For many years I used pencil liners because they were easier than liquid. With shaky hands, the long brush applicators of liquid eyeliners were much too intimidating…a 3 year old could probably draw a straighter line than me. However, pencils always smudged on me. I tried them all - from the drugstore stuff to fancy department store lines. All of them ended up in rings under my eyes. Can you say, “raccoon eyes”? Plus let’s not forget the frustration of losing ½ my pencil to that dratted sharpener where the creamy part would always stick or fall out after sharpening.
One glorious day, I discovered Lancôme’s Artliner liquid liner with a felt tip
applicator. I could actually do this. Success with liquid liner at last! I found a couple other lines that offered the same/similar applicator type and used them happily for awhile. However, this method soon had 2 drawbacks: 1) limited color choices (I have Cosmetic A.D.D., meaning that I get bored easily & need to change my colors often), & 2) colors would either fade or flake off by the end of the day (admittedly, while my passion is skincare & cosmetics, I apply makeup only once per day …unless I’m meeting George Clooney for dinner, of course).Then I discovered 2 new revolutionary types of eyeliner products:
1. Liquid ‘converters’ --- Clear liquids that, when 1 drop is combined with loose powder eye shadow, become liquid liner which is applied with your own eyeliner brush. My favorites are: Bare Escentuals’ i.d. weather everything liner sealer & Paula Dorf’s Transformer. With these, you either mix a drop with loose eye powder (or minerals), or place a drop on the back of your hand & dip
your liner brush into it then ‘rub’ brush into pressed eye powder to make a liquid liner.The advantages of this method are: 1) ‘Unlimited’ choice of colors. Any color you find in a powder shadow can be made into a Iiner. 2) These products dry to a flake/smudge/water/sweat-proof, long lasting liner. Yes, eventually I find rings under my eyes, but it’s usually the morning after I haven’t removed my makeup. 3) You can use any eyeliner brush you choose, giving you more control. I find Laura Geller’s slanted liner brush to give the finest, smoothest line of any brush I’ve ever tried. I am also partial to ‘push brushes’ which are easy to control and do not require a long straight line to be drawn in 1 motion.
(Note: A drop of water can be used to achieve the same as the effect except it will not be flake/smudge/water/sweat-proof. If you line your eyes at the inside base of your eyelashes, you should always used water & not a ‘converter’ type product. )
2. Crème eyeliners --- Smashbox makes the best I’ve found in this type of liner. It dries to a powder within 60 seconds. If you make a mistake, you have 60 seconds to correct it. After that, it’s not moving anywhere. This liner goes on easily & stays put. For those of you on the go, or those like me, who need variety, Smashbox makes a credit card shape/size compact which contains a 10 color palette & includes a mini push brush too.
Well, if you can’t decide which method to use, or still worry about not being able to make straight lines in the morning before coffee & without glasses, you could always have your eyeliner permanently ‘tattooed’ on your eyelids. Just make sure the ‘tattoo artist’ has a steady hand.
Pictures courtesy of & property of Lancome, Sephora, Paula Dorf, & QVC respectively
No comments:
Post a Comment