Applying eyeliner

The Lovely Muffin

Hey,

Can anyone recommend some videos/tutorials to apply eyeliner? Gel and pencil preferably.

I am constantly trying/practicing, but I just cannot seem to get it right.

I tried it again today and took some pics to give a better idea of how I do it.




I am looking to get something like these





All help appreciated.

Larianne

I've no tutorials to recommend but just two questions:

What brush do you use to apply the gel liner?

And how sharp is your pencil?

When I'm applying my eyeliner I never start right in corner of my eye, I usually start where my iris is and go out the way. Then once I've the thickness I want, I go back in to do the inner corners.

Tayla

I am absolutely terrible at applying eyeliner but I just had to post to say that your eyes are STUNNING :eek:

lil-ms-vodka

I use a dark grey pencil, then go over it with black eyeshadow using the side of the applicator
When i'm going out i do the same but use a black pencil instead of the grey

IrishEyes19

Great thread, since I'm so paranoid about eyes that I can't get anywhere near them with eye liner myself and its such a pity, as when I get it done professionally it looks so much better

The Lovely Muffin

Larianne wrote: »

I've no tutorials to recommend but just two questions:

What brush do you use to apply the gel liner?

And how sharp is your pencil?

When I'm applying my eyeliner I never start right in corner of my eye, I usually start where my iris is and go out the way. Then once I've the thickness I want, I go back in to do the inner corners.

I have two brushes for eyeliner, both of which give me the same effect as the photos I posted.

I start at the edge of my eye and work my way out, as soon as I get to the very edge, I stop and go back to where I started and work my way inwards.

For those photos I used the Essence brush.

Essence eyeliner brush



Bobbi Brown ultra fine eyeliner brush



I've also tried the ELF small precision brush, again it gives me the same results.



My pencil liners would be quite sharp, like in this photo.

Tayla wrote: »

I am absolutely terrible at applying eyeliner but I just had to post to say that your eyes are STUNNING :eek:

Thank you, its really kind of you to say so!

shinikins

Are the brushes you use fairly firm, or soft bristled? I find a firm brush better for applying shadow/gel eyeliner, and I would always moisten it before using. With my pencils, I always have them sharpened, a blunt pencil will never give you a steady line. Also, the texture of the pencil is important, too soft and it will smudge all over the place, too hard and you won't be able to use.

Personally I prefer to start lining from the outer edge of my eyes, and I pull on the skin lightly to get a taut "canvas" I've always found that if the skin is loose you end up with wavy lines.

For the last few years I've been using Too-Faced Liquif-Eye for eye lining. Its a clear liquid that transforms any eyeshadow into a liner, but it has a really fine edge on it, so perfect for drawing ultra fine lines. It cost me $18 in the States last time I bought it, but I know you can buy the Liquif-Eye set with shadows in Boots/Debenhams for about €30.

Asphyxia

I followed this tutorial to start with, I like her videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbFhTmgZuOk

Fiii

Eyeliner is my desert island product

I'm a winged eyeliner girl, so watched these to get it right:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA4u5T1SouU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oI0Bwai83k
The second one talks ALOT, but her technique is good.

I find liquid eyeliner easiest to use, and easiest to get a narrow line like the one you're looking for.
L'Oreal Carbon Gloss is by far my favourite.

If you want to go with gel, try an bent brush like this one http://www.target.com/Sonia-Kashuk-Bent-Eyeliner-Brush/dp/B002VTK5XA
I got one just like it from Inglot, and it's great for applying a nice even line without your hand getting in your way

The Lovely Muffin

Thanks a million for all the help here, I'll watch the videos as soon as I get a chance.

Can I say though, I am not looking for winged eyeliner, I'm looking for something like the two photos I posted in my OP.

ibarelycare

As what Larianne said, the best thing to do is start in the middle of your eyelid and work your way out, then fill in from the inner corner to the middle. Start with as thin a line as you possibly can and carefully build the thickness up in the middle (the pics you show have very thin lines on the inner and outer corners and slightly thicker in the middle)

I haven't come across any tutorials on YT that show how to do it that way unfortunately, they nearly all show how to do winged eyeliner!

