Winged eyeliner can be an alluring, sultry style when done right, but for makeup novices, it can be a tricky skill to master. If you have never tried winged eyeliner or have never managed to get the technique down, read on to learn how to create the look the right way.
Edit Steps
Edit Part One: Sketching the Outline Free Hand
Apply pencil eyeliner to your upper lash line. Use a light pencil eyeliner to draw a thin line as close to your upper lash line as possible. The line should be as thin as possible, as well.[1]
Start from the inner corner of your eye and work toward the outer corner.
The line does not need to be especially neat at this point, even though it should be thin. You will end up going over the line again, so a little roughness will not make much difference at this point.
Keep your eyelid as flat as possible while doing this. If necessary, tilt your head back and just barely keep your eye cracked open as you apply the liner.
Measure how far out the wing should go. Hold your eyeliner pencil at the end point of your bottom lash line. Point it upward diagonally so that it practically looks like a continuation of your lower lash line.
The line will extend diagonally up and out.
Note, however, that if you have a hooded eyelid, you may need to angle the wing more outward than upward to avoid the hooded part of the lid.
Draw a thin diagonal line out to the end of the wing. This line should roughly match the guideline you visualized when holding the liner pencil against your eyelid. In other words, it should almost look like an extension of your lower lash line.
Begin at the very tip of the eyeliner line drawn above your upper lash line.
Draw a diagonal line roughly 45 degrees out and up.[2] The line should be heading in the general direction of the end of your eyebrow.
The length of the wing is up to you. A more subtle winged eyeliner look should have a short line at this point, but a more dramatic one can extend up to just below your brow bone. Never extend it all the way up to the eyebrow itself, though.
Make a straight line from the tip to the middle of your eyelid. With your eyelid as flat and taut as possible, draw a straight diagonal line from the very tip o the wing down to the middle of your upper lash line
Keep the eye closed as you do this. Watch with the eye you are not currently working on.
Put the pointer finger of your non-dominant hand on your brow bone. Pull the upper lid slightly upward to keep it taut.
Draw the wing lines using your dominant hand.
Fill in the outline. Use your pencil eyeliner to fill in the winged outline you just created until all the skin between the line is covered.
This does not have to be especially thorough if you plan on tracing over the pencil eyeliner with liquid liner later on.
Fill in the eyeliner as close to the eyelashes as possible to avoid gaps of skin peeking through. The idea is to blend your eyelashes into the eyeliner.
Thicken the line at the inner eyelid. To make it appear as though the wing is getting thinner naturally as it goes into the eye, you should use short strokes of your eyeliner pencil to smooth out the corner between the end of your wing and the liner on the upper lash line.
The eyeliner should be its thinnest at the innermost corner, but it should appear as though it is gradually getting thinner in this direction.
Edit Part Two: Sketching the Outline with a Guide (Alternate Method)
Place a small piece of tape at the corner of your eye. The piece of tape should extend from the corner of your eye toward the end of your eyebrow.[3]
For further guidance, the tape should line up from the nose to the outside corner of your eye, finally ending toward the tip of your brow. You should only have the tape extend from the corner of your eye to the brow, though, if possible.
If you want a more subtle, less angled wing, apply the tape at a slightly more outward angle instead of such an upright angle.
Make sure that the tape is pressed against your skin well so that no liner bleeds through as you apply it.
If your skin is too sensitive to use tape on, hold a credit card or other small, straight edged object against your skin at the same angle, instead.
Apply liner along the upper lash line. Using a light eyeliner pencil, draw a thin line above your upper lash line. This line should be as thin as possible and as close to your upper lash line as possible. Extend the line all the way to the edge of the tape.
Start from the inner corner of your eye and work toward the outer corner.
The line does not need to be especially neat at this point since you will go over the line again. While a little roughness will not make much difference at this point, though, you should avoid making the line too thick since doing so will only make the end result look chunkier and unpleasantly thick.
Keep your eyelid as flat as possible while doing this. If you have trouble doing this with your face forward, tilt your head back and just barely keep your eye cracked open as you apply the liner.
