Zephyr/Star Max
How to Do Cat Eyeliner Like a Pro
I have a theory. You know how Cleopatra, Brigitte Bardot and Angelina Jolie are all considered not just icons of beauty but also (if I may be frank) sexiness? Well, I think it has to do with their eyeliner.
Specifically, their cat eyeliner (also known as cat eyes). It never, EVER goes out of style—and it magically makes your eyes look bigger and your lashes thicker. The extended feline flick, of course, is what takes it from everyday, run-of-the-mill eyeliner to sexy seductive. RAWR!
The problem is, it’s one of the toughest beauty tricks to master. Right up there with curling your hair and applying fake tanner, I’d say. I’ve been giving this look a time out for the past few months, but with holiday party season about to start in T minus two days, I’m ready to bust out some of my pet tricks (collected from all the times I’ve interviewed makeup artists about this, and now implanted in my brain).
So, because sharing is caring, here they are…
Take Your Lines Outward, Not Upward
The best cat eyeliner extends your eyes outward horizontally. So think about making your lines more straight across rather than trying to deliberately do a diagonal (or worse, curly) flick.
Choose the Right Tool for the Job
The best products for graphic winged eyliner are gel and liquid liners, because they dry quickly and won’t smudge. Gels come in little pots, and you use an angled brush to apply ‘em, which is helpful for the precision finish we’re aiming for here.
I find liquid liners trickier, and it also depends on which one you’re using because the tips vary so much between brands. The ones I like best are liquid liner pens—they’re basically like a felt-tip pen. They’re also super-easy to use because you can just press the side of the tip to make a line and repeat all the way along the lash line. Stila recently sent me their new one in grey (it’s also waterproof!) and I’m in love.
You CAN use a pencil but they do tend to smear more (even waterproof ones) and won’t give you as precise of a line. Unless you’re going for a smudgy look, that is.
How to Avoid Lopsided Wings
This tip came my way via Lise Watier’s international makeup artist, David Vincent. Have you ever executed a PERFECT flick—but then when you repeated it on the other eye, it came out totally uneven so your eyes didn’t match?
Well, here’s the fix. To avoid looking deranged, you want to do everything in reverse. Start the job by drawing two dots at the point where you want your flicks to END. That way, you know exactly where you have to finish the lines when you draw them.
Start at the Outer (Not Inner) Corners
I know! Crazy, huh? Our natural instinct is to start drawing our line from the inside corner out, but you actually want to start at the outer edges. At the dots!
Why? Because the most wearable cat’s eye has the line tapering off to a thin point at the outer edges. And you have a lot more control at the beginning of the line than at the end.
How to Avoid Shaky Lines
Draw with conviction! That’s advice I picked up from Val Garland (makeup artist extraordinaire). She basically said to be fearless and just Draw.That.Line. In one swoop! You can always go over it later to clean it up.
However, it you still get shaky—resulting in wobbly, uneven lines—feel free to rest your pinky finger on your cheek to help steady your hand. And if you truly can’t do it in one stroke, then your best bet is to do a bunch of short, quick ones and then connect them.
Go Over Your Lines to Perfect the Shape
After you’ve made one pass, go over the lines again to perfect the shape. Even if your line looks like crap the first time, all is not lost. Just draw over it again to make the shape more deliberate and fill in any gaps.
I like mixing my materials for this. For example, if I start with liquid liner I might go over it with some gel liner and an angled brush. Think of the first pass as just a guideline—the second time’s a charm.
Consider Your Eye Shape
If you have perfect, almond-shaped eyes then feel free to skip this step. If you don’t… well, know that small eyes will appear larger with a thicker line.
As for the wings, if your eyes are round then they are a VERY good idea. Extending out that flick will definitely make them look more almond-shaped.
PS: Skip the mascara on your bottom lashes for a true cat-eye look. Angelina Jolie tends to do this!
Clean Up Your Work
This is your money tip. It’s what you keep in your back pocket to use when all else fails. So your line is a bit messy, a bit too thick… not graphic enough. All you need to do is bust out a makeup wipe and take away what went wrong.
Then take some concealer, on a concealer brush, and paint away any remaining problem areas to make the lines and any pointy bits more precise.
Consider the Smudgy Cat Eye
Even if it’s not so on trend, you can still do smudgy. If there’s no saving your graphic cat eye, just diffuse it out with a brush.
Keep the Rest of Your Makeup in Balance
I’m not going to say that you have to play down your lips, because some colour there can actually look awesome with a graphic eye… as long as the line is not too thick.
BUT: if you are doing a big lip and big eyes then my recommendation is to go easy on the blush. If your lips are more neutral, however, you can definitely add a bit more colour on your cheeks to balance things out. I guess it’s all about the blush, isn’t it?
