Like a frame around a picture, eye liner makes your eyes stand out. Really, other than mascara, it’s my favorite tool for the eyes. But my scan of beauty reviews for how to put on eye liner brings up the constant question of whether or not it’s OK to use eyeliner on the inner part of your lower lash line. You know- the part that is right next to your eyeball.

Well, I’ve always advised against it, due to the risk of infection. But there are some smoky eye looks that use this method. And a lot of the responses to beauty reviews claim that you won’t get an infection unless you’re sharing your makeup with someone who’ve infected.

Here’s my thinking. Even if you’re not worried about the risk of infection- my how to put on eye liner advice is to use eye liner below the lower lash line. Using it inside/above will only make eyes appear smaller. And if you are one of the few who truly desire that effect, there are other ways to achieve it. (Line the whole perimeter of your eye, for instance.)

Either way- here are the basic steps for how to put on eye liner.

1. Choose a versatile eye liner that will allow you to achieve both fine thin lines, and fatter smudgy ones. My current fave is Bare Escentuals Liner Shadow Compact Quad IV. It comes with four shades and a brush.
2. Hold your upper lid taut with your non-dominant hand, and use your writing hand to start at the inner corner of your eye and work outward. To really make your eyes appear larger you can focus on the outer edges by starting liner in the middle and working out from there.
3. Use a similar approach on the lower lash line. If using a pencil instead of a brush, try smudging staring through those lashes.

Remember to let liquid eyeliner dry before opening your eyes. And play around to figure out which type of liner you like best.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com- a positive place for women and girls

What’s Better Than an Eye Makeup How to Book?

I’ve been getting some requests for a recommendation on a good eye makeup how to book. You ladies are saying that it would be great to have all the different techniques in one convenient place. Makes a lot of sense to me. And there are definitely a wide range of eye makeup how to books out there. But as I was doing my search for the best of the best, I stumbled upon something even better.

How about an eye makeup how to DVD? An eye makeup how to book is great to have, and I do recommend you include one in your library. But when it comes to applying makeup it’s a lot easier to have a visual to follow. I found the Smashbox Master’s Class Expert Eyes Set ($174 Value) Master’s Class Expert Eyes Set. It has seven pieces of key tools for creating attention-getting eyes, plus a step-by-step instructional DVD.

Professional makeup artist Patrick Tumey leads the class. He walks you through both achieving a “pretty eye” look and the popular “smoky eye” look. His directions are clearly modeled and easy to follow. Plus, you get almost $175 worth of products for less that $60. Yippee!

Don’t get me wrong- it’s still a great idea to own a comprehensive hard cover book on how to do eye makeup. But for the opportunity to have a live (almost) professional makeup artist show you how it’s done? You can’t get that from a book.

I hear you girls! Everyone wants to know about the hottest trend in eye makeup how to apply smoky eye shadow. Your most basic needs for this look are a black and brown eyeliner, a black and brown eye shadow, a great mascara, and a smudge brush. For more choice and variety you can choose from a specially designed color palette like Pop Beauty Eye Class - Smokey Eyes Smokey Eyes.

1. Start by using your dark brown liner to shade in your upper and lower lashes. Do this by simply coloring your lash against your lid. You want some of that color to go through to the lids.
2. Then use your black liner on the outer corners of each eye-again color the lashes and the lid.
3. Take the brown pencil and draw a thin line along your upper eyelid.
4. Now take a good smudge brush, I like the Stila #28 Smudge Pot Brush, and spread that liner all over your upper lid.
5. Use a brown or bronze shadow to apply along the crease of your eyelids.
6. Use a black or very dark shade on the outer corner of your eyelids.
7. Finally, smudge a bit of black shadow under your lower lash line, add mascara, and you’re done.

This may seem like a lot of steps for eye makeup if you are usually used to applying a single color. But once you do it a couple of times, it really is easy to achieve a dramatic and sultry look. When it comes to eye makeup how to apply smoky eye shadow is a skill that every girl needs to have in her bag of tricks.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Caterina’s Beauty and Dating podcast

Give it a listen! How to Apply Smokey Eye Makeup

Enjoy! — Caterina Christakos