This one’s just a super quick makeup tip, but I wanted to mention it before I forgot.
To make lining your water and lash lines a little easier, and your application smoother, try warming up your liner first on the back of your hand. Just run the tip of the pencil back and forth a few times to get that warm friction going, which slightly softens the product.
I always do this before I apply liner. It’s just a simple thing, but it makes a noticeable difference.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Aaand since we’re on the subject of liner, do you have any good liner tips? Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂
I like to apply face powder (at the moment MAC’s blot powder) along my lower lash lines with a foam applicator or something similar before putting my eyeliner on. Without it, even gel liners smear hopelessly in a couple of hours on me. With it, I can get a good 8+ hours of wear. I used to put a touch of Urban Decay’s primer on my lower lash lines, but I had a reaction to it, whereas with powder I can use whatever I’ve got lying around, it doesn’t make my eyes hurt and the wear time is even better.
This is such a good idea! On my long days I’ll top my liner off with a matching shadow to prevent it from smudging by the end of the day. This sounds a lot quicker and less of a hassle. I’m gonna try it!
I need tips too:( I’ve been using tom ford’s defining eye pen, I love, love, love this eye pen sooo much, but after a while of wear it smudges a little even with my nars primer, hmmm…
Oh, that’s smart!
Haha, I could have done this instead of lighting up my Wet ‘n’ Wild $1 hard-as-heck eyeliner in junior high school (goth girl cannot leave the house w/o the requisite amount of black eyeliner)?! 😀
MU tip: Use an old eyelash curler (or rather, one with a well-worn pad) for natural-looking curled lashes. The brand spanking new eyelash curlers can easily give that crimped look if your eyelash curling hand is too strong.
xo,
Christine, MUA, Esq. 😉
Does is use up a lot of eyeliner that way? My friend heats up her eyeliner with a lighter. She says it not only makes application smoother, it also kills any bacteria that might be on the liner.
I do that a lot. I actually need some tips to help me remember to remove the traces before I leave the house…
I always do that! When it’s a pencil liner I haven’t used in a while, I run in back and forth and turn the tip around on my skin: I’ve noticed that unused pencil harden quite a bit and I need to “break” that layer of hard oils on the tip.
The lighter thing is something I’ve heard before but what I think about it is: DANGER! The tip might be HOT without you realizing it and burning your waterline sounds like the worst thing that could happen to a beautysta. And a lighter with a pencil that has some kind of plastic body instead of wood sounds like a recipe for disaster!
That’s exactly what I was thinking! I thought I was the only one.
I recently started using a lighter to warm up the pencil for a second and it makes such a difference! I use that tip everytime I use liner now 😀
That’s really amazing! I always do this and it really does work!
http://victressvic.blogspot.lt/
Victoria ♥
In the 90’s, I heated my eyeliners with a lighter. Great application, but one time I went a bit too hot!
Tip: no need to rush! Painters don’t rush! Start with a light smooth line, and build up. Also, it’s costly, but try different brands and types: pencils, gels, twist ups, etc. My fave turned out to be drugstore Cover Girl Ink It, and no lighter is required!
I remember in the 80s, we’d use a lighter to warm up our eyeliner pencils. Not really safe, but anything for beauty.
Good idea. I’m having a love hate relationship with melty liners. I think I need to just start using a brush with kohl because they seem to just melt way to quick on my skin these days. I look like a friggin’ Panda.
One of my favorite eyeliner tricks is to line and curl at the same time. When I’m in a rush, I just put the liner on my eyelash curler, curl my lashes, and voila! Instant eyeliner on the lid! Sometimes, I smudge it a little bit for a smokey eye. If I have a couple of minutes, I trace the line over with a liquid liner for a sharper look.
How ’bout I just raise my hand ’cause I wanna learn some new tricks, too. I bought the Tarte Tarteist eye liner a few months back & I lurves it!! It gives the ease of a gel liner but doesn’t dry out quickly like other gel liners because of the tube it’s in. Even the “palette” around the nozzle is handy for working the product onto your brush. Definitely is HG status 🙂
Awesome tip!!!
My friends and I used to do the lighter trick back in the 80’s. You just have to wait a few seconds after you light it so that it cools, you can also test it on the back of your hand first. With practice you learn exactly how long to hold it under the flame. But I haven’t done that in years, now I don’t bother lining my water line because nothing stays in place. I’ve tried every trick and it always ends up smudging or disappearing.
Great tip!
The weirdest tip on liner I have ever received was from the liner wearing leading man of a rock band who showed me that putting the liner tip on a lighter flame for a couple of seconds gets you an easier application and increases its longevity.
Kind of similar to your tip, but I have never tried it just in case. Poor pencils!