How to : Winged Eyeliner

When it comes to eyeliner its all very intimating , how do I create the perfect flick , gel , liquid or pencil eyeliner , will winged eyeliner suit me ?

Well I will try cover as much about eyeliner as I can and I have been an avid eyeliner wearer for the past 5 years I think it can really pull together a make up look and look really classic .

What to use ?

Liquid Liner
Starting off with winged eyeliner I used liquid ( essence liquid eyeliner to be precise) . I definitely recommend liquid liner for beginners as its more forgiving if you make a mistake then gel . With liquid you also don't need a brush so it saves you some money . Choose a thin tip liquid eyeliner because you can always make it thicker but its more difficult to make a thick wing smaller .

Pros

• Great for beginners
• Comes with a brush
• Work well when your trying to make fake eyelash bands invisible/blend in .

Cons

• Unhygienic for make up artist to use on every client (unless you put it on your palette and use  a different brush)
• Some can be not very long lasting
• Some can be not a very pigmented black

Some great liquid liners : Essence , Nyc , Collection , Urban Decay

Gel eyeliner
I love me some gel eyeliner . Its long lasting , super black and if you have the right kind of brush , its easy to apply .

Pros

• Long lasting
• Extremely black

Cons

• Can be hard to remove , so not great for beginners if you make mistakes
• Dries up (if your using Inglot gel eyeliner buy inglot duraline which makes the gel moist again) .

Some great gel eyeliners : Inglot (my fave) , Maybelline , Mac

Eyeliner Pencils
Used more for creating a smudged eyeliner look or in your waterline or tightline.

Pros

• Great for more mature ladies
• Add to a smokey eye
• Can make the eyes look more awake (white eyeliner pencil)

Cons

• Hard to create a clean winged eyeliner with unless your using a brush with it .
• Not smudgeproof so don't be rubbing them eyes .

Some great eyeliner pencils: Make up Designory , Mac , Rimmel

Eyeliner Pens
I personally don't like these, they seem like a good idea especially for beginners but I like the movement you get with a brush . They barely have any movement in them so it makes it hard to wing them out because there too structured. One of my friends also thought the same thing . The one I tried was the Bourjois one so it could be just that it generally isn't a good eyeliner pen. I have read good reviews on Soap and Glory Pen so if you want to try an eyeliner pen try this one .

If you don't have any of these you can use a black eye shadow and a damp eyeliner brush , its not as long lasting as the others but works pretty well .


Brushes to use with gel eyeliner or eyeshadow :

Left to Right

Thin eyeliner brush : Great if you want to create a thin eyeliner look . Easy to build up to a thick line also .

Small pointed brush : This brush actually comes with the Maybelline gel eyeliner and is actually a really good brush.

Angled brush : Probably the easiest brush to use for beginners using gel , If you set it at the side of you eye it already creates the wing for you.


Try out the small brushes in your make up collection , see what works for you best .



How to create the perfect flick ?

 

First calm yourself down its just make up , if something goes wrong you can always start again .

Rest your elbow on a table for support and rest your little finger on your cheek to help steady your hand. I like to look straight into the mirror when doing my eyeliner. When you look down or close your eye to do eyeliner it can sometimes come out different then you expected when you open your eyes .

Step 1: Starting on the outer corner I draw a line for the bottom of the wing , I usually just follow my bottom waterline as if I where to extend it  .

Step 2: Draw another line a little further up on you eyelid , make both lines meet at a point .

Step 3: Fill in the gap between both lines .

Step 4: Now that the wing is done you want to start bringing the eyeliner over the rest of the eyelid . Keep it close to your lash line and drag the brush about 1/3 of the eyelid . Draw a small line , then draw another small line , then keep attaching all theses small lines , a little at a time .

Step 5: Draw another line attaching to the one you just done and take it to the centre of you eyelid  .

Step 6: Finish of the line by lining the inner corner of your eyelid .

Step 7: Now that the winged liner is created you can add mascara .


Will winged eyeliner suit me ?

Winged eyeliner is definitely not for everybody . It can something's look a bit harsh on more mature skin and on hooded eyes it doesn't show up . If it doesn't suit you there's always smudged/smoked out eyeliner or you can just apply eyeliner without the wing at the end. Smoked out eyeliner is really easy to achieve and not half as time consuming .Suits most eye shapes and still give that lifting effect .

Step by Step on Smudged eyeliner :

Step 1 : Using the same technics you would doing a winged liner . It doesn't have to be perfect because you will be smudging it out . Create a wing the line the rest of your eye.

Step 2 : Using a dome shaped eyeshadow brush smudge out the eyeliner .

Step 3 : If your have any mistakes us a cotton bud to remove them and if you want the bottom of your wing to look sharp you can conceal under it .



Top Tips :

• If you make a mistake don't panic , wait till the eyeliner dries and then go in with dry  cotton ear bud usually if you rub it a bit the mistake will disappear but if its not budging try it with some make up remover (the cosmetic cotton buds from muji and Penneys work well because they have a pointy tip and are more precise) .
• If you want a really sharp edge apply some sellotape to your hand then peel if off (to take away the stickiness so you don't tear you eyeball out )  then apply it on the outer corner of you eye . Then when you finished doing you eyeliner you can remove it and you will have a super sharp edge . Concealer also works to create that sharp edge .
• It can be hard for older people to create a smooth wing so try creating a more smudged out look , its not as harsh .
• If you have smaller eyelids stick to thinner liner so you have  more lid space .
• If you  have big eyelids you can get away with thicker liner .
• It can be time consuming at the start but the more time you do you will get faster and better.

I could go on for days about eyeliner but here is the basics to create a basic winged liner . I will probably have looks with more dramatic eyeliner in the future and how to create it .

Hope you all enjoyed this blog post , as always feel free to comment below on any questions you have .

What's your favourite eyeliner ?

Alannah x