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Practice Makes Perfect: A Week of Wearing Eyeliner

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eyeliner styles

After seven days of wearing eyeliner, I’m happy to report that I eventually got the hang of it, shaky hands and all. I had to split it up over two weeks because something popped up, but I did it! Here’s how it went…

how to apply liquid eyeliner

Sunday 2/15:
I wake up early, excited about the possibilities that lay ahead. After spending a few minutes of awkwardly holding the eyeliner pen and a few false starts, I realize I have no idea where to begin. I turn to YouTube, and this video comes to the rescue. I attempt the cat-eye look (at about 1:35) and am surprised when it comes out halfway decent (beginner’s luck, I think). I decide to wear it to brunch. It feels like I’m wearing a funky piece of statement jewelry, except on my face. No one else seems to bat an eye at my new makeup, though, so it must look pretty natural.

cat eyeliner

Monday 2/16: 
Today is a holiday, and without the usual pressure of getting out the door as fast as possible for Monday morning meetings, I have the luxury of spending a little extra time on my eyeliner. A few extra minutes turns into two hours. I may be slightly obsessed. I send pictures of my work to Jenny. Go thicker! she says. So I draw a thicker line from the top outer corner of my eye (the tip of the wing) down to the middle of my eyelid. My wings start to look more dramatic. I like it.

Tuesday 2/17: 
My mama friends often talk about sleep regression, the period when their babies who once slept so well start waking up in the middle of the night and resisting sleep for no apparent reason. I must be going through something similar—an eyeliner regression, if you will. Everything I’d practiced the previous two days went out the window. To be fair, maybe I should have given myself more than five minutes to get ready. The pressure! I grab a Q-tip dipped in eye makeup remover to clean up the fault lines I’ve drawn. Surprisingly, a couple of people at work compliment my cat eyes. It’s nice to know no one’s looking THAT closely.

Wednesday 2/25: 
It’s been a week since I last picked up my eyeliner pen, and it feels like a lifetime. I have no idea how I ever lined my left eye. When I text Jenny for advice, she recommends using my right hand to line my left eye, starting from the outer corner and working my way in. I pile a stack of books on a table and lean my elbow on top to steady my hand. I draw a thin line on both eyes and hurry out the door.



eyeliner tricks

Thursday 2/26:
Jenny, bless her heart, sends me step-by-step pictures of her eyeliner process. It helps me times a million. I can’t get my wings quite as bold as hers, but I think I’m getting better.

Friday 2/27:
To switch things up, and to save time, I skip the cat eye for something simpler. Except I’ve learned that applying eyeliner is never fast and simple when your eyes are two different sizes. Still, I line my eyes from corner to corner and try to even them out. It’s far from perfect, but I like how thick it makes my lashline look.

Saturday 2/28:
It’s the last day of eyeliner week (yay!) Buuuuut I totally forgot until 9 tonight (oops!) At first I was bummed that I didn’t remember, but skipping eyeliner freed up so much time (which I wisely used to watch more of my 600-lb Life).

So, the final verdict? I love how fun eyeliner looks, but I don’t think I can wear it every day. It takes a lot of extra time in the mornings to put it on and time at night to take it off. I’m glad for my week of practice though. It’ll come in handy whenever I want to switch up my look. If you’d like to give it a try, check out Jenny’s handy step-by-step instructions below!

And last, but not least, I used two products which I’d highly recommend: Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion and stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner. My sister recommended them to me and the combination was amazing—my eyeliner was smudge- and crease-free right up until I took it off at night!

Last modified: January 10, 2019