Eyeliners can be found in almost every color and finish. However, not all options can offer precise application, rich pigmentation and lasting staying power. This is understandable if your preference is for a bold look, but you aren’t sure if you want to purchase certain colors. It’s possible to make your favorite eyeshadow look amazing with eyeliner. All you have to do is choose the style that suits your needs. Makeup artists who have mastered these techniques share their secrets, whether you want to create tight lines or blurred eyes.
Tight Lines
Keri Blair, MAC Cosmetics’ senior national artist, says your choice of tool is crucial if you want to replicate the look of liquid liner or gel. She recommends a small, narrow, angled brush to create a precise, defined line. This will allow for greater control over placement and application.
Step 1: Select your color and finish. Blair suggests choosing matte or highly pigmented eyeshadows for best results.
Step 2 – Apply the shadow to the lash line. She explains that you should use the longer side of your hair to guide the line. It’s almost like using a knife to cut through bread. To get the best intensity, use a stamping motion. The great thing about eye shadow is that it is just like powdered makeup on the skin, so it has a long-lasting staying power.
Step 3: For more impact, flick it out. A celebrity makeup artist, Nydia Figueroa, recommends the same technique to create tight shadow-based lines. However, she suggests that you also flick it out into wings. She adds that you can use an eye cream, makeup remover or a Q-tip with your eyeshadow to make a sharp wing.
Blurred Liner or Smoky Liner
Do you want a more natural look for your eyeliner? Eyeshadow can bring out blurred and smoky eyeliner looks. Blair suggests using a thicker brush with a greater surface area to achieve a smudged or smoky look.
She adds that a flat paddle brush with a rounded tip can also be used. The soft, rounded edge can give your eyes a warm, glowing look that will rev up your eyes in just seconds.
Step 1: Choose your shadow. It would help if you chose eyeshadows that can be blended in nature and creamy to achieve a blurred effect.
Step 2: Load your eyeshadow brush with the product and gently glide it along your lash line. You can create a smokey look by gently dragging your brush instead of dabbling. She adds that this technique is particularly effective at the lower lash line for a sexy, smoldering look.
Blair’s tip: If your eyeshadow has a metallic, shimmer, metallic or matte finish, you will have more fallout. To avoid this, press the shadow in place and then use a new brush to blend it. You can also use one brush to apply the shadow and blend it with another.
Wet Application
I wouldn’t say I like the look of dry eyeshadows as eyeliners. Blair suggests that you can create an intense liner by mixing your chosen shadow with a hydrating cream or medium.
Do you want the best application possible? Blair recommends that you use a specific mix medium. She explains that MAC Eyeliner Mixing Medium is a long-lasting clear gel that makeup artists can use to create customized eyeliner shades. Remember that the more water or another mixing medium you use, the more dilute the result. This may require practice but will give you many fun and colorful options.
Step 1: Choose your brush. Figueroa states that a fine-angled brush is best for applying dampened eyeshadow.
Step 2: Dampen your brush. Step 2: Once you have selected your brush, spray it with your hydrating oil or dip it in water to make it softer.
Step 3: Grab your eyeshadow. Blair suggests that you gently dip your brush into your shadow after you have soaked it. Blair says that shadows can harden if they are left in their pots. She suggests using a disposable mascara brush, spatula or brush to scrape some of it onto a palette or tissue. Then, dampen your brush and dip it into the (now loose) eyeshadow before applying it to your lashes.
Step 4: Trace your lash lines. Eyeshadow that is damp is less likely to cause fallout, so Blair and Figueroa agree that swiping it along your lash lines is a quick and simple way to apply it.
Blair says that depending on the shadow formula; you can create many graphic shapes and intensities. Blair also notes that wet shadow gives you much more freedom to be creative with your eyeliner looks.
