The Makeup Box

[Requested] The Black-and-White: Soft gray-scale smoke with graphic Black and White Liquid Liner

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This is a simple white-and-black smoky eye with a more dramatic graphic liner twist. The eyeshadow isn’t hard to do, and is something that you can easily wear out, but the liquid liner is slightly trickier and it’s also not always hard to locate a very strongly pigmented white liquid liner, so it’s optional whether you want to follow the look exactly or just keep it simple and either skip the liquid liner, or only do the black.

For a basic liner application guide, look here.

The same rules apply when you are applying liquid and gels/creams. 

Products used:

• 88 Warm palette (3 shades used; matte white, black, and a deep metallic grey)
• Lime Crime Uniliners in Quill (black) and Lunar Sea (matte white)
• Black mascara (L’oreal Voluminous Carbon Black)
• White eye pencil (Revlon Khol pencil in White)

If you’re looking for budget white liquid liners, Prestige used to have one, but I am not sure if it is still available. Unfortunately, most of the good matte whites I know are from more expensive brands like Illamasqua, Stila and Lime Crime. 

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Dark Waters: Deep Metallic Colors with a Pop of Metallic Silver

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I was fooling around with Lime Crime’s new metallic liners (Rhyme and Reason), and realised those were made up of tiny flecks of metallic particles instead of regular pigments, which means when you spread/blend them out, you get a wash of micro-glitter that doesn’t look chalky or streaky.

That gave me the idea of using them not as a liner but as a liquid shadow or highlight for a dramatic “wet” effect that isn’t going to smudge. This look uses Reason, the silver shade.

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Step 1: Apply a charcoal or deep, dark navy look to the lid, leaving the inner corners bare.

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Step 2: Apply a deep green to the inner corners of the lids for a little shift in color.

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Step 3: To intensify the blue, you can opt to apply a slightly brighter blue over the charcoal-navy shade you applied earlier. I swept a bit over the central portion of the lids.

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Step 4: The fun part. I applied a dollop of the silver liquid liner just to the center of the lids.

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Step 5: Treat this like you would any liquid or cream shadow and just tap lightly with your finger to spread it out. Do NOT RUB - ever! You don’t want to mess up the shadow you applied underneath.

This has the effect of making your eye contour and lid “pop” visually and look more pronounced.

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Step 6: Finish by lining your inner-rims with black pencil, and then finish with mascara.

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P.S. Sorry for the blooper when this was posted without instructions earlier!

Avant Garde Baby Blue: Smoky-Blue Eyes with Pop of Pastel Liner

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I think I seldom do anything that’s really against the grain in terms of makeup looks, so I just felt like exploring for once. 

I paired a pale sky blue with a dark smoky eye, for those of you who want a little kick to your usual evening routine.

Do let me state upfront that the liner I used (Lime Crime Uniliner in Blue Milk) is quite an expensive option, and I’m not aware of any dupe at this point, so if you want a similar effect on a budget, I recommend trying a matte baby-blue pencil (it will look a lot more subtle) or mixing liner sealant or mixing medium with a pale-blue pigment or shadow to create a liquid liner of your own.

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Step 1: Apply a deep, rich metallic blue over your lids, leaving just the center clean. It’s best to use a good primer beneath so the pigments will show up really strong and dimensional. Make sure to go under the eyes, alone the lower lash line as well, and keep the shape rounded, without any wings or flares at outer corners.

I used a limited edition MAC Shadow called Motorhead but there are PLENTY of beautiful deep blues around from brands like NYX, etc.

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Step 2: In the center, pack on a soft pastel blue (I used I Nuovi Aquamarine dust; you can use a pearly white or silver as well) and gently blend the edges outward into the deeper blue so there are no harsh lines. This should give a really beautiful contoured gleam.

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Step 3: You can finish off with black mascara and leave it be, or you can do what I did (for a kick) and apply a bright, matte baby blue liquid liner along the inner corners of lower lash line, and as a flick at the outer corners. For the lower lashes, to prevent smudging and smearing or general eye irritation, take care to apply to your tightline (where the lashes go into the flesh) rather than directly in the center of the inner rims.

For the flick at the outer corners, as always, follow the angle of your lower lash line. This is the best angle as the flick will work with your natural contours and never look like it is “off”. When your eye is open, the lower and upper lines should look beautiful together.

Lime Crime Uniliner Swatches and Tips!

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The team at Lime Crime very kindly sent me a set of their brand-new, uber-bright Uniliners, so I’m swatching them here and throwing in a few tips on application if you happen to like matte, intense liquid liners as much as I do.

(To see a previous tutorial using a matte liquid/cake liner, click here!)

It’s easy to find liquid liners in neutral shades (black, brown, grey, navy), and metallic finishes, but much less common to get hold of them in matte, BRIGHT shades, hence my previous post raving about the colors in this range.

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Swatches (L-to-R): Lunar White (liquid-paper white), 6th Element (true orange), Citreuse (lime), Blue Milk (baby-blue), Lazuli (cobalt), Orchidaceous (bright violet) and Quill (straight black)

The Good News:

These do go on the way they look in images and swatches. I’m actually surprised by just how nice the paler shades are; particularly Blue Milk and Citreuse. They look like they might have a bit of shimmer in the tubes, but go on matte.

These come with long-ish, fine brush tips, so