So…You Want to do Winged Liner

I decided to do a how-to on winged liquid liner. I wear it everyday, and I did do a short how-to before, when I reviewed the Revlon Liquid Eye Pen here. I’m using that liquid liner here, and it is my favorite because of the shape of the tip. I wanted to do a more in-depth explanation, I’ve heard that this can be challenging (I learned how to apply liquid liner when I was a kid by my aunt, and I still have trouble!) and I just want to stress that practice and patience goes a long way (and always have a q-tip handy).

First, I lay down a “bead” of liner. I lay the liner pen down flat against my upper lash line to get the pigment right into the lashes.

bead liner

the bead all on

Next, I use the shape of the pen (use everything to your advantage!) to create the wing. Line the pen up with the outer corner of your eye and point it in whatever direction you like (you can go more vertically, or more horizontally, whatever you like. Try out lots of shapes, its fun!). Stamp the liner to create a wing outline.

use the pen Luke!

post stamp

Next, lay the pen down on the wing and drag it back to your lashline. This will create the wing, without any muss or fuss on your end.

drag your liner

I then go over the bead line to make it even. If you can keep yourself from blinking, you can line your lashline in one swipe. Otherwise, do short strokes across your lash line. Be sure to fill in the spaces between your lashline and the liner, the whole point of this is to make your lashes look fuller and your eye longer. The illusion would be defeated if you leave skin visible between the liner and your lashes.

finished!

As far as getting the wings to match, this really just requires patience and practice. I do one eye, and then look at myself in the mirror and then map out the other eye. A q-tip dipped in makeup remover is pretty important, even after years of doing liquid liner, I need q-tips all the time. Once you get the hang of winged liner, it does go quickly, but you should expect it to take more time at first.

I hope this helps anyone who wants to give this a shot. If you have any tips and tricks for doing winged liner, please let me know in the comments below! I’ll also say that if the wings aren’t very well matched, or if the line across your eye is a bit wavy, mascara really masks a lot of human error (just saying, its saved me many times).

I’ve started watching Reign (a new show on the CW) and I’m actually really addicted (oy). Do any of you guys watch it? I’m thinking of doing a Reign inspired makeup look post, let me know if you would be interested.