Stop giving the “evil eye!”
June 13th, 2008 by BSDWe recently had a reader ask for our advice on eye makeup - she has dark hair and eyes and uses black eye liner, but has been getting not-so-rave reviews from her friends and family. She may have the kindest heart, but her entourage says she looks evil!
This is a common problem when using black eyeliner - it’s easy to get out of control and end up looking more like Marylin Manson than you had ever hoped. So here are a few tips we’ve learned through our years of experimenting with makeup that we’d like to share with you!
1) Less is more: if you want to use black eyeliner, go easy on the application. Lightly line the outside corner of both lids instead of evenly lining all the way across. It draws subtle attention to your eyes, without that scary look. Another option - line only your lid near the upper lash base, to give your lashes a boost.
2) Try an alternate color liner, such as brown, like one of my faves from MAC. Lighter color liners will still give you the definition you seek, but are more natural looking and less noticeable as makeup.
3) Use eye shadow and a fine tipped brush instead of eye liner. Use a deep charcoal or brown for more dramatic effects, or medium toned shadows for a more natural look. If you’re wearing a brightly colored top, try a bit of brightly colored shadow to line your eyes to set things off a bit more. My trick for applying shadow to my lower lash base is to wet a fine tipped brush before dipping in the shadow. This ensures a clean application and you don’t have to worry about the loose, excess powder sprinkling down your cheeks!
Hopefully, by experimenting with some of these, you can change your look from goth to glam!