I have what they used to call a ruddy complexion, white with reddish cheeks and I agree with amarinth. I don’t do the full face thing and never have, just can’t stand the way it feels to wear foundation, powder or any goop all over. Quick makeup for me is eyeliner, mascara and lip tint, for more I add actual lip stuff and eyeshadow.
Yep. A 3 year old can put on makeup and you’ll see it (don’t ask me how I know this. Also, don’t ask me why I need a new lipstick.) It takes practice and intent to merely accentuate one’s features and not look made up. Three pics follow, in only one am I not wearing makeup: Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 I think you can probably tell which one is barefaced, but there’s really not a whole lot of difference, is there? Just some evening out of skin tone and a little glow to the cheeks. A far cry from this, which was my level of ability when I was 17. (And also, of course, a color palette chosen to be more makeupey, because of the occasion.) That’s more what people are thinking of when they talk about women wearing makeup; they don’t notice the makeup that’s subtle, by definition.
Yep. Practice. Also try varying the angle at which you’re holding the pencil to your lid. For some reason, beginners like to come at it perpendicularly, but an acute angle gives you better contact. And your mom’s right - brown makes blue eyes pop.
Zsofia, eyeliner is crucial for me, because I’m so pale. I need to outline the eyes with eyeliner and mascara or I’m just entirely washed out. If I put other makeup and don’t do my eyes, the effect is even worse. *Eyeshadow *is optional, though, because I’ve got pretty substantial color contrast in the fold of my eyelid already. It’s not my eyelids that are the problem, it’s my blonde eyelashes. Eyeliner (and mascara) help make my eyelashes not so invisible.
My face looks “not done” without eyeliner. I gave up on the pencils ages ago and now use Smashbox or Jane Iredell’s eyeliner that comes in a little pot. It’s not quite powder and not quite liquid and you apply it with an eyeliner brush. (Not a teeny weeny brush that comes in those liquid liner tubes.) This brush is angled and really easy to use. It takes me about 10 seconds to put my liner on and be ready to go.
Same but I use MAC’s powder and their angled brush. Then if I want to smudge, I can or I can leave it in more of a line.
Ditto on the non-sharpening kind. I mean, who wants to put wood shavings near their eye?
There are lots of make-up application Youtubes that will help you if you don’t feel comfortable.
Freakishly giant lips (think collagen injection gone horribly wrong size).
I need balance. And neither mascara nor subtle eyeshadow balance my face out. Overly dramatic eyeshadow does, but it looks unfinished without liner (and silly for day).
But honestly, I rarely wear makeup at all.
Back in the 70’s I used the cake style someone else mentioned. You add a bit of water and apply with a tiny brush. I loved that kind, and could never master any other kind on my top lid. I doubt they make it anymore though.
One mistake it took me decades to learn is that there is a big difference between pencils. I have always lined my bottom lid, (from the outer corner to just past the center, under the lashes.) For a long time, I only used Maybeline pencil, the kind you sharpen with a pencil sharpener. Then, thanks to my daughter, I found that other brands glide on much, MUCH smoother. I use the Cover Girl pencil now. It twists up automatically to sharpen, and has a smudge thingy on the other end. This stuff glides right on!
According to my daughter, who lines her upper lids too, you have to stretch the lid, (outward at the outer corner) to apply pencil to the top lid. It makes the surface smoother and less wrinkly, therefore easier to apply.
Thinner is better. And if you choose to do the bottom lid too, don’t attempt to encircle your whole eye with liner. If you want your eyes to look bigger, only do the bottom lid part way. An open circle appears larger than a closed circle.
They do make that style eyeliner. You can find it here from MAC, but there are probably cheaper brands out there. It’s pretty high-quality stuff, from what I hear.
I dunno… I love to look at makeup, but I never wear it. I just don’t think about putting it on.
I have an eyeliner question, if I can hijack a little bit.
People always say wear brown eyeliner because it looks more natural, but even though I am very fair-skinned, I have black eyelashes and eyebrows. I’m afraid that brown eyeliner won’t “match.” Should I stick with black?
Well, it’s not so much that it won’t match—brown eyeliner is still really dark. It just won’t create as harsh of a line on the eye. It kind of makes it look like the skin on your eyelid is just a little darker, and makes your eye look bigger.
Or - black eyeliner almost always looks like makeup - which is fine if you want to look made up. Brown eyeliner, even if you have dark lashes (I do) is more subtle, even with dark lashes, brown eyeliner can give your eyes emphasis without people seeing your liner.
Clinique also sells the kind of eyeliner that comes in a little cake and uses a wet brush to apply – you can get it here. I started wearing that when I was 15 – it’s super-easy to apply and if you make a mistake, you can smudge it out. (It is, however, most emphatically not water-resistant, whatever they may claim.)
