in having a discussion with friends about my previous post, i was inspired to talk about liner this week. as i mentioned in my last blog, shadow base is also a helpful product to make your liner wear longer as well -- keep that in mind as you read on.
liner can make your eyes look instantly bigger, brighter and even more well-rested! conversely, it can make your eyes look like deep, dark pits of despair when under a heavy-hand. the best rule to live by: liner should always follow your lash line. always. (i will discuss the rare exceptions momentarily.)
liner, when done naturally, should enhance the line of the lash. who doesn't want fuller, thicker lashes, right? liner can help to achieve this. follow the line from the corner to the outer ends on the top. (i will discuss dealing with bottom lashes later.) this should be fairly self-explanatory without delving into types and colors, which i'll save for another blog.
i know i said to always follow the lash line, but like everything else, there are always exceptions to the rules. just because one or more of these may or may not apply to you, do not feel obligated to adhere . . . most are your garden variety "slide-of-hand" illusions.
1) if your eyes turn downward, whether due to genetics or aging, bring your liner outward and upwards slightly at the outer corners to give the impression of a little "lift."
2) if your eyes are close-set, as in the distance between your eyes is less than the width of one of your eyes, then concentrate your liner towards the outer corners. this gives the illusion of your eyes being further apart.
3) if your eyes are wide-set, as in the distance between your eyes is greater than the width of one of your eyes, then concentrate your liner towards the inner corners. this gives the illusion of your eyes being closer together. (gee, bet you figured that one out all by yourself after the last clue, huh?)
4) my personal tip, as this one applies to me, is for lining when one eye is larger than the other. yes, even you have one of those. everyone does. (whenever you have two of anything, one is larger!) feel free to go just a little heavier on the larger eye. thicker liner makes your eyes look smaller, so the whole point is to make 'em match.
in response to #4, yes, you read correctly. thicker liner = smaller eye. so for all you ladies clinging to your thick, black liner thinking that you are emphasizing your eyes, well you are, but not in a good way. this is the "pit of despair" look i mentioned earlier. stop it! i've said it before; unless you are photographed or walk a runway for a living, let it go. and don't outline that little inner corner of your eye like cleopatra. (remember what i said about following the lash line?) in fact, a theatre trick is to put a little light-reflector there. if you pay close attention to all the models in the print ads, it always looks like they've got a little white shimmer right there in those corners. this makes the eye look larger and more "open." (which is a good thing!) and when i say "concentrate your liner" in a certain area that does not mean stop or start it in the middle somewhere. it should be a gradual blending, just darker or heavier in one area over the other.
for a natural, easy, everyday look, you just can't beat an eye shadow for a liner. of course, i adore bobbi brown's darker shadows for this purpose, but nearly everyone out there makes a dark brown, black or even navy or eggplant shadow. it is best applied with a little bitty, sometimes slanted or angled brush designed precisely for that purpose. and if you've got a quality shadow, you may even feel compelled to wet your brush a little before dipping into the shadow for a more "liquid" liner look. the greatest attribute to shadow lining is the ease of blending and control you have over the application. and with that tiny brush you can really get down into that lash line! it will be so easy for you that you will throw away any pencil liner you've got in your bag of tricks! pencils are hard and they tend to drag along the lid. remember years ago when you would have to use a match or lighter to melt the tip of your pencil? (if you still do that, never admit it to anyone.) hey, if you need fire to apply your makeup nothing good can come of that. the crayon, or "twist-up" types are okay. they wear decently enough, but i find it more difficult to get a nice blend or control of the amount applied from them. and if i had a dime for every woman that complained that her automatic liner broke off or dried up, i would have around $83.60. (you get the picture.) and here's where i bring up lining under the eye . . . don't feel like you have to do it. as long as you're applying mascara to those bottom lashes, you should be golden. it's fine to sweep a little along the lashline for a natural look, heavier for an evening or smoky eye. but a lot of liner on the bottom only makes your eyes look smaller. if you have few or thin bottom lashes, then i would completely advocate "faking" that lash line when mascara just can't do the job.
next week i'll expound upon this topic and talk about actual products and colors; just wanted to lay down the basics first. my tip for this blog, since we're talking about lining, is for the fair and sparse-of-lash ladies. if you have skimpy or light-colored lashes, then you know how you have that "void" on the mucous membrane of the lid where your eyelashes grow. your mascara isn't going to do the job, but you can use a liquid liner or dip your liner brush into your shadow liner and actually go up from under the lashes and fill in that space. very carefully!!!! it will make your lash line lush!
