How to apply eyeliner

It can be smokey and smudgy or precise and angular, but eyeliner is one of the trickier propositions when it comes to our beautifying regimes. Make-up artist Justine Jenkins agrees, ‘Applying eyeliner seems to create fear in everyone, but don’t worry, it’s nothing a little practice and following my foolproof tips can’t sort’.

Here Jenkins, who has worked with Laura Whitmore, Fearne Cotton and Oscar-nominated actress Charlotte Rampling, shares her tips for perfect liner every time...

Getting started

• If you’re just starting to experiment with eyeliner have a few cotton buds dipped in eye make-up remover to hand in order to effortlessly remove any mistakes.’

Powder for beginners

• For beginners my tip would be to use eyeshadow as a powder liner as this technique is definitely the easiest to master. With any eyeliner application I recommend starting off by looking down into a handheld mirror as this allows you to see what you’re doing and you can rest your elbow on the same surface to keep your hand steady.’

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• To apply, take a flat brush like the Vegan Angle Brush by Inika, £14, Look Fantastic, and dip it into your chosen eyeshadow. Eyeshadows are great for beginners because they give a softer finish than kohl pencils or gel and liquid liners, which makes mistakes slightly easier to clean-up. A deep matte eyeshadow like NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Pandora, £25, NARS, or NARS Eyeshadows in Thunderball, Coconut Grove, and China Blue.
• Start by pressing, not drawing,the colour into and along the lash line,' advises Jenkins, 'and then join up the dots. For a pretty, soft finish blend the pigment in using a dry cotton bud or a smudger brush.’

Pencil Pusher

• When you’re using a kohl eyeliner the first thing is to make sure your pencil is sharp as this will allow you to get the kohl as close to the lash line as possible. Start at the inner corner of your eye and draw a fine line up to where the lashes start. Change the angle slightly and start to press the pencil into the lash line, massaging the colour in between the lashes as you go along. When you’ve reached the outer corner of lashes either blend it all together with a smudger or cotton bud, or make it thicker by going over the liner again.’
• For added definition take the liner all the way to the lower inner corner of the eye and for a dramatic effect apply to the inner lower water line. One tip that really works is to apply kohl along the inner upper water line as this creates the illusion of really full lashes. For red carpet looks I use Smashbox Always Sharp Waterproof Kohl Liner, £16, Smashbox or Bare Minerals Lasting Line Longwearing Liner, £15, Bare Minerals

The low maintenance look

• Chunky eye liner crayons are a great innovation for making a smokey eye really easy - and incredibly quick! Their soft formulations go on seamlessly and blend easily so you can create a subtle or a really intense look. You don’t have to be as precise as you are with a kohl pencil liner, in fact it’s much simpler. Just apply roughly to the lash line and blend. I love the finish I get from the NARS Velvet Shadow Stick, £20, NARS and the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon Eye Pencil, £19, Charlotte Tilbury.

The Tricky Technique

• Gel liners are probably the most versatile eyeliner product with a deep, long-lasting colour, but it does take a little bit of practice to get it right. You can use gels to create anything from a thin, barely there line right the way through to a dramatic, bold feline flick.’
• Take an eyeliner brush and dip it into the gel pot making sure you wipe off any excess. Start in the inner corner and trace a line close to the lashes, pressing the colour into the lash line as you draw. Stop three-quarters of the along the lash line, don’t worry about precision here as you’ll be going over this. Then, look straight ahead into a mirror and place a dot of liner beyond the natural lash line where you want your eyeliner to finish. Start at this dot and trace the line back to the inner corner of the eye and then again to the outer corner. This will create a triangle that you can now fill in. From this shape you can thicken up the line or draw the flick out even further.’

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