In college, several of my friends had me do their eye makeup, just because it was my thing. But here’s the catch, I’ve pretty much worn the same style of eye makeup ever since. I generally stick to what works for my hazely-brown eyes. For liners, that means, browns, blacks, army green and purples. For eye shadow, I stick to purples, browns, army green and occasionally smokey grays.
I’ve been hesitant to go too bold on my eyeliners—until I bought Urban Decay’s eyeliner set (like this one). I played around with the different shades for awhile and found that the green colors really played up my eyes. The color I’m wearing here is called Junkie. I love Urban Decay’s liners because they glide on so smoothly, last forever, and never dry out.
Bold eyeliner is a fun (and fairly inexpensive) way to ramp up your makeup routine. You can completely change your look depending on the color of liner you wear. Bold eyeliner is perfect for a night out, or can work for daytime if you use a subtle hand. If you aren’t sure how to wear bold eyeliner, check out my five tips.
1. Choose A Complementary Color
Don’t just pick your favorite color or a color that closely matches your eye color. Opposites work the best. If you have blue eyes, choose bronze, rust or orangey colors. If you have green eyes, purple and dark turquoise look great. For hazel eyes, greens and purples look fabulous. For brown eyes, saturated colors like purple, pink, and blue all look great.
2. Subtle Look: Line the Top Only and Stay Close to the Lash Line
Make sure your pencil is extra sharp before you apply. Keep the pencil as close to the lash line as possible. Only line the upper lid for a subtle look. If you still think the color is too bold, smudge the eye liner with a q-tip and top with a neutral eye shadow.
3. Unsure if Colored Eyeliner is for you? Go Dark.
Draw a very thin line with your brown or black eyeliner and then draw a colored line right on top of it. Blend the two with a q-tip. This effect will give you slightly colored eyeliner while almost appearing black or brown.
4. Bold Look: Line the Top, Bottom and Inner Lid
If you aren’t afraid of color and want to ramp up your night look, you can line the inner rim of your lower lashes with color. You can also line both the top and bottom of your lash lines with eyeliner for a really striking look.
5. Keep the Rest Simple
If you opt for bold liner, your eyes are going to be the stars of your makeup look. So keep the rest of your face makeup really simple. Use neutrals on your cheeks, lips and eye shadow. A clear or slightly pinky gloss, the slightest flush of your cheeks, and a beige shimmery shadow is all you need.
Do you wear bold liner? What’s your favorite brand/colors to wear?