When it comes to eyeliner, I’ve always been a bit of a traditionalist, i.e. basic black on the upper and lower lash lines. Maybe I watch too many Rani Mukherjee movies and unwittingly try to model my look after hers, or it could be I’m simply too lazy to experiment most mornings (I think it’s more the lazy factor – as much as I love Rani and her enchanting kohl-rimmed eyes, she’s seriously got to change it up a little at times). So, in my quest to diversify, I have recently been observing friends and family members for different colors and techniques. I apologize to those of you that have found my nose pressed up against yours as I analyze your eyeliner from up close, but as you can tell, it was for a good cause!

Last month at Mother’s Day brunch, a very good family friend was sporting a look I absolutely fell in love with – she was wearing colored eyeliner only on her bottom lashes with her top lash line completely bare. It was so simple yet gorgeous, I’m actually surprised I don’t see more girls wearing their liner this way. Weeks later, I spotted

Drew Barrymore with a very similar style and was further intrigued, although I have to admit the color she chose and her method of application left her looking a little frightening. She had the right idea but the end result was too stark against her skin tone. After some research, it seems quite a few celebs seem to be adopting this style as a staple mostly in the teal color, including Kate Hudson and Blake Lively from Gossip Girl. I’m curious, why aren’t any of the brunette girls trying this out? If anything our darker coloring will make the shadow/liner pop even more.

How to wear the look:

Step 1) First prep the eye area. Don’t forget to use eye cream under your concealer – it will help it adhere to your skin and prevent it from becoming cakey.

Step 2) Dampen a liner brush and dip into your favorite teal eye shadow. Then, starting on the outer or inner corner of your eye depending on your preference, begin to draw a line very close to your lashes, while wiggling the brush in between the hairs to create a fuller, uniform look. When you have completed your lash line, make sure you also line your inner rims (waterline). (Pictured here are the 209 brush and Teal pigment, both by MAC)

.

Step 3) Once the lash area is complete, take your brush and pull the line slightly out and upward at a slant from the outer corner of your eye.

Step 4) Take the liner brush and now dip into a black liner and wiggle the brush under the upper lashes to make your top lash line look dark and fuller. If you really feel your upper lash line is too bare, you can apply a little black only on the outer corners and then smudge it with a q-tip so it is not too harsh and is still minimalistic against the teal.

.

Step 5) I actually prefer this look without mascara (as pictured in step 3) because it emphasizes the teal. But, if you feel your look is not complete without mascara, go ahead and apply – it still looks great. Finally, remember to use this teal with a nude lip gloss, any other color will make you look more clown than fashionista.

An important point to remember is to not match your eyes to your clothes. I make this blunder often and am trying to outgrow it. The matchy-matchy look is very dated. Instead of wearing clothing of the same color, pick an article that complements rather than duplicates the hue on your lids. I personally love wearing teal liner with a white or yellow shirt and jeans.

This look is simple enough to wear to dinner and dressed up enough for a bar. The next time I apply it, I may go a little darker or thicker and see what kind of response I get. You can substitute the liner for any color you prefer. If you are low-key and like your makeup to be the same, don’t worry, you don’t have to go as heavy handed as Drew or Kate, just apply a thin layer of liner and you will still make an impression.

Photo Credits:
http://www.shinygloss.tv/2007/10/
http://www.thefrisky.com/tag/drew+barrymore/
http://www.bellasugar.com/1000820

]]> http://www.lipstickmasala.com/2009/06/04/add-a-little-flavor-to-your-classic-liner/feed/ 35 http://www.lipstickmasala.com/2009/03/27/burning-question-of-the-week/ http://www.lipstickmasala.com/2009/03/27/burning-question-of-the-week/#comments Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:53:40 +0000 Lipstick Masala http://lipstickmasala.wordpress.com/?p=320

Photo Credit: shinygloss.tv

You’re off to a big party and you’ve been planning your outfit and makeup for weeks. As you walk out the door, you look more spectacular than you have in a while, your dress emphasizes all the right curves, your hair softly cascades down your back, and the eyeliner you’ve struggled with your whole life managed to go on in a straight line today. You start making your rounds at the party and after a little while excuse yourself to go to the bathroom. That’s when you look up into the mirror and realize your entire eyeliner has somehow migrated upward, causing you to have double, even triple lines of black on your lid.

Sound familiar? It’s happened to all of us, and from the questions I’ve been receiving from many of you, it’s a big problem that needs a solution – now! We’ve decided to add a new section to our site that answers the most popular question of the week. Not all our tips work on everyone, so we encourage you all to share your secrets with us.

Here are some of our recommendations for the problem above:

- Make sure your face is washed before applying liner, you don’t need any excess oil in the eye area

- Always use a base, in the form of either concealer or eyeshadow primer. A popular primer is Urban Decay Primer Potion – it’s a bit expensive, but will last you a while and is great under all shadows.

