Please don’t mail me and tell me that’s not Robert Smith. I know it’s not. I’ve been crying to “Disintegration” for 20 years now, for fuck’s sake.
I wanted to start sharing some of my long time favorite products with you guys. There are so many options out there, and great buys aren’t limited to what’s new right now. I’ve been painting my face for a long time, and I have some tried and true faves that I love to recommend.
I love a 60’s cat eye so much, if I could only choose one eye look to do for the rest of my life, it would be that.
I love a 60’s cat eye so much, I based my wedding day makeup on Priscilla Presley.
Ohhhh, ‘Scilla, baby!
Wedding day liner, lower right corner
Liquid liner didn’t come easy for me. I started messing with it when I was about 16, and it was pretty much a disaster every time I tried to put it on. I would literally cry tears of frustration and just, like, despair, when I’d slowly and carefully line my entire eye, just to totally mangle the wing; or, I’d do one perfect eye, and then the other eye would refuse to match up, no matter how many times I’d try to wipe it off and fix it. Or, worst of all, I’d get two reasonably presentable eyes, but I’d open them before the liner was completely dry, and my entire eye would be ruined.
I persisted though. And through my hours of careful training, my hand grew steadier and my lines grew smoother. Now, I can draw on a gracefully swooped wing in seconds. That’s not to say everything always goes great, it doesn’t. In fact, just the other day I had to redraw one wing several times before it would match. Sometimes, your face just won’t cooperate, you know?
Amazon, $17
I’ve been through several different brands and types of liquid liner, and this one from Stila is my hands down, favorite. Last time I was in the market for a new liner, I looked at several other marker-like liners, and none of them had a tip so fine as this one. That super fine, pointy tip is what puts this liner over the top for me. It makes it so easy to fill in tiny spots between lashes, and to draw a precise point on my wings. If I want to make the line thicker, I just take a more parallel angle with the pen, and it’s perfect. It dries fast, so I don’t open my eyes and ruin everything, but not so fast that I can’t quickly fix a mistake. The pen is easy to control, and it’s comfortable to hold. The liner itself is good and dark, and it doesn’t skip or tug.
A lot of liquid liners will dry kind of shiny, and this one is no exception. If it’s particularly noticeable, I’ll dip a fine brush in some matte black shadow and go over the line.
I wore this liner on my wedding day, so you know it’s good. I was not playing games that day.
It’s usually $20, but as of right now, Amazon has it for $17.
Thank you for this post! I’m in the market for a liquid liner and will be taking your recommendation. I love a cat eye!
Okay, so I withheld allowing myself to comment on this one until I could finally give myself an acceptable cat eye. I’m so jealous of your skills. About a billion Youtube tutorials later, I finally got it! This is the one that finally worked for me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLLNohnjRJU
It’s like magic. And they match each other! As a reward, I’m letting myself get this Stila liner.
Ummm. Wow. I just watched this, and I’m impressed! I saw what she was going to to do to lay that first line down, and I said out loud, “Ahhhhhhhh. Clever.” I’m really glad you found something that works for you. Just keep practicing, and soon, you won’t even need to line it up, your eye and hand will just know where to stop. Well, most of the time anyways. Like, 95% of the time.