The jig is up.
Ok, eyeliner. The jokes over. Yes, you’re very funny keeping your secret from me all these years. But I’m sorry, I’ve had enough. I give in. It’s just not funny anymore. Just TELL ME. Tell me how to apply you.
For many, many years, I have spent many nights in front of the mirror, trying very unsuccessfully to put you on my upper eyelids. I have bought every brand of you, watched every video tutorial, asked everyone I know who knows anything about makeup. The answer is always the same…”just put it on along your eyelash line.” Why won’t you just work. I seem to be the only person on the planet who can’t figure it out. Everywhere I look, women taunt me with their eyelinered-top-lids. I have tried drawing your line as close as humanly possible to my lashes, god, I’ve tried drawing with you inbetween my lashes! But no matter what, There is still a big space of lid between my lashes and my eyeliner. And there’s always a nice too-thick, wonky line to top that off.
Is it my eyes? Do I have abnormally-low lashes? And if it just isn’t meant to be, why must I love the look of eyeliner oh-so much. WHY DAMMIT?!
Somebody? Anybody?
<3 & Cupcakes, Em.
November 19, 2008 at 7:53 pm
instead of using a liquid eyeliner, get a slanted brush from the Body Shop.
Dip the end in water (so it’s quite wet) and put it in the colour you’d like to use.
It should become a little bit like a paste on the end of the brush.
Pull your eyelid out, and starting from where you think is best line your top lid.
Take it slow.
Because the brush is thicker, and you’re dealing with a ‘paste’ as opposed to a liquid, it should bleed into your lash line.
This means it’s a little thicker, but you get a nice fine line
I hope this helps. I struggled with liquid/pencil liners forever!! This is the only way I can do it and I love it…
I don’t know if you can see it in this post
http://worldontheinside.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-11-08T14%3A10%3A00%2B09%3A00
November 19, 2008 at 7:53 pm
What type of eyeliner are you using? does it work on your lower eye?
I rarely put eyeliner on my top eyes as my glasses (eek! ) magnify my eyes as it is.
November 19, 2008 at 8:28 pm
I haven’t tried eyeliner on the top because i’m confident I’ll have the same issue but I’ll give it a go and let you know if I discover any secrets
November 19, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Whenever I draw liquid eye-liner on, it usually splashes back just beneath my eyebrow when I blink. The solution to this, is to either use a smaller brush and draw closer to the eyelash, or keep my eye closed for 2 minutes while the eye-liner dries.
When I’m going out, I use a mixture of black eyeshadow, smudged outwards to make my eye look bigger. Liquid eyeliner on the top lid (it’s less obvious if it smudges onto the eyeshadow), a flick of liquid eyeliner outwards from the centre of the eye – to line up with my eye brow, and pencil in the bottom lid.
November 19, 2008 at 11:14 pm
It takes some practice but here’s some hints for liquid:
blend your eyeshadow first – especially if you’re doing that three shade thing that helps shape your eyes (where the darkest colour goes along the crease line and the lash line).
gently pull the side of your face with your ‘other’ hand so that the eye skin is smooth. Dip your brush into the pot and then wipe most of it off (i just do it on the lip of the bottle).
Start from the inside corner and draw a smooth thin line as long as you can without wobbling. I usually do an eyelid in three strokes – one on the way up, one at the outside edge (way down) and into the cateye-flick and then finally join the two at the top. If I do one solid stroke it often goes way too thick at the top and I look like a sad panda.
Generous swishes of mascara can help fill in any gaps. Sometimes for a simple look I’ll skip the top line and just do a small outside flick which is basically a cheat way of making your lashes look like they go further out.
Personally I tend to use face of australia because it’s cheap and I’m used to the shape of the brush. If you find a good brush but the formula doesn’t work for you, it’s okay to mix and match.
November 20, 2008 at 4:14 am
I totally have the same problem, but I don’t care enough to want to continuously try and prefect my technique, I just don’t wear it on top.
I’m not good with any make up though :[
November 20, 2008 at 6:37 am
Ooh, I feel ya. I can apply it, but sadly the look only works for me with stage makeup because I have such such pale eyebrows/lashes.
November 20, 2008 at 7:28 am
i avoid liquid liners, and use them only for flashy nights out. When i do use a liquid liner I use a sparklely one, or even one with bright colors. I like the Urban Decay and Too Faced products which you can get at Sephora.
For day to day use, I use a pencil. Not a crayon!! The pencil you can sharpen, and make a cleaner line with.
How to apply:
First dab a small amount of foundation/concealer on eye lids for prep. The foundation allows whichever color you add to stand out more and it absorbs better.
Second, start with a freshly sharpened pencil. Apply along lash line. I like to hold the pencil as if writing. Apply thicker towards at the slant of your eye (towards your ears) and only apply the liner to 2/3 of your eye. You don’t want to look like you’re’ wearing liner.
If the pencil does not show up as dark as you like – Melt the color with a cigarette lighter. Allow it to cool, then apply. The warmth allows the pencil to become sort of melty – and the color will stick better.
Third, clean up any smudges with a q-tip. If your liner is not close enough to your lash line – you may try rubbing it toward that direction with the q-tip.
Perhaps this will help?
November 20, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Wow, I am on the other end of the spectrum here – I think liquid is the easiest to use if you are an eyeliner nOOb like myself. It has to be one with the ‘felt-tip’ end though. I like Almay which you can pick up at Priceline for about $16 (it has a cool bottle too, very Nubby-esque with its black base and white tip). It wipes off really easily if you make a mistake, but it has all-day lasting power. Then follow Bec’s great application advice! I like to do my line first and do the flick afterwards, since this is usually the bit that I screw up. I can then just wipe the flick off if I do it wrong and try again.
November 20, 2008 at 2:55 pm
What products have you used? I find that gel liners such as MAC or Bobbi Brown are easier to apply than liquid liners. You could also try a pencil liner such as MAC or MUFE.
I used to have a hell of a time applying it but really all it took was practice, practice, practice.
November 20, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I did a post on this for you. My instructions might have been a little weird. =D
January 20, 2009 at 12:29 am
I have to put mine in my waterline (ie: inside my lashes) and then on top of my lashes (as close as possible) and then I have to smudge my mascara to fill in the inside-the-lash bits
June 14, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Hey!
I find that liquid can be a mess a lot of times, but once u get used to it, itZ the best way to go! I love it.
It’s so much more chic & very thin so it always looks better.
Advice: Just stretch out ur eye lid and start by applying to the end only. Like—the long flip on the side for the “cat eye” look. It will bring anyone’s eye’s out & is perfect as a beginner move. The top of the lid will come later. If you just go w/the outer edge you may think this is enough & not even want the full lid.
Also. When applying turn your head to the side. It will be more even this way. Don’t try toapply with your head facing the mirror. Make sure to apply lots of mascara! Thin lashes are never cool!
Good Luck.