Eyeliner 101 and a Cat-Eye Tutorial

One of the most popular eye makeup all over the world is the eyeliner. It is used everywhere to beautify the eyes. In some cultures it is used as a means to ward off evil and some even believe that it can improve eyesight. But of course, I won't be giving you a long lecture about the history of eyelining because I'm sure wikipedia has an entire page about it:)

For cosmetic use, the main purpose of eyeliners is to make the eyelashes look fuller. It is also used to accentuate or enhance one's eye shape. It comes in various forms and is available in every color imaginable although black is still the most common choice.

Today I'll be giving you a short introduction about the common types of eyeliner that are available in the market.

Pencil Eyeliner

-the most common type and probably the easiest one to use since I'm sure everyone of us knows how to grip and draw a line using a pencil:) But there's one problem, pencil liner cannot create crisp and precise lines, so it's not a very good choice when you want to make a thin line especially on the upper lashline. It's however perfect for smudging and is thus a staple when making a smoky eye look. It's also soft enough to be used on the waterline and for tightlining.

Liquid Eyeliner

-this type of eyeliner is in an ink form which usually comes with a felt tip applicator. It creates very thin and precise lines. Liquid liners are the top choice in making winged liners. But when it comes to ease of application, this one is definitely the toughest to master, at least for me. Another drawback of a liquid liner is that it can't be used on the waterline.

Gel/cream liner

- just like what the name implies, it comes in a gel form and is applied with a brush. It can create a thick line as well as the thinnest of lines depending on the brush and the stroke. It's also safe to be used on the waterline. It's my top pick because of it's versatility.

Pen-style liner

- is a cross between a pencil & liquid liner. It is gaining a lot of popularity because it delivers the same precision that a liquid liner does with a lot of ease because it's in a pen form.











Now let's go to the difficult part, on how to actually line the eyes properly. Although it seems so simple and easy, eyelining is one of the more difficult aspects of makeup especially for beginners. Not that it's complicated but it requires a lot of accuracy and drawing the same perfect line for both eyes is really tricky. I'm gonna show you a short tutorial on how I do my eyeliner, specifically the winged eyeliner also known as cat-eyes.

The gel liner using the Sephora Eyeliner brush:

Start on the middle of the lid going towards the outer corner. Keep the line as close to the lashes as possible.

Extend the line going a bit upwards using your lower eyelid & the end of your eyebrow as guide as shown above.

Now line the rest of the upper lashline starting from the middle again, and making sure that the line is thinnest on the inner corner.

This is what it looks like at this point. Since I have narrow and small eyes, I skip lining the innermost corner.

Using the same guide, extend the tail of the line up to the desired length of your cat-eye.

Now flick the brush towards the end of the eyebrow to make a hair-thin tail for that signature cat-eye look.

And here's the finished product:) You can connect the line towards your lower lashes to create a more dramatic look.

And here's the cat-eye in action. I used MAC Patina all-over the lid, Woodwinked on the crease and Phloof to highlight the brows and the inner corner of the eye. I smudged UD 24/7 liner in zero on the lower lid and used Bourjois Clubbing mascara on the lashes.

I hope you found this post helpful. And don't be frustrated if you cannot perfect the eyelining skill on the very first attempt. It took me several tries and lots of make-up remover and q-tips before I was able to create decent lines. Never underestimate the power of practice and patience.

Please don't hesitate to leave me comments if you have questions, suggestions or violent reactions:) See ya <3