It’s incredible how a small detail can have a significant impact. If you want to achieve a classic cat-eye look or a modern look with your lashline, adding a bit of color can improve your eye color and shape. It’s tricky to master, especially if you have a hooded-eye shape. You can get stuck in a cycle of having to remove and redo eyeliner if you blink or cringe at the wrong moment. With the help of Katie Jane Hughes and a few adjustments to your application technique, you will be an eyeliner expert in no time.
Katie Jane Hughes is a celebrity makeup artist known for her work with Ashley Graham, Kerry Washington, and Anna Kendrick.
Watch Hughes’ easy eyeliner application tutorial. She uses her “bat-wing” method.
Keep your eyes open
It’s our instinct to draw eyeliner on the lash line by closing our eyes. Keeping your eye open will give you a more defined shape. You can’t tell how far your branch extends when you remove your wing with your regard closed. Keep your eye open to better understand your desired look (as it’s being created).
Sketch out Your Shape
Hughes suggests that you start by drawing out the shape of your eyeliner. She says, “I will take a pencil to trace my desired shape.” The trick is to place the pencil between your nose and the corner of your eyes, then tilt it towards the eyebrow. The direction of the eyeliner is [from] your tail of the brow to your corner of the eye to your corner of the nose.
Hughes suggests keeping your eyes and eyebrows relaxed when sketching your shape. Once your face has settled, you can get a distorted form when you apply eyeliner to widened or raised eyes. Keep your facial expression neutral, or whatever your baseline is.
Sometimes, hooded eye shapes appear turned down or weighed down. This can make you look tired. You can create a more awake eye shape by directing the eyeliner outward and upward.
Concealer is a great way to clean up your face.
You can get more precise edges once you have the rough outline for your eyeliner. Dip a small brush into makeup remover or use concealer to create it. Repeat the first and second steps on your other eye, using your first one as a guide to where to place it (to achieve a more symmetrical, even look). You can easily sharpen your eyeliner shape using a pointed Cotton Swab. The precision tip can be sharpened by dipping it in micellar water.
Use a Liquid Formula to Cover Your Pencilled Wing
Once you’ve created a clean, precise outline with a pencil, it’s time to add something that will last longer: liquid eyeliner. Hughes uses black eyeshadow, setting spray, and a standard formula to make her liquid eyeliner. She says, “Now I’m taking a bit of M.A.C. “Now, I’m going to take a black eyeshadow and a little bit of M.A.C. I will mix the eyeliner with a thin brush and make a paste. This formula is excellent for painting liners because it glides.
As you can see, it’s inky, flowing, and opaque. Start at the base of the wings and apply this paste or your favorite liquid eyeliner formula directly on top of the shape you traced in pencil. Fill in any areas the pencil missed or where it is more sheer.
Try the credit card trick if you’re having trouble getting sharp lines on your eyeliner. Line up a business or credit card on the spot where you’d like your eyeliner to appear and paint against it.
Extend your liquid liner across your lash line
Connect the wing with your lashline, and extend it across the lashline until you reach the inner corner. Instead of trying to sweep the entire lash line with one motion, use a feathering movement to create smaller dots (that you can then connect). Hughes reminds us that even makeup artists make mistakes and have shaky hands in this tutorial. Use a small detail brush dipped into makeup remover or concealer to fix any errors.
What’s the difference between cat-eye and winged eyeliner?
The difference between these two eyeliners is subtle but significant. Winged eyeliner only appears on the lid of the upper eyelid with an outward-flanked end. A cat’s eye is a winged eyeliner on the top cover with a flicked-out lot. The bottom cap also has an eyeliner connected to the winged edge, creating a triangle.
How do I apply eyeshadow to hooded or swollen eyes?
If you apply eyeshadow above your natural crease, it will not appear well. Use a shimmery shade for your eyelid and above the crease and a matte shade for your browbone.
What other eyeliner methods work well for hooded eyelids?
Consider eyelash extensions to open up your eyes even more. Make sure they are the longest in the center for a wide-eyed appearance. Avoid eyeliner on your bottom lid, or apply it lightly.
All eye shapes can wear winged eyeliner.
Absolutely! The method of applying winged eyeliner depends on your eye shape. Start your wing tip on the eye’s hood if you have hooded or hooded-like eyes. You can then gradually widen your liner to achieve the desired effect.