Trace the edge of the tape with your liner.[4] Starting at the end of the liner above your lash line, draw an angled line along the edge of the tape, stopping the line just below the brow bone.
Do not be afraid to get a little eyeliner on the tape. If you stuck it on securely enough, the liner should not bleed through. This is especially true if you are using a light pencil liner.
Carefully remove the tape when done.
Go back over the line, making the outer edge thicker than the inner edge. Go back over the line of the wing and upper lash line with your eyeliner pencil. The outer edge should look thicker than the inner corner.
Do not start at the top tip of the wing. For aesthetic purposes, this part should be left as a fine point.
The outer part of the wing should come in at a curve. Most of the eyeliner should follow the natural shape of your eye, but the liner should be a little thicker toward the outer corner of the upper lash line and as thin as possible toward the inner corner.
Edit Part Three: Finalizing the Look
Take a step back. Blink, walk around for a couple of minutes, and chase the look of your face from the freshest place in your mind before examining how your eyeliner looks. Make a judgment on your success or failure only after stepping away to give yourself fresh perspective.
As you examine the way the eyes look, you should also compare the way that both eyes look in relation to one another. The wings should be fairly even.
Clean uneven edges or mistakes. If the pencil liner appears jagged or uneven at certain places, you can carefully clean it up by dipping an angled eyeliner or eye shadow brush into a bit of makeup remover and tracing over those edges.[5]
In a pinch, you could also use a cotton swab to erase mistakes. This will work even better if the cotton swab is pointed, but a round swab will work, as well.
Similarly, if you do not have any makeup remover, you could dip the tool into a small amount of concealer and gently apply the concealer over the mistake to mask it.
Trace the pencil liner with liquid liner.[6] Darken the winged eyeliner outline by tracing over it with liquid eyeliner. Fill in the entire outline with this liquid liner.
By double-layering the eyeliner like this, you allow yourself more control over the shape and give yourself the ability to create a darker, more convincing wing shape.
Rest the elbow of your working hand on the table or counter. Doing this will help steady your hands as you apply the liner.
Make sure that you press the eyeliner wand or pen as close to the lash line as absolutely possible to prevent gaps between the eyelashes and eyeliner.
Clean any additional edges or mistakes. If you made a mistake with the liquid liner, you can “erase” it using the same trick you used on pencil liner. Dip an angled eyeliner brush into makeup remover and trace over the offending edge or imperfection.
If you do not have an angled brush, you could use a cotton swab to erase mistakes, instead. A pointed, angled cotton swab will work best, but a round swab will work, as well.
If you do not have any makeup remover, the brush into a small amount of your best concealer and gently apply the concealer over the mistake to mask it.
Let dry for 10 to 15 seconds. After applying the liquid liner, you need to let it dry briefly before you should blink. If you blink immediately after applying it, the eyeliner could smear.
If you do accidentally smudge a little of the liner, however, you can simply clean up the smear with a cotton swap soaked in makeup remover.
Finished.
Edit Tips
If you want to skip the pencil eyeliner, you could apply the liquid liner directly by using a very thin brush.
Use a hands-free mirror to so that you have both hands to work with as you apply the winged eyeliner.
In general, the best time to apply eyeliner is after you have applied eye shadow but before you apply mascara. If you apply eye shadow after the liner, you may cover the liner by accident. If you apply mascara before you apply liner, your eyelashes might get in the way as you try to put the liner on.
Follow the natural shape of your eye as much as possible. Trying the change the shape of your eye can make your eye look smaller.[7]
Edit Things You'll Need
Hands-free mirror
Light pencil eyeliner
Black liquid eyeliner
Thin eyeliner brush or cotton swab
Makeup remover or concealer
Tape
Edit Related wikiHows
How to Make Cat Eyes With Eyeliner
How to Do a Cat Eye on Round Eyes
How to Do Your Makeup if You Wear Glasses
How to Apply Makeup on Hooded Eyes
Edit Sources and Citations
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