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.