Tell me everything you know about eyeliner.

[ladymelissa]

Eyeliner is the most frustrating part of my makeup routine. It takes the longest, has the highest margin of error and is the first to smudge or run. So I want to know any tips you might have from the best products to application techniques.

[BriansBride07]

I use a sharp pencil for my eyeliner and I only do half of the lid at a time after about a 1/2 hour I take a Q-tip and clean up any smudges. At times I use the liquad eyeliner and it can be cleaned up in about 10 min. with a Q-tip. Also applying my eyeshadow before my liner seems to make it so it doesn't smudge as fast.

[cowboysbride]

I use Lancome and I put on my foundation then my eyeshadow then the pencil liner (I can't use liquid...I'd look like Elvira Mistress of the Dark)!

I keep it sharpened but blunt the point just a bit on a tissue and start at the outside edge and work my way to the inside edge...it helps if you slightly hold your finger on the outside of your eyelid and stretch it so you get a smooth taut line to work with.

[hummingbird521]

Just wanted to ask a question about how to make your eyes look brighter and wide open with eye liner. Do you apply to outside edges only? or top and bottom? always wondered about it.

[SerendipityCrafts]

Maybe this will help???

Six steps for easy eyeliner application

1. For lining the top lid, use your non-dominant hand to pull the skin on the top of your eye taut, and then apply your eyeliner with your dominant hand. It may help to rest your dominant hand against your face as you apply it to help with control and support. It may take you a few attempts to get it right, but practice makes perfect!

For the bottom of you eye, again rest your dominant hand against your face to line, and use your the other hand to help keep the lower lid taut.
macgyver17

2. I use an eyeliner that has a mechanical, twist-up-pencil type tip. I find that these are the easiest to apply!
cl-beautyladie

3. Use short feathery strokes instead of trying to draw one solid line.
lauraqubalamk

4. Keep your eye slightly open. I tilt my head back and look at the mirror with both eyes open. That allows you to get very close to your eyelash line.
ctaylor41659

5. If you use a pencil or crayon type liner, instead of a liquid one, put the line on and use a cotton bud tip to smooth out the line. This makes it a lot easier and quicker, and you don't have to worry about getting it right first time, it also makes the line subtler.
rivven

6. Applying eyeliner half way along the bottom lash line makes your eyes look rounder and more defined. Don't worry too much about a straight neat line; simply smudge the line with a cotton bud or your finger so it's soft and natural looking. Use Kohl pencils for the inner rims.
cl-makeupartist2003

[kevinsbride2B]

For some reason if I do my upper lid I totally get smudgey regardless!!!!! LOL
I have quite small eyes and I find that if I do a lid liner i look all squinty. Instead I use a small brusha nd dark eye shadow. I the mix it in to my eye lashes so it covers everything but doesn'tlook quite as stark as eye liner. Do this before your mascara.
For my lower lids I use a pencil. Not too too sharp though cause I find it covers way less. I then take a QT right after and lightly rub it. This stops a lot of runnign and brightens your eyse more.

[70707Bride]

I found out that cheap eyeliner is just worthless. I usually use Clinique. It has a smudge thing on the other end and I love it. I think they said after 10 seconds, its harder to smudge. Right now I'm using Mary Kay. Also, I was told that you should only wear mascara where you use eyeliner (if you use mascara). I put eyeliner on the top and bottom lids, but I don't usually wear mascara anymore.

[ro5ar1a]

i use MAC fluidline which is kind of like a gel liner but there's no wetness to it so it doesn't smear when applying it. and i use an angle brush to apply it. i love using it, it's very hard to mess up and if you do very easy to fix but once you get the hang of it, it becomes the easiest part of putting your makeup on. i just slightly pull my lid to the side and slide the brush along my lash line and doing it in halves starting from the middle to the outside and then again from the inside to the middle. the key is not to use to much and not to push down hard so you don't have a thick uneven line.

[Blusher]

after i sharpen my eyeliner i hold the end over a flame for a quick second to just melt it a lil and this makes is harder---it still goes on easy but I find since its not so soft it doesn't smudge when applying it

[neebelung]

I use either black or brown, and line either half or the whole upper lid, and only the outer 1/4 of the lower (or not at all). For me, the way my eyes are shaped, if I line the whole bottom, then it instantly smudges. All depends on your face, so you might be like me, and just not able to wear much lower liner.

To help set the liner (and your shadow) and keep it from smudging, try using an eyeshadow base - I like L'Oreal Decrease - it's a powdery liquid that goes on like eyeshadow, then you blend it in, wait a couple minutes and apply your eye makeup. Shadow and liner last all day without fade.

Also, many of the 'drugstore' lines are now offering lower priced alternatives to Bare Minerals. I just found a powder liner by N.Y.C., and it comes with a "weather proofing" liquid you mix with the liner to help its staying power.

[Brianne1114]

I use gel liners (MAC Fluidlines, Bobbi Brown long wearing gel liner) with a very fine tipped brush. I kinda roll the brush in the gel and apply on my upper lashline only super close to my lashes.

I also do a technique called "tightlining" which is using a flat eyeliner brush and a cake (or gel) liner and pushing the liner into the roots of your lashes from the underside. Makes my lashes look super full and gives subtle definition. Laura Mercier is really big on tightlining.