Perhaps no other piece of makeup can change our look so dramatically as eyeliner— or have as drastically comical results when it goes badly! Every woman who went through middle or high school accidentally looking like a raccoon knows what I mean. (No shame! We all did it at one point.) Unless we actually fall in love with the crazy-thick, fully-circled-eyes look – and hey, you rock it if you love it! – a lot of us end up kind of abandoning eyeliner altogether. I know I, for one, view liquid liner with great suspicion, and I always watch makeup tutorials wondering, “But . . . how? How are you so good at that?” Well, today Tina Yong is going to help all of us! She’s sharing her best tricks for getting a gorgeous liner look, fixing mistakes, looking natural and generally having fun with it. Read on, learn, and try a new look!

14 Eyeliner Application Tricks

1. Use eye shadow primer to prevent your liner from smudging or moving throughout the day. Follow up application of the primer with some setting powder, and your liner won’t move at all.
   
2. Make your eye liner last longer by setting it with an eye shadow in the same color. You can also use this idea s an opportunity to try out different effects: cat eye, smokey eye, etc.
   
3. Apply liquid liner by first making small dashes to guide you, then connecting them. Easy!
   
4. Use tape to guide you for a perfect winged liner look.
   
5. Eye liner run out? Simply refill it with mascara by dipping your eyeliner brush into the mascara and using it as liquid liner.
   
6. Stock up on tiny cotton swabs to erase mistakes. Dip the end into a gentle remover and dab away at the mistake. The ends are small enough to be precise.
   
7. You can also cover up mistakes with concealer, or use the concealer to make the lines look more precise.
   
8. Want to make winged liner more fun and fancy? Apply a thin line of glitter liner on top of the regular one!
   
9. Want to skip the liner because you’re planning to wear fake eyelashes? You can! Just pick out fake lashes with a thick base band to create the liner look without applying liner.
   
10. For a less dramatic daytime look or for women with lighter eyes, use brown liner instead of black to avoid harsh contrasts.
    
11. For a more natural lower lash line, substitute brown eyes shadow for harsh black liner.
    
12. If you like to use white eye liner to wake up your eyes and make them look brighter, try swapping it out for a nude liner for a more natural look.
    
13. Want to have fun with your liner but don’t want to look too crazy? Apply a colored liner just to your lower water line.
    

Great ideas here! I’m definitely going to go out and buy some nude liner today— and maybe a fun color, too! What about you? Which of these ideas did you already know and which ones have you heard before? Do you have any funny memories of the way you did your eyeliner when you were a teenager? Share, and be sure to watch Tina’s video for more details on these tricks and to see exactly how she applies the makeup in each one.