Tips on Applying Eyeliner

For a woman, eyeliner can be one of the greatest cosmetic tools. Even a small amount will give your eyes a sophisticated aura. However, just a tad too much and you'll end up looking like you're dressed for Halloween. Here are some tips to help you apply eyeliner to suit your own unique style.

1. Know how you want to look. You can do quite a few things with eyeliner. Go from a natural, daytime style to a more dramatic kohl with smoky black around your eyes. Decide what you want before you begin.

2. Choose your liner color. Pick a color that will look good with your eye color or a plain tone for a simpler look. If you are looking for a nice subtle day color then try soft green or a shade of brown. For dramatic evening looks, try a jewel green shade to accent green eyes, an aqua shade to accent blue eyes or just a basic black.

3. Choose an eyeliner type. Liners are available as liquid pens, pencils, or shadows in a cake that are applied with a separate brush. For beginners it is recommended that you start out slow and use a pencil or a liquid liner, as they are much easier to use.

4. Get the eyeliner ready for use. Eye pencils have to be sharpened on occasion. Once your pencil is sharp, warm it up with a blow dryer or slowly roll between your warm fingertips. There are several different styles to liquid eyeliners, so look at the instructions. The brush must be wet with liner on its tip.

5. Start on the upper lid. Tilt your head backwards and half close your eyes to see into the mirror. For this to work right you need to see the edge of the eyelid, the top of it.

6. Apply the liner. Apply the liner to the corner of your eye closest to your nose. Carefully draw a line along the edge of your eyelid as close as possible to the eyelash. If your hand is a little shaky, rest it on your cheek to get a smooth line.

7. Draw liner on bottom lid. Going from the outer corner of the eye, draw in the lower line. Again, go as close as you can to the edge of your eyelid, just beneath your eyelashes. The line does not have to go all the way across the eye. Stop three-quarters of the way up the lid.

8. Let eyeliner dry. This is extremely important if you're applying liquid liner. You need to let the eyeliner liquid dry for at least half a minute.

9. Smudge the liner (this is optional). To make the line look softer, run a Q-tip along the line you made. Go gently on this until you get the right look.

10. Now do the exact same thing to the other eye.

If you do these steps, you should be able to create a lot of different looks. Simply try new things and put on eyeliner to fit your mood. Have fun!