Anyway, I’m another one whose makeup starts (and usually ends) with eye-liner. I will concede that liquid black eyeliner is advanced, as it takes me (with 15 years of eyeliner experience ;)) 5+ minutes with eye-makeup remover in hand to apply it with no mistakes. (And usually, cursing is involved – the teeniest twitch in your arm will cause a visible error. grrrr) The Clinique eyeliner (or my current favorite, Almay’s liquid eyeliner in Plum) takes ~10 seconds per eye. No sweat at all.
I have almond-shaped eyes that turn down a little at the outer corner, so I apply a line starting at the middle of my eyelid (above the pupil, where the curve of my eyelid is at its peak) to a little beyond the outside of my eye. Nothing at all on the bottom lid. Curl my eyelashes, maybe put mascara on, use lip balm…and I’m done.
She’s wearing makeup in all of those images, but the amount of makeup varies from image to image. She did, however, have you fooled. 
I use MAC’s version; it’s wonderful stuff, and doesn’t require a lot of practice to get good at. I was never great with pencil eyeliner, and my eyelids were always too greasy to make it work out for long without the dreaded “repeat eyeliner” just outside of my crease. I either use regular eyeshadow or the Fluidline (gel eyeliner) with this angled brush. The shape is what matters in the equation; you can use dark eyeshadow from just about any makeup company, and any brush, as long as it’s thin and angled.
If you’re pale with dark eyelashes/eyebrows (like me), dark eyeliner works well. I don’t use a dark black, but a brown-black or a “soft black” when I do eyeliner if I’m not doing a specific color. Then again, I have a lot of makeup and various shades of “dark” that isn’t really necessary for the average makeup wearer; I just like a lot of variety. For me, thin lines that are right against the eyelash line is what makes all the difference between “MAKEUP!” and “defined”.
I never got the hang of liquid eyeliner, either, and all the pencil variations still look too harsh on me. And I can’t apply them straight. I got my method from Carmindy on What Not to Wear – I have hazel eyes, so I use a plum-colored eye shadow and a flat brush (it’s nice and flat but not otherwise tiny - it has short bristles, though, which is important – long bristles would just make the powder fly all over the place as you’re putting it on) and put the eyeshadow on the lash line. The flat brush makes a nice “line.” It’s not as dark as true liner, and it also creates a much softer line, which is nice because then it’s not as crucial for me to get it perfectly straight. I only put it on the outer half of both my top and bottom eyelid.
I use black mascara, so I don’t think you would notice that I had used a non-black eyeliner, unless you were really looking. I would never have thought to use a color as my eyeliner, but it works really well – I have pale skin so I don’t need the liner to be that strong, and using a contrasting color to my eye color makes my eyes pop more.
MAC and Bobbi Brown have eyeliner pots that are a lot easier to work with than liquid liner and don’t smudge as much as pencil.
I usually substitute liner with dark, dark eyeshadow, applied with a thin, flat brush on my upper eyeline. It accentuates your eyes but it’s easier to make it look natural. When I wear liquid liner I do what WhyNot suggested - dab it on with quick strokes, again right on my eyeline. Then I dust it with the dark eyeshadow and the flat brush. It’s actually a very subtle different between the two - the second is a tad sharper, but lasts a hell of a lot longer.
Seriously, if you need waterproof eyeliner that’s easy to use, use MAC’s Fluidline. That stuff doesn’t come off at all during the day (you’ll need an oil-based makeup remover).
I usually line my eyes in pencil and if I want to look vampier, I put the liquid eyeliner on afterwards (not on the top though, I SUCK at tops especially with liquid), and it looks pretty neat.
I think I see the problem…
If I were going to wear one cosmetic item, it would be eyeliner, and I always use black. The brand I’m currently using is Milani, sold at CVS. It’s very cheap and soft. I do top lids only, and don’t go all the way to the corners on either end.
I don’t use liquids anymore, but when I did, I had some success making a series of close-together dots rather than trying to draw a line.
I highly recomend http://www.amazon.com/Making-Faces-Kevyn-Aucoin/dp/0316286850/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225115274&sr=8-2 this book.
It has a great ‘basic make-up’ section and then loads of various looks from beginning to advanced.
I’d start using a simple pencil for eye liner. It’s cheap and easy to clean off and start again.
Eyeliner and mascara are my “if nothing else” cosmetics. I have sparse eyelashes, so eyeliner makes a huge difference for me.
I’ve never had any trouble applying any kind other than liquid (which looks crap on me anyway, my eyes are too round), but I usually do a thin line on my top lashes only with a black pencil, and then smudge over it with a brown or colored shadow. Black eyeliner doesn’t have to be “hard”, and nothing is better for filling in lashes.
With my favorite, heartbreakingly discontinued “Antique Gold” eyeshadow.
Warning! Super closeup with plum shadow.
