Last week for the FashionMagazine.com Beauty Panel challenge we were asked for tips on creating the perfect Cat-Eye Eyeliner. With my hooded lids it has always been a challenge creating a nice winged liner look. I have finally figured out what works for me and hope that these tips may help someone else finally achieve their optimal cat-eye look. You can check out all the Beauty Panels tips and tricks here. Click on the image below to jump directly to my post.
It can be difficult to pull of cat-eye eyeliner, or winged eyeliner for that matter, when you have hooded eyes. Now the hooded eyes I’m referring to in this instance are due to having sagging or excess eyelid skin such as I do. There are two tricks to ensure as perfect a wing as possible on hooded eyes.
Firstly, you need to ignore the usual rule of following your lower lash line as a guide for the angle of the wing. If you do so it will bring the liner across the area of folded skin where your crease is, as you can see in the diagram above. If you apply your liner to this area the shape with be distorted. You need to bring the liner out just past the hooded area on a more outward angle. This also helps extend the eye in a more feline manner which is perfect for my smaller eye shape. Map out the angle you are going to draw your line, avoiding the fleshy crease area, and make a tiny dot to mark where you want the line to end on each eye. At the lashline extend the liner out past the outer corner of your eye before you trace it up to meet this point. If you will look closely at my pictures you will see how I have extended the outer corner of my eye out even further before angling the wing up. If you are concerned about keeping the line straight you can always use the tape method. I haven’t tried it myself but it is a great way to make sure you have a sharp line. You simply place a piece of tape directly underneath where you would like your line. Make sure to dull the stickiness of the tap first by applying it to the skin of your arm or hand prior to applying it to your delicate eye area.
The second important tip to remember when working with hooded eyes is to apply to the liner with the eye in as relaxed a state as possible. If you pull the skin taut and smooth to apply your liner then when you release the skin the line will no longer be straight. This can of course be tricky when your skin is a bit on the crepey side as mine is.
For a full cat-eye look you want to make sure both corners of the eye come to a feline point. The detail work on the inner eye can be just as essential to making the most of this look as the wing on the end. This is what makes this a cat-eye to me and more than just a traditional wing. I like to keep the lower lash line a little less harsh by blending out the line with a small brush or finger.
Whatever eyeliner look you are going for I always find it best to create as fine a line as possible, staying close to the lashes, since there is less lid space to work with when working with hooded lids. I love the bdellium tools 760 angled brush because it is super small and fine. For this look I have drawn the lines the thickest I would generally ever go with my eye type.
I hope these tips have made the prospect of applying a cat-eye look for those of you with hooded lids a little more achievable. Remember, it’s only makeup. It washes off! So play, have some fun, take some pics even to review which application look best, and find a method that works for you!
Products used:
OB for shu uemura UV Under Base BB Mousse in “BB Beige”, MAKE UP FOR EVER Face & Body Foundation in “shade 38”, MAKE UP FOR EVER Pro Finish Powder in “shade 110”, Benefit Dallas, Lancome Blush in Love in “Pommettes d’Amour”, Lise Watier Pastel Power Illuminating Beads, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, MAC Paint Pot in “Painterly”, Urban Decay Eyeshadow in “Buck”, Hourglass Visionaire Eye Shadow Duo in “Gypsy”, MAC Fluidline in “Blacktrack”, L’Oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara in “Blackest Black”, bdellium Tools brush “760”, Anastasia Brow Wiz in “Ash Blonde”, Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in “Emoi”
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