1. Start with Pencil Eyeliner

There’re many different forms of eyeliner to choose from. There’s pencil, pen, marker, gel and liquid, just to name a few. The easiest eyeliner to work with is pencil. Liquid is the most difficult to apply so it may be best for you to delay purchasing it until you’ve had some experience. Pencil usually comes in two forms, a regular kohl pencil that needs sharpening and in twist up form. Both are fairly easy to use.

2. Consider What Colors Are Right for You

Neutral eyeliners are options that’re right for everyone. They include colors such as brown, gray, charcoal and black. But there’re more color choices. You can go with a neutral or choose a color that’ll work great for your specific eye color. For example, hazel eyes look gorgeous with purple liner, brown eyes look beautiful with navy and both green and blue eyes dazzle with bronze.

3. Tailor Your Eyeliner to Your Specific Eye Shape

The shape of your eyes is unique. Therefore the way you wear your eyeliner should be, too. Almond shaped eyes look best with winged eyeliner. If your eyes are set close together then concentrating most of your eyeliner toward the outer corner will give balance. These’re just a couple examples. There’re no hard rules here; experiment to see what looks best with your eye shape.

4. Decide Where You Want to Wear Eyeliner

Eyeliner can be worn on both top and bottom, top only or bottom only. This’s completely up to you. I always wear eyeliner on top and then about half-way in from the outer corner when I’m going out for the night or other special occasions. It’s easy for your eye to look like it’s pulled down when you only wear eyeliner on the bottom so be careful with that choice. Adding even a bit of eyeliner on top will even that out.

5. Always Prime First

Now that your decisions are made about what type of eyeliner to wear and where to apply it, it’s time to get down to business. The first step to a good eye makeup look is primer. This gives your makeup staying power. There’re numerous primers to choose from. A good suggestion is to purchase one from a brand you already love.

6. Apply after Eyeshadow but before Mascara

Eyeliner goes on after eyeshadow but before mascara. So the routine you’re going to follow is primer, eyeshadow, eyeliner and then mascara. However, I’ll give you a little hint here. If you’re struggling to apply your eyeliner and accidently go a little thicker than you wanted, you can blend a bit more eyeshadow over it to cover your mistake. And remember that mascara gives your eye makeup the finishing touch so don’t judge your eyeliner too harshly until you’ve seen it with mascara.

7. Always Remove Your Makeup before Bed

Lastly, always remove your makeup before bed. This’s healthy for your eyes and your skin. Your skin needs to breathe at night in order to be it’s best. Regular cleansers may not remove your eye makeup completely. If you find that’s the case then try using an eye makeup remover first then following up with your regular cleanser.

I hope this guide on eyeliner for beginners has been helpful to you. What’s your biggest fear about wearing eyeliner? I’d love to hear from you!