How to Apply Heavy Eyeliner

Heavy eyeliner in blue

If you want to make a statement with your makeup but don't want to overdo your application, the key is to pick one feature to play up. If you would prefer to enhance your eyes and keep the rest of your face understated, eyeliner is one item you should keep as a staple in your makeup kit. If you don't wear eyeshadow, your eyes can still stand out with the help of eyeliner, especially if you apply it in a heavier fashion. Experimenting with various techniques will allow you to wear heavy eyeliner that's not messy, but smoldering and stunning.

Things You'll Need

• Eye primer
• Eyeshadow base
• Translucent powder
• Highly pigmented eyeliner
• Eye smudge brush
• Powder eyeshadow
• Cotton swab
• Creamy black eyeliner

Instructions

1. Prepping your eyes will help your heavy eyeliner go on more smoothly, last longer and appear more vibrant against your skin. Apply primer and base even if you won't be wearing eyeshadow. Smooth an eye primer on clean eyelids from lash line to brow bone. After the primer absorbs, apply an eyeshadow base from lash line to brow bone. Dust translucent powder over your lids to set the primer and base.

2. Choose the eyeliner you will be using based on the texture you are comfortable working with and the effect you want to create. Liquid eyeliner is best suited to clean lines, while you can get a smokier effect with stick, cream and pencil eyeliners. Pick a highly pigmented eyeliner for the best color payoff. If eye makeup smudging is an issue for you, invest in waterproof eyeliners.

3. Rim your eyes with a pencil, cream or stick eyeliner. Don't be afraid to go all the way to just below the crease on your upper eyelid if you want noticeably heavy eyeliner. On your bottom eyelid, apply the product on the base of your lashes, allowing it to go slightly lower than your starting point. Make sure no skin is showing in between the eyeliner and your lashes. Don't worry about getting your application perfect at this point. Soften any uneven or jagged lines in your application with an eye smudge brush. Stipple a powder eyeshadow the same shade as your eyeliner over the eyeliner you've already applied. This will set the eyeliner.

4. Create a heavy effect with liquid eyeliner by first working a creamy, waterproof eyeliner the same color as your liquid eyeliner into your top lash lines, making the line as thick as you desire. Clean up any unevenness in your application with a cotton swab before tracing over the clean line with the liquid eyeliner. Prop your elbow on a table or countertop if you have shaky hands. This method can be used by anybody, but it is especially ideal for liquid eyeliner novices.
   Use a pencil, cream or stick eyeliner as outlined in Step 3 to apply heavy eyeliner to your bottom eyelids, as liquid eyeliner is not particularly suited to the lower lids.

5. Apply a creamy black eyeliner to the rim of your upper eyelid, which is also known as the "waterline," for a sultrier effect. This technique is called "tightlining" and it gives your eyes a smoldering look even though the eyeliner responsible for this effect is not immediately visible (see Resources for photos).

Tips & Warnings

• If you will be wearing eyeshadow, apply it instead of the translucent powder in Step 1.

Resources

• Photos of a tightlined eye
• Videos on eyeliner application