You know them, you love them: the smokey eye, the bold brow, the statement lip — all the easy-drama beauty looks we can’t quit come holiday party season. This year we’re weaving in a new knockout style that’s gently edgy, modern and basically made for your LVD (little velvet dress, obvi). Learn how to wear colored eyeliner from green celeb makeup guru, Katey Denno, and check out how she painted it on Cara Delevingne here…
We’re currently experiencing a time in fashion and beauty history when there are no rules – particularly when it comes to makeup. One day a bold furry brow is a must, the next it’s all about the contrasting lip and cheek color. Something called the ‘unicorn highlight’ is all the rage one day, and the next magazines are calling for nothing but naked, matte cheekbones.
This absence of ‘must-dos’ works in our favor, for sure, and I’d like to encourage you to try something that you’d previously thought wasn’t for you. And I’d like to suggest that maybe that thing that you’ve never tried but is going to become your new favorite is colored eyeliner. Use one with bits of shimmer, and you no longer need flashy jewelry around your face; your eyes are your dazzling, amped up, jewels.
Just like there’s no rule dictating that you must only wear black or brown liner, there’s also no hard fast rule for where exactly to place your liner. The options are endless, and truly depend on what you like best. Here’s how to wear colored eyeliner…
how to – THE CHUNKY, CREAMY EYESHADOW STICK
The easiest type of eyeliner that truly works for all eye shapes is the chunky, creamy eyeshadow stick.
It’s a misnomer to call it just a shadow, because it does double duty; smear it across your lids and blend it into shape with your finger, and you’ve got an eyeshadow thing happening. But use a dome-shaped brush or a lipstick brush to pick up product, and then swipe it along the top (and in between) your lashes… and it’s a whole different thing. Far more refined and deliberate than a sweep of shadow, but less fussy and precise than an actual tight line of liner. It can be as densely pigmented or as sheer as you want, if you apply it this way.
Fall/winter favorites: Ilia ‘Take On Me.’ Think: sheer, deep red wine mixed with metallic shimmer. It’s so good. Juice Beauty ‘Fog’ is a creamy charcoal grey that looks fantastic smudged around all eye colors – especially with a few coats of mascara to make it really pop!
how to – traditional PENCIL LINER
The traditional pencil liner, only not in black or brown, is another very easy to apply, good-for-all-eye-shapes option. Smudge – or draw a precise line – with a pencil liner along the top lashes, and a light smudge of color along the outer third of the bottom lash line. I tend to like the look of a slightly smudged liner (unless I’m going for the crisp, clean look of, say, a cat eye), and I love to smash the color into the lash line (in between lashes and along the top of them) before putting on mascara.
A real showstopper: Ilia’s ‘My Generation,’ a hybrid of muted violet and deep rich red that looks amazing on brown, green, and hazel eyes.
how to – dramatic Liquid liner
Some lids look best completely colored in with an exaggerated wing or with only the most whisper thin line with no tail at all. Liquid liner is by far the most difficult for most people to get the hang of, but once you do (full disclosure: I still struggle with it sometimes), you’ll feel like you run the world.
Holiday choices: Zuzu liquid liner in ‘Peacock,’ which is the coolest somewhat electric, deep green. It’s a bold statement, but one that deserves a try.