Dark Phoenix

I agree with Larianne I've the opposite problem in that somestimes my brush has too much on it so I start at the middle, go out to the edge and then do the inside without re dipping the brush. It means the thicker bit is on the outside. I use a brush that came with my mac fluid line I got it in the us. Its a thin stubby brush which I think works better

ibarelycare

Dark Phoenix wrote: »

I agree with Larianne I've the opposite problem in that somestimes my brush has too much on it so I start at the middle, go out to the edge and then do the inside without re dipping the brush. It means the thicker bit is on the outside. I use a brush that came with my mac fluid line I got it in the us. Its a thin stubby brush which I think works better

Is that the Mac 210?



I use that with the Fluidline and I find it good, but I also want to get a good thin angled brush as I find them better for doing flicks and thicker lines.

I loooove Fluidline though. I always found the liquid eyeliners really difficult to use but this is the best one ever. Never smudges and lasts all day/night!

Dublin141

This one might help because one of the methods she shows uses a flat top tightline brush which is quite good for the look you're going for. She wings it out at the very end, but she does a thin line at first to demonstrate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KutWmqzQLE

Also, I have hooded eyes so can't use a thick line—I have a few angled brushes, and my favourite is one by Ruby & Millie. It's great at lining or setting the line with powder. I'm actually really bad at eyeliner, but I have a turquoise Wet & Wild liquid liner which is super easy to use and probably the thinnest liner I have. I don't line the inner corners at all, I start at the middle and work out because a full line doesn't suit my eye shape so much.

Linguo

I have a brush like this:
It's great and you can get really think but controlled lines with it, I use Mac fluidline with it which is fab! My tip is to always have a Johnson's Q-Tip handy to erase any little mistakes!

Dark Phoenix

ibarelycare wrote: »

Is that the Mac 210?



I use that with the Fluidline and I find it good, but I also want to get a good thin angled brush as I find them better for doing flicks and thicker lines.

I loooove Fluidline though. I always found the liquid eyeliners really difficult to use but this is the best one ever. Never smudges and lasts all day/night!

hi just checked and mine is a Mac 209SE? It is a short mini brush that came as part of a kit (a bargain from an outlet centre). Its like yours, comes into a stiff point I find it fab - I love fluidline too it just doesn't budge and is nice and dark

booboo88

Dublin141 wrote: »

This one might help because one of the methods she shows uses a flat top tightline brush which is quite good for the look you're going for. She wings it out at the very end, but she does a thin line at first to demonstrate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KutWmqzQLE

Also, I have hooded eyes so can't use a thick line—I have a few angled brushes, and my favourite is one by Ruby & Millie. It's great at lining or setting the line with powder. I'm actually really bad at eyeliner, but I have a turquoise Wet & Wild liquid liner which is super easy to use and probably the thinnest liner I have. I don't line the inner corners at all, I start at the middle and work out because a full line doesn't suit my eye shape so much.

i frickin love that video

glitterbug86

I find the Mac 263 better than the Mac 266 with fluidline. I use the 266 with eyeshadow to fill in my eyebrows because it's more textured and a little thicker so I think it's better for that. The 263 is a little thinner and smoother.

I find the angled brush quite easy to use once you take your time. I def find it easier to use than liquid liners (could never use the skinny flimsy ones but was ok with the shorter stubby ones). I have not tried either of the pointy mac brushes mentioned above yet (BTW the difference between these is that the 210 is thinner than the 209. The 209 is still thin though and is the more popular of the two. Also, SE means special edition as it came in a set.. these are manufactured whereas the individual brushes are hand made. The SE's are generally considered not as good as the individual brushes but are not as expensive as those).

Regarding the gel liner problem, the essence angled brush looks fine to me from that picture.. I think the application may be the problem rather than the brush. If I understand correctly are you saying that you start from the very inner corner of your eye and go all the way to the outside, and then go from the outside all the way back in to the inner corner again? The gel liner looks way too thick to me in your picture.. maybe because you're going back and over like this. Also the inside is thicker than the outside... try to keep it all the same thickness and if you want to add thickness anywhere it should be either be slightly higher in the middle or get gradually thicker at the outside. Like some of the others said, I start in the middle and work my way out. I don't do it all in one stroke though. Try starting in the middle pressing the angled brush right up against your lashes. It should be flush against the lashes, don't leave a gap. Don't do a big stroke, only move it slighly along towards the outside of the eye and then lift the brush away. You should have a little stroke. Start at the end of that stroke and add another stroke in the same way until you reach the ouside. The pics of what you want don't look like a flick to me but they do look like the line is extended a little further than the natural lashline. Then do the inside of the eye. If there are any little gaps/unevenness fill it in with another small stroke. You can even do that after you'd done your mascara.

