly than liquid or gel liners, so if you’re going for a not-so-dramatic, casual look that you only need for a few hours, go with the pencils!

Liquid Eyeliner - felt-tipped brushes tend to be much easier to use than softer brushes, because they don’t bend and they don’t have too much flex in them. I like using the stiffer brushes because for my beginner skills, shaky hands, and tiny eyes, more control is better. Done properly, however, softer brushes do yield thinner lines than felt-tipped brushes.

Because it’s basically ink on your skin, this should really be used for night-time or more dramatic looks. If you have small hooded eyes like me, however, and dark hair, you’ll find you can get away with liquid eyeliner even during the day or for more casual events because just opening your eyes makes half of it invisible as it recedes into your hood (more on this another time).

Gel Eyeliner - angled brushes are great for beginners… just dip the entire slanted edge of the brush into the pot, pressed that slanted edge onto your lash line, and pull it along your lash line for a smooth line.You can go over this line as many times as you want to thicken, define, or darken the line. Be warned: some gel eyeliners are prone to drying out. Pop the lid on top of your open pot after dipping your brush (so that the mouth of the jar is covered when you’re actually applying the liner) and make sure it’s screwed on tight when you’re all finished.

Bent angle brushes are not too much more difficult, just watch Marlena’s video tutorial for tips.