liner can make your eyes look instantly bigger, brighter and even more well-rested! conversely, it can make your eyes look like deep, dark pits of despair when under a heavy-hand. the best rule to live by: liner should always follow your lash line. always. (i will discuss the rare exceptions momentarily.)
liner, when done naturally, should enhance the line of the lash. who doesn't want fuller, thicker lashes, right? liner can help to achieve this. follow the line from the corner to the outer ends on the top. (i will discuss dealing with bottom lashes later.) this should be fairly self-explanatory without delving into types and colors, which i'll save for another blog.
i know i said to always follow the lash line, but like everything else, there are always exceptions to the rules. just because one or more of these may or may not apply to you, do not feel obligated to adhere . . . most are your garden variety "slide-of-hand" illusions.
1) if your eyes turn downward, whether due to genetics or aging, bring your liner outward and upwards slightly at the outer corners to give the impression of a little "lift."
2) if your eyes are close-set, as in the distance between your eyes is less than the width of one of your eyes, then concentrate your liner towards the outer corners. this gives the illusion of your eyes being further apart.
3) if your eyes are wide-set, as in the distance between your eyes is greater than the width of one of your eyes, then concentrate your liner towards the inner corners. this gives the illusion of your eyes being closer together. (gee, bet you figured that one out all by yourself after the last clue, huh?)
4) my personal tip, as this one applies to me, is for lining when one eye is larger than the other. yes, even you have one of those. everyone does. (whenever you have two of anything, one is larger!) feel free to go just a little heavier on the larger eye. thicker liner makes your eyes look smaller, so the whole point is to make 'em match.
in response to #4, yes, you read correctly. thicker liner = smaller eye. so for all you ladies clinging to your thick, black liner thinking that you are emphasizing your eyes, well you are, but not in a good way. this is the "pit of despair" look i mentioned earlier. stop it! i've said it before; unless you are photographed or walk a runway for a living, let it go. and don't outline that little inner corner of your eye like cleopatra. (remember what i said about following the lash line?) in fact, a theatre trick is to put a little light-reflector there. if you pay close attention to all the models in the print ads, it always looks like they've got a little white shimmer right there in those corners. this makes the eye look larger and more "open." (which is a good thing!) and when i say "concentrate your liner" in a certain area that does not mean stop or start it in the middle somewhere. it should be a gradual blending, just darker or heavier in one area over the other.
for a natural, easy, everyday look, you just can't beat an eye shadow for a liner. of course, i adore bobbi brown's darker shadows for this purpose, but nearly everyone out there makes a dark brown, black or even navy or eggplant shadow. it is best applied with a little bitty, sometimes slanted or angled brush designed precisely for that purpose. and if you've got a quality shadow, you may even feel compelled to wet your brush a little before dipping into the shadow for a more "liquid" liner look. the greatest attribute to shadow lining is the ease of blending and control you have over the application. and with that tiny brush you can really get down into that lash line! it will be so easy for you that you will throw away any pencil liner you've got in your bag of tricks! pencils are hard and they tend to drag along the lid. remember years ago when you would have to use a match or lighter to melt the tip of your pencil? (if you still do that, never admit it to anyone.) hey, if you need fire to apply your makeup nothing good can come of that. the crayon, or "twist-up" types are okay. they wear decently enough, but i find it more difficult to get a nice blend or control of the amount applied from them. and if i had a dime for every woman that complained that her automatic liner broke off or dried up, i would have around $83.60. (you get the picture.) and here's where i bring up lining under the eye . . . don't feel like you have to do it. as long as you're applying mascara to those bottom lashes, you should be golden. it's fine to sweep a little along the lashline for a natural look, heavier for an evening or smoky eye. but a lot of liner on the bottom only makes your eyes look smaller. if you have few or thin bottom lashes, then i would completely advocate "faking" that lash line when mascara just can't do the job.
next week i'll expound upon this topic and talk about actual products and colors; just wanted to lay down the basics first. my tip for this blog, since we're talking about lining, is for the fair and sparse-of-lash ladies. if you have skimpy or light-colored lashes, then you know how you have that "void" on the mucous membrane of the lid where your eyelashes grow. your mascara isn't going to do the job, but you can use a liquid liner or dip your liner brush into your shadow liner and actually go up from under the lashes and fill in that space. very carefully!!!! it will make your lash line lush!
No comments:
Post a Comment