Sharpen Your Eyeliner

Upon working with a bride this weekend, I perfected an eyelining technique. The thing is that I love liquid eyeliner because it is much sharper than an eyelining pencil and really stands out above carefully-curled lashes. But sometimes, it may not look completely uniform - especially on someone who likes to squeeze their eyes together in fear of foreign objects being placed quite close to their eye by a stranger. This is completely understandable; hence I decided to use both the eyelining pencil and the liquid eyeliner.

Use an eyelining pencil with good pigmentation. I love Prescriptives' Softlining Pencil in Jet. As you close one eye and pull out your lid so that it's pretty smooth, run the pencil from the inner corner to the outer corner of your eye in short, little movements. Once you have your straight line, use the liquid eyeliner (I enjoy Maybelline's Lineworks Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner) to give the line a little more definition. For the liquid liner, I usually start in the middle of the lid so as not to have an excess of product on either end. Be sure to smooth out the line from end to end. And there you have a sharper, more cohesively-lined lid!

A Pleasant Liquid Eyeliner Surprise

I never thought that I'd like any kind of cream or liquid makeup, but I was definitely wrong. I decided to try out some liquid eyeliner because it seemed that when S used it, her eyes seemed much more dramatic than my pencil-lined eyes. S uses Chanel's felt-tipped liquid eyeliner, but I decided to try out Maybelline's Lineworks® Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner because of its similar felt tip (not to mention it's significantly lower price).

I absolutely love this liner. It's so rich in color, sharp-looking, and lasts all day. And although I normally stay away from waterproof because it's so hard to remove at the end of the day, this is the perfect liner that will come right off with a few wipes of my cotton ball soaked in eye makeup remover.

Liquid liner should be applied only above the top lashes and in an almost dotted-line fashion. It's easier than doing one flail swoop and you'll get a straighter line this way. The good thing about liquid liner, too, is that you can fix any mistakes with a Q-tip. It's great!! (Just don't forget to connect all the dots!!)

I'm really excited that I found a great drugstore product. Although I usually go to Sephora for all my makeup needs, I scored a great liquid eyeliner with Maybelline's Lineworks® Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner. This just goes to show you that you might find such a great product when you least expect it. I never thought liquid or waterproof products were for me. I also don't normally run into the drugstore to pick up a new product because I can't test it. But this time these three variables really helped me pick the perfect eyeliner.

-A

Smashbox Cream Eyeliner Pencil

I used the brown Smashbox cream eyeliner pencil from the On in 5 kit the other day and came up with a few conclusions.

1. It goes on really smoothly. I mean it pretty much just glides right on to your lid. That's cream for ya.

2. That same creamy goodness may have also been what led it to run a little bit on my lid and disappear by the end of the day for the most part. While nice and dark at first glance, it pretty much blended with the rest of my makeup the rest of the day.

3. It was so dark at first that it was so noticeably brown. I had to offset that with a non-black mascara, because let's face it - I really hate black and brown together. Ha. It's pretty much an impossibility for me. So I just had an extra excuse to use Benefit's BADgal Plum!

4. I'm not totally loving Smashbox cream eyeliner pencils, but I think they could be good if you're just going out for a few hours and want to line your eyes quickly. I wouldn't say they are great for long-lasting wear, but great for ease and dramatic color.

-A

FYI: It seems that this pencil is an Ulta.com exclusive from the kit. Most Smashbox cream liners come in a little pot and you need a brush to apply it.

Blue Liners and Risk Takers

I've been seeing a lot of blue liners for the bottom lid recently. On Friday, I went to do SEV's makeup. Upon doing her eyes, I put a thin turquoise line under her bottom lashes (in addition to lining the inner, bottom lid with black). After all, her dress was this color and I really thought it would accent her eyes perfectly.

When she first saw the color there she was a bit jarred, but slowly got used to it after a while. And when she asked the opinion of others, they told her she needed to leave the color there because it looked amazing. She ended up loving it and said I had made the right decision with the color.

I love taking risks. It does depend on what risk I happen to be taking, but I generally like to do some things that are out of the ordinary. SEV also ended up wearing a pair or orange earrings with her turquoise dress. Was it a perfect match of colors? Absolutely not. Was it daring? Most definitely. Did it look amazing? It certainly did.

And these are just little risks. A change in makeup or accessory can be a slight deviance but it may make a huge difference. Switch it up, be daring, and add some color to your face, especially if black is a staple in your everyday wardrobe - the possibilities are endless.

-A

Photo: Hilary Duff on InStyle.com - Jeff Frank/Zuma Press

Falling for Eyeliners

I've made the decision that my everyday liner doesn't need to be jet black. I made a purchase over the summer of another Prescriptives Softlining Pencil in Void that I perceived to be different than what it actually is, mainly because I ordered it online.

I thought this would be a light and bright shade of teal, which would be fun for a night out. What it actually turned out to be was somewhat of a forest green. I'd use it occasionally to switch up my look, but I recently decided that this is something I can use on an everyday basis because it's not as harsh as black and creates a more natural look.

If you like liner, but don't want your eyes to be so smoked out during the day (which is actually a good tip), then it's definitely a good idea to invest in some dark green and brown liners. Think earth tones. And these would be perfect for the Fall season!!

-A

Can't Live Without This: Product 2

I haven't been able to live without this second product for years. Giving my eyes a sharper look and my face a brightness when I'm not wearing any makeup at all, my eyeliner is my best friend. In fact, my product of choice is another Prescriptives product. It's the Softlining Pencil in Jet (that's black).

The best part of this pencil is its ability to have a very solid black line. I tend to line the inner bottom lid of my eye with this pencil and it glides easily and stays on for most of the day. For a night out, I'll slip the pencil in my bag and re-line throughout the night. It's definitely a solid pencil. The other side has a blending side to it, but I don't use that very much.

Eyeliner is great because it's something that goes on your eyes, which is the place most people are looking when you're talking to them. It's an extremely quick way to not look tired and to give the appearance of having makeup on without having to do up your entire face. I really believe that eyeliner makes your face complete.

It's so simple to just slip right on! You don't even need to put it on the top for a day face (though I suggest using a thicker pencil when you're lining the top lid).

Grab and go with the Prescriptives Softlining Pencil! And while you're at it pick up the sharpener from Prescriptives - it's only two bucks!

-A

Photo: Prescriptives.com

Lusting for Eyeliners

You'll find my summer obsession within my eyes. To bring out my baby blues I've resorted to using some funky colored eyeliners. Just like S, I like to use these colors when I'm running out and don't have much else on. However, they are also great to funk up a dramatic night look. A bright liner is great for the smoky eye to take away from the completely dark and dreary. Among my faves are Lust by Urban Decay and Hyacinth by MAC.

Lust (pictured, left) is a bright purple (a shade that tends to deepen the blue), while Hyacinth is a bright shade of blue. The thinner you make the line, the more subtle the look of course. I tend to only put these liners on the top lid just because I really like to use a thin brush with a shadow as a bottom liner. And, depending on the day, you may not want to use these bright liners on the top and the bottom because we don't want overkill either.

Try thinking out of the box and don't be afraid to use color. Black and brown are great but a bright color can brighten up your face, especially for the summer. There's always a shade that suits each person just right so take your fave color and take a look at the liners by both Urban Decay and MAC.

-A

Photo: Sephora.com