Lined Eyes (Part I of II) - Tools

A very sweet reader recently asked me if I could talk about how to line eyes: the different types of eyeliners and techniques. A sort of "Eye-lining for beginners", I would say. Thank you for this wonderful suggestion and I hope these points will help you!

Let's have a look at the tools and techniques (coming next) available to us and have some fun with them!

Tools:

Mirror - Place one mirror in front of you to see straight ahead and/or another on a table so you can look up at the base of your lashline. This lets you see exactly what you are doing clearly and easily.

Eyeliner Pencil - A basic tool for lining eyes. They come in many many colors, formulas and textures and are so portable. These need to be sharpened often and can tuck a little at the delicate skin around our eyes. Soften up the tip a little before use by warming it up gently between your fingers.

Cream/gel liner - These cute little pots of colors are designed to be used with a liner brush. They pack nice color and glide on smoothly over our eyes. They also produce a line that is more natural looking than liquid liners but cleaner looking than pencils.

Eye Shadow - Not only can you use these to shade your eyes, you can shave some of the powder off to produce a liner to match the shadow you are wearing. Mix the powder with a sealant (see next tool) or Visine (or any artificial eye drops) to produce a liquid liner.

Sealant - Refer to this article to see why I love sealants so much! This is one of the best thing I have found to produce a liner that stays put. You can adjust the amount of powder to liquid depending on how thick you would like the final product to be.

Liner brush - These come in different varieties; pointed tip, slanted, or flat top. My personal preference is a medium length, thin slanted tip because it allows me to apply the liner at an angle whilst still allowing me to see what I am doing. Play around with different varieties and you will find your own favorite!

Liquid Liners - All-in-one liner liquid and brush. This is my least favorite of all the different types of liners because the brush that it comes with is usually too flimsy or too thick for my taste. A lot of these liquid liner formulas are too wet as well so the line smudges before it has a chance to dry!

Self-sharpening Liners - A creamy liner that is so portable because it is as the name implies, 'self-sharpening' (so you don't need to take your sharpener with you). If you like to touch up your line frequently during the day, this is the one to bring with you. Just make sure that you have some powder shadow with you to set the line to prolong its wear (especially if you get oily lids).

Automatic Liners - They come in a sharpie like pen and has a stiff pointy tip that dispenses a quick-drying liquid. They are easier to use than liquid liners.

Fat Liners - Are wonderful if you want to do a quick thick rim around your eyes. Of course remember to smudge the line a little to soften hard edges!

Loose Kohl Powder - This is the Arabic way to line eyes to give them drama. The original powder used back in the old days contained lead but has since been discontinued. It looks dramatic on the eyes but takes a lot of practice to get right because it is messy!


Part II Eye Lining Techniques to be continued....


Credits: style.com, bobbibrown.com, maccosmetics.com, urbandecay.com, thebodyshop.com, bareescentuals.com, benefitcosmetics.com

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