- The thicker your eyeliner, the more it will smudge. Try not to go over your eyeliner too many times.

- Some say to brush your eyelid slightly with your face powder after applying liner. We’re not a fan of this method as we feel if you don’t use a powder that’s translucent enough, it will destroy your look if you’re going for the dark black eyeliner. However, give it a shot and let us know what works!

Photo Credit: bobbibrown.com

- If you have oiler lids, try not to use “Kohl” liner on your upper lids, as it is softer and will smudge more. Gel or waterproof liners are best. Check out Fluidline by MAC or Bobbi Brown gel liners.

- Lastly, and this is our favorite, go over your liner with an eyeshadow of the same color. The shadow will set and suck up any oil from the liner. Do this for both the upper lid and the inner rims. We love MAC Carbon for black – it’s really the most pitch black shadow you will find.

If anyone has any more suggestions, we would love to hear them! Please share with us what has worked for you!

Photo Credit: milanmk.com

Desi girls love eyeliner. Whether it’s black, brown, turquoise, liquid, gel or pencil, it has found its way into all of our makeup bags. Some girls prefer to look traditional like Kareena, while others like a much lighter look similar to that of Angelina Jolie, who only uses it on her upper eyes. I find myself leaning towards the old “less is more” rule, but that’s my personal preference. Whichever way you prefer to wear your liner, remember that it doesn’t have to be a complicated process, especially with one of my favorite makeup tools of all time – the smudge brush.

Photo Credit: laura mercier .com

As you can tell from the name, the brush is used mainly to smudge liners and shadows, extremely useful when creating the smoky eye look. If you feel like your eyeliner is too dark, you can easily blend it out with this brush. However, the focus of this particular post is to share with you how to apply basic eyeliner quickly and efficiently in less than 5 minutes. Also, for girls who have shaky hands or just don’t know how to draw a straight line, this one’s for you.

There are several types of smudge brushes out there. It honestly depends on what you would like the brush for. If you are looking for one solely for liner, I prefer the one by Laura Mercier. The bristles are thickly packed together and it is a little smaller than other brands’ brushes, which allows for precision. If you want the brush for the smoky eye look, try out the double-ended one from Smashbox. However, all smudge brushes can be used for either, so it really is a matter of preference.

Following is a quick tutorial on how to use the smudge brush for eyeliner application:

Step 1: Start with your basic bare eye. If you wear foundation or concealer, now is the time to apply it. You will probably need to go back and add a little more concealer at the end, but for now you need a base to start with.

Step 2: Apply your eyeliner. As you can see, I used a pencil and the result is messy. Don’t worry, that is the point. You don’t need to spend ten minutes being precise (note the space between the lash lines and the actual liner); we will fix that in a minute.

Step 3: Take your smudge brush and place it on the liner. I prefer to go from inner eye to outer for the top lashes, and outer to inner for the bottom lashes. It’s easier for me to shape my specific eyes this way. It’s a preference but not a rule, do whatever feels comfortable to you.

Start to smudge and shape the liner with the brush.  For the upper lashes, pull the liner down toward the lash line with the brush in a light tugging motion. You can also pull from left to right and vice versa. Do the same for the lower lashes, however, this time pull the liner up toward the last line. Wiggle your brush between your lashes to get the color between them.

Step 4: Now that you have the basic eyeliner on, you will probably find it’s a little thick. You now need to shape it and remove excess liner.

Lightly wet a cotton swab. Under the eye: Place the swab under the liner and swipe it from the inner corner to the outer to make the line thinner and remove excess liner. Eyelid: Do the same, starting at the top of the liner at the eye’s inner corner and swipe it toward the outer corner. You may need to use more than one swab to prevent faint streaks. Use another cottron swab to lightly dab concealer under the bottom lash line to cover any dark skin showing through from cleaning the liner.

Step 5: Add mascara, et voilà, you’re good to go.

Lastly, as I mentioned before, if you feel your eyeliner is too dark, smudge along the actual line of the eyeliner and the color will lighten up substantially.

If you have smaller eyes, I would not recommend completely lining the underside of your bottom lash line, as it will make your eyes seem smaller. If you would still like the traditional black liner look, then line your 1/3 of your bottom lash line from the outside in. Proceed to smudge and blend the liner so it isn’t too harsh against the side of the under eye that has no liner. Not having the black liner all around your lashes will give your eyes a more open look.

Final Tip: The heavier you go with the eyeliner, the lighter your lipstick should be. Too many ladies out there are wearing the Kareena eyes from above with dark lipstick. Dark eyes and dark lips is very harsh look and let’s be honest, just scary looking!

Like every new makeup technique it may take a couple of tries before you perfect your own method. Trust me, once you do, you will never let go of this vital makeup tool.