Eyeliner aka Don't Be a Raccoon

Eyeliner aka Don't Be a Raccoon

Ok, lets talk about eyeliner.

It doesn't matter who you are- young or old, hippy or hipster, you wear eyeliner. Everyone wears eyeliner. If you don't, I don't get you as a person.

But I think everyone in their experience with eyeliner has always had a problem one way or another with the dreaded "raccoon eye".

Either your liner has smudged into your eye-bags, you didn't notice your eye shadow had fallout, or you wore 800 pounds of pure jet black eyeliner and you let that shit goooo and maybe your eyes watered or you didn't set it to begin with and now you're in the bathroom trying to fix it with a wet paper towel while your friend tries to say supportive word like, "It's fine. You look like you're rocking the heroin chic look!"

That friend is a liar. 

Let's get you the help you need. 

Here's a few things you'll need: 1) concealer- liquid, cream, whatever 2) Concealer brush 3) eyeliners in whatever color you like and also a nude liner 4) Brushes- liner brushes, angled brushes, smudger brushes, whatever 5) shadows in whatever color of eyeliner you're rocking. 6) Liners of the non-pencil persuasion. Liquid, gel, etc.

Tight-lining.

Ok, so the first problem I always see is when someone spends hours doing their beloved winged liner, and there is a big ol' gap of skin showing underneath it.

The fix is simple- tight line that shit.

It's basically the same idea as putting liner on your lower water line (or inner rim of your lower eyelid) but you're putting it under your lashes on the top lid. You can lift your eyelid if it's easier, I'm ok doing it like this.

You really could stop there and that would be a really nice everyday look. It makes your lashes look thicker without adding any excess.

Setting Cream with Powder

A LOT of people apply liner from the pencil- self included, but it's an easy way for things to get out of hand. 

Instead, try applying it with a brush.

Just dip dip dip....

And lightly flick your brush across your lash line. Build up to whatever intensity you like.

Now here's the important part- Set your friggin' liner with powder and it won't go ANYWHERE.

Again, dip dip dip...

 And then pat it on top of your liner.

Bam, easy. This is a nice easy way to get a liquid look that's softer and easy to do if you have the coffee shakes in your hands.

But let's rock it out.

Take a smudger brush...

And run it back and forth across the top of your line to smudge it out. Very rocker, yes?

 At this point if you wanted to go over the bottom lash line, you could use whatever is left on your brush. I line slightly under my waterline because my eyes are small and it makes them look more awake. I even ran a nude eyeliner across the waterline to take away redness and look extra fresh.

Clean up any fallout or messes with concealer and a brush.

And here's a big step too: Put on a little powder under your eyes.

It takes away some of the natural oils so your liner is less likely to crease up.

Let's talk about liquid and gels.

Liquid and gel liners were sent down to us from the cosmetic Gods to make our lives easier. Gel is great for people with shaky hands especially because you can smudge it out quick or quickly erase it.

I'm gonna use liquid because it's faster.

So here's what usually happens:

It all starts normally- you apply straight from the tube with the brush given to you and you might even get one eye to look normal...but then you do the other eye AND IT'S THICKER. So you go back to the first eye to try and match it- but now the wing is bigger! So you change the second one again...

Long story short you look like a panda and you're crying in the bathroom.

Girl it's ok- here's the deal.

The brushes in liquid liners suck. Like really suck.

Think about it, why spend money developing a good brush on a liquid liner that costs roughly $9?

Especially when there are AMAZING liner brushes out there.

So here's what to do:

Lightly dip your THIN liner brush into the liquid (this is my personal eyeliner so I dip my brush straight into it- obviously I would not do this for a client).

Paint a super thin line from the center eye to the outer corners. I start with this, because odds are you're gonna want it thicker here- so if it gets out of hand it's not a big deal. Now dip your brush again and scrape off a lot of excess. Now here's how I do the inner corner without it getting too thick- place the metal part of your brush as well as the bristles on top of your lashes, then slide the whole thing up towards your lash LINE and gently drag it towards the center of your eye.

Bam, done. You're welcome.

From there it's just a matter of connecting the dots, or extending the wing out a little.

Now lets say your dog bumped you and the liner has the dreaded bump. Where most people would panic and start adding liner- I say, subtract it.

Stephanie taught me a great trick:

Dip a stiff brush into concealer...

And just go over where the bump is. Then pack on the eye shadow color that was once there.

 Crazy right?

I love that one.

 Now you could leave that, add a red lip and be the queen of life, or you could add a tiny bit of pencil and smudge it out across your lash line for some balance. I normally just do the outer corners because my eyes are a bit small.

BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE BLOG (and also because I was gonna shower right after this), lets saw you lined the water line and you smudged and you got RACCOON PANDA EYES.

Oh sweet Lord in heaven.

Don't panic.

Grab a makeup wipe and drape it over a finger. Use the tip of your finger to wipe away what you don't want.

Now just go back over the edge with a little eye shadow. Viola. No biggie- just remember to put on concealer and powder to set it like we did before.

Now just to point out the difference between lining the water line and... not. If you want the color of your eyes to pop or you have bigger eyes that can handle it- I say go for it. Why not. Just remember to find a good pencil or gel that holds up to watery eyes- or else it'll get EVERYWHERE.

If you don't want the hassle or prefer a more "wide awake" look- line with a nude color and then apply shadow below it.

You're welcome.

And last but not least- let's talk about makeup removal.

Cause some of ya'lls are nasty.

Removing makeup at the end of the night is important enough- clogged pores, reddness, iritation, etc.

But eyeliner is so much more important to remove. You can give yourself a sty, or an infection...just....gross, seriously. The guy who's house you're staying at, or your friends at the sleepover party are NOT going to care if you're not wearing makeup. I promise. And if they say something- those guys are dicks.

I promise what will happen is one girl will say an offhand comment like, "Oh, I didn't know your eyebrows were thin!"

And you're like, "oh, um, well..."

And then she'll wipe off her makeup and say, "I have sooooo much redness/acne/whatever. You're lucky you have nice skin".

And then you'll all bitch about your own skin and all in all- bond in the process.

As for guys? They won't say a damn thing because they know they're lucky you're even there.

When it comes to eyes though, be gentle.

Press your makeup wipe or remover on top of your eye and let it sit for a second. Then gently wipe away. Giving it the time to sink it helps to remove it easier. Be nice to your eyes now before they wrinkle up and then you're mad cause you look like you're 80.

And I know you're all- whatever, my face wash will get it anyway.

HAHAHAHAHA. No it won't. 

Unless you're washing your face with Dawn dish soap- I doubt it'll get everything. Trust me- remove first, wash after. I promise you'll see the difference.

-SamanthaK