With the pencil eyeliner try doing it with you eyes open, or at least finishing it up with your eyes open. Again try to keep the line more even. You can go back and over with pencil but not really with gel liner. In your pic with the pencil eyeliner there's an area towards the outer corner (maybe the second quarter of the eye from L to R) where the pencil is not as thick. If you filled that bit in it would all look a lot more even.

LivingDeadGirl

I can't stand angled eyeliner brushes, expensive or inexpensive. I find MAC 210 style brushes MUCH easier to use. I don't actually use the 210 though, I actually use very very fine paintbrushes I bought at an art supplies shop. The finer the brush the easier it is I find. They were under a fiver each so I bought a few in different thicknesses for different looks. They work amazingly well for me, wash well and I got several for the price of one high end brush!

giddybootz

LivingDeadGirl wrote: »

I can't stand angled eyeliner brushes, expensive or inexpensive. I find MAC 210 style brushes MUCH easier to use. I actually use very very fine paintbrushes I bought at an art supplies shop. The finer the brush the easier it is I find. They were under a fiver each so I bought a few in different thicknesses for different looks. They work amazingly well for me, wash well and I got several for the price of one high end brush!

Totally agree with you here...I have a MAC 209 brush and a load of skinny, pointy paint brushes from the Art & Hobby shop. They also have these type of brushes over with their face paints for about 2 quid and they are so perfect for gel eyeliner!

I totally LOVE Fluidline by MAC too...easiest to apply, lasts all day and good value for the number of applications you get.

The Lovely Muffin

I tried this again today and it's a slight bit better than before, I just can't seem to manage it properly. Argh!

Here's pic of today's 'trial', would anyone have any idea where I am going wrong? I start in the middle of my eye and work my way to the edge, when that is done, I then to back to where I started and work my way to the inner corner.

For the Bobbi Brown liner I used my Bobbi Brown ultra fine liner brush and for the No.7 liner I used the Essence liner brush.





As you can see with the Bobbi liner and brush, the line seems to be thicker than the No.7, so I'm guessing I am doing something wrong with the ultra fine liner brush, but I can't think what, I used it the same way as I used the Essence brush, yet there is a difference in the thickness of both lines or am I seeing things.

I should add that I wear glasses, but obviously couldn't wear them when applying the liner so I can't see very well without my specs. I don't have any contacts at the mo, but when I've tried the liner using the contacts, there wasn't any different in application.

Oh and ignore the different eye shadows, I am having a sort through my make up and seeing what I don't use lol

moonflower

I use a Bobbi Brown brush shaped like the ELF one you posted and either ELF or MAC black gel liner.

Gel liner is the one I find easiest to use, it's also quite easy to fix if you mess it up. To get that sharp black line you need a very dark, pigmented liner and you need to load up the brush so it doesn't drag.

I get a load of it on the brush and then scrape both sides of the brush off the edge of the jar, so the brush flattens out. Then I start from about 1/4 of the way in and do a very thin line in one stroke, then go back and thicken it up if it needs it. Then I wing it out at the end, towards the end of my eyebrows, then go back in and do the inner corner.

Also you might want to try using a base, if you don't already wear one. Something like Urban Decay's Primer Potion or ELF's Studio Primer. It'll give you better colour payoff and stop your liner from smudging or fading during the day.

Twee.

I have the BB Ultra Fine Liner brush and I hate it. Found it very difficult to use. I now use it as a lip brush sometimes!

I now use the Mac 266 and find it great. It goes right down to the lash line with ease. As has been said, I also start in the middle, gradually making the line thicker as I get towards the edge. Then a gentle sweep to get the "flick" on the end. Finally go back and do the bit near the tear duct.

I haven't had Fluidline in ages, I've been using a damp brush in dark brown, matte eye shadow, and a Mac paint pot for eye liners!

Linguo

Yeah agree I find the 266 very good with getting a nice thin line, and defo recommend the Urban Decay primers, fab altogether!

Remember practice makes perfect, and if you can find a taller table that you can rest your arm on to help steady your hand it may help you, that and keep a q-tip handy for any tiny mistakes!

The Lovely Muffin

Thanks so much for the all helps and suggestions, I really appreciate them.