Wing It, Again

so one of my last posts was about me being fixated with colorful, dramatic winged eyeliner, and i have to say that since that post, i've discovered and tested out a few things that i wanted to add, so i'm doing a little sequel post here for anyone interested! anyways...

the Too Faced Liquif-Eye, $17.50, a felt-tipped liquid eyeliner-style tool that sits in a well of clear liquid turns any eye shadow you have into a sharp, waterproof, liquid-liner looking masterpiece! a few days after writing about it, i returned to Sephora to pick it up and it turned out to be well worth the money! i got the sharpest, clearest line and it was incredibly easy to use. i think it will pack the most punch when paired with dark, shimmery, metallic-looking shadows that are well pigmented and soft in texture. so far i've used it with the following eye shadows: MAC's Deep Truth, Contrast, Urban Decay's Last Call and Smoke and that was only in a few days! i am addicted to this little product, and if you love a liquid liner look but don't want to buy a bunch of different colors, this will be a great buy for you, too.

for those who don't want to commit to buying an eye shadow-to-eyeliner creating product until they've decided they'll really put it to good use, you can test the waters first with Visine Eye Drops! yes, i tested it out for a few days before buying the Liquif-Eye, and it works very well and much better than your standard water from the sink. i'm sure any other saline type eye drops will also work well, so if you're more of a Clear Eyes girl, no big deal. just dip your eyeliner brush lightly into a bit of the Visine and then stroke the surface of your eye shadow to pick up some color and draw away! for some reason the Visine helps the color to go on smoother, stay fresh longer, and look more vivid and metallic. it's definitely a good choice for experimenting, so try it out!

although i think that liquid liners give the best result for this type of look, you can also use pencils if that's what you're most comfortable with. i've found a really nice, soft yet precise and affordable pencil in Prestige's Soft Blend Kohl Eyeliner in Lagoon, $3 (around there, always under $5). Lagoon is a gorgeous, bright, vibrant teal color that stays put and makes a powerful pop above any eyelashes. Prestige also has amazing colors in their liquid liners (pictured at left); the purple, gold and green are my personal favorites! another good pick if you're looking for pretty colors in a pencil form are any of MAC's eyeliners. they have every color of the rainbow and the quality is phenomenal! i love Fluidlines for doing winged liner, but their pencils also make great, bright lines.

do you have any tips or tricks for doing bright winged liner? if so i'd love to hear them, i am obsessed at the moment!

Wing It

lately i have been very fixated on colorful winged eyeliner, and instead of buying a thousand different colors of liquid or gel liner to get this look, i've been using my eye shadows! i already have a bathroom full of eye shadows, and this way i can wear a different color everyday if i want without spending a ton of money. now, there are a few different ways to do this, the better way being to use a liquid specifically designed for this purpose that helps the shadow to go on smoothly and stay on all day! some good options for this are products like MAC's Mixing Medium, a liquid that you add to shadows or pigments to get a liquid color, but unfortunately you can only buy this from the MAC Pro line, which you need a membership to (if interested, go here to join). for those of us who aren't MAC Pro members, i know of a very simple recipe to make a homemade version of the Mixing Medium that works just as well! check out this post from Pursebuzz for the ingredients needed and directions, and start lining! if you're not interested in making your own version, Too Faced has a product called Liquif-Eye, $17.50, which is a clear liquid housed in a little well with a felt-tipped applicator that turns any shadow into a waterproof eyeliner! and if you're me, you just use tap water for the job, LOL!

once you've secured your mixing liquid, you'll need an area to moisten your shadow and make it into a liner! a little tip i've learned is that the easiest thing to use for this is a clean contact lens case! just think about it, it has two perfect little wells where you can mix whatever you'd like, and is inexpensive and easy to clean. perfect! now choose your shadow; i personally like dark, shimmery colors, my current favorite being MAC's Deep Truth eye shadow, $14, a jewel-toned blue color. eye shadow pigments work perfectly for this job, and whether you use one from MAC or one of Bare Escentuals loose shadows, you'll need a brush to apply. my favorite for the job? MAC's 209 Eyeliner brush, $17. if you aren't using a loose shadow, my recommendation is to only moisten your brush slightly and use one small corner of your eye shadow pan to pull color from, so you aren't adding moisture to your whole pan of shadow. do a few practice strokes on your hand to make sure the color saturation is right, and line away!

i think that a bright pop of winged liner looks so modern and fresh, especially for the summer. my favorite way to wear it? without any other eye shadow to complicate things on a slightly bronzed face with sharp, groomed brows and neutral, glossy lips (might i recommend MAC's Bonus Beat lipglass from the Heatherette Collection?). you'll love this look, so don't be afraid to experiment and try it out! and when you get countless compliments, don't forget to thank the Kitty! ;D