1. Resist Pulling Your Eyelid down

Many women apply their eyeliner by pulling their eyelid down and to the side. I’m going to admit that I’m guilty of this. It’s a hard habit to break but we need to. This daily pulling down and out stretches the skin on your eyelid which contributes to wrinkles. It’s not as easy to apply your eyeliner by only closing your eye but it can be done.

2. Make Short, Feathery Strokes Instead of One Long Line

Another one I’m guilty of! Apparently, I desperately needed this guide in eyeliner application, too. Drawing one long, continuous line with your eyeliner is a mistake. It’s easy to get off track and have your eyeliner quickly become too thick. It works much better to make short, feathery strokes. I’ve been working on this and can say that using this method saves you from having to repair where your eyeliner went off course.

3. Work with a Sharp Point

Your eyeliner will be much easier to work with if it has a sharp point. Yes, it means you go through eyeliner a bit more quickly but the end result is worth it. Eyeliner with a sharp point will help you have the precise eye makeup look you’ve been dreaming of. Try applying eyeliner to one eye with a dull point and to the other with a sharp point. You’ll notice a major difference.

4. Steady Your Hand against Your Cheek

While there’re exceptions, most of us don’t have perfectly steady hands. If you’re in the club that needs a little assistance here (I am) then try resting your hand against your cheek as you apply your eyeliner. It prevents the minor shaking that can make your eyeliner off. If you haven’t already been doing this then you’ll be amazed how helpful this tip is. It makes applying eyeliner much faster, too.

5. Avoid Lining Your Waterline

You may be okay doing this but it’s not a healthy habit. When I was a young girl this’s the first way I began to wear eyeliner. But it’s not a good idea at all! It can lead to eye infections. Save yourself that misery and only line your eyes on the outer edges.

6. Start with a Small Line

A helpful tip to follow is to start with a small line. Even if you’re going for a bold eyeliner look such as the cat eye, it’s easier to control the flow of your eyeliner if you start small. You can always go bigger with your eyeliner. But you can’t always go smaller without a lot of time and reapplying your makeup. I don’t know about you but I absolutely hate to start all over with any of my makeup.

7. Be Careful Not to Leave a Gap between Your Eyeliner and Lash Line

This’s an easy mistake to make. You may be accidentally leaving a space between your eyeliner and lash line. Eyeliner’s tricky! It’s probably one of the most difficult makeup products to apply and this mistake happens to the best of us. If you can see skin between your eyeliner and lash line then you need to line closer to the lash line.

These’re some dos and don’ts when it comes to eyeliner. What’s difficult for you about eyeliner application? Do you have any other eyeliner questions that could be answered in a future article?