How to Soften Eyeliner

Whether you're creating a dramatic evening look or perfecting your everyday appearance, knowing how to soften your eyeliner helps you bring a greater sense of femininity to your eye makeup. Eyeliner is easy to soften no matter what style you're going for.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Black eyeliner
• Dark blue eyeshadow
• Eyeliner brush
• Cotton swab or makeup brush
• Matte white eyeshadow

1. Apply black eyeliner around the eyes. For the most dramatic effect, outline the entire eye in eyeliner. For other looks, you can just use eyeliner on all or most of the top lid and on the outer two thirds of your lower lid. You can even leave the upper or lower lid free from eyeliner.

2. Use an eyeliner brush to apply a dark blue eyeshadow on top of the black eyeliner. The cool of the dark blue helps soften the eyeliner while blending into it, where a warmer color may draw more attention to itself.

3. Blend eyeliner with a cotton swab or makeup sponge if you want to create a less dramatic look. Simply move the swab or sponge over the eyeliner, taking care not to create smudges underneath the eyes or on the upper lid.

4. Put a touch of matte white eyeshadow on the inner corners of the eyes with your fingers if you're going for drama. The white opens up the eyes while softening the eyeliner, which is a glamorous evening effect.

Tips & Warnings

• The cool eyeshadow shouldn't extend much beyond the original mark of the black eyeliner.
• For a less dramatic look, you can use another dark eyeliner color and experiment with other dark and cool colors to soften the eyeliner.