Eyeliner Tips: Bobbi Brown on How to Apply Eyeliner

Bobbi Brown is a professional makeup artist who built a global beauty brand with Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Bobbi’s early career included her calling photographers from the Yellow Pages to offer her makeup services before going on to land top-of-the-industry cover shoots. By 1991, she launched Bobbi Brown Essentials with ten lipsticks at Bergdorf Goodman.

On her mission to help women feel like themselves, Bobbi has created an international makeup line, written nine beauty books, and launched a modern lifestyle company for wellness, beauty, and everything in between.

Eyeliner is a makeup product designed to line the eye. You can use eyeliner on your lower or upper lash line, or both. While black and brown eyeliners are among the most common colors, the beauty product is also available in blue, pink, white, and other hues.

Eyeliner comes in a few different forms. The best eyeliner option will depend on your skill level and the desired effect. Here are four types of eyeliners:

• Pencil eyeliner: As the name suggests, a pencil eyeliner resembles a color pencil. Within this category, you can find a variety of eyeliners, including retractable eyeliner pencils or those that you sharpen. Pencil eyeliners are typically easier to apply than other kinds of eyeliners.
• Liquid eyeliner: Liquid eyeliner may come in a bottle with a removable brush tip or as a marker-like instrument with a felt tip. Both versions require accuracy and come in handy when trying to create sharp lines.
• Gel eyeliner: Texturally, gel eyeliners fall between pencil and liquid eyeliners. Similarly to a pencil eyeliner, you have more control over a gel eyeliner, and you can also smudge it out for a smoky look. And like liquid eyeliner, gel eyeliner can also create sharp lines.
• Eyeshadow as eyeliner: Using a thin, angled makeup brush, you can also apply eyeshadow as an eyeliner.

From what color to use to how to apply eyeliner, here are Bobbi’s tips:

• Try browns, blacks, and navies. Bobbi prefers browns, blacks, and navies over bright and colorful eyeliners. “You don’t want something bright lining the eye,” she says. “Even if you see it on the runway, even if it looks very trendy, of the moment. You want [a] liner that’s gonna literally make your eye pop.”
• Lift the lid. When applying eyeliner, gently lift the lid. “I recommend lifting the lid so you can get right into the lash line,” Bobbi says.
• Go lighter under your eye. If you’re lining your lower lash line, choose a lighter color. “I’d rather go something a little bit lighter because it’s not so intense,” she says.
• Line more than once. You can line more than once to make it more noticeable and fix mistakes. “You go back and you make sure it’s right,” she says. “Then you look … and you see if there’s any spaces that have been missed. You make sure that the line on the outside goes to the end.”
• Adjust. If the eyeliner doesn’t match up on both eyes or doesn’t work on a particular eye shape, you can adjust. For example, someone with deep-set eyes may need to go back and make the liner thicker so it’s visible. “Almost all women have eyes that are different sizes—especially as we get older,” Bobbi says. “You can adjust. You can make the liner on the smaller eye a little thicker, and that usually balances out.”

Get the MasterClass Annual Membership for exclusive access to video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Bobbi Brown, RuPaul, Anna Wintour, Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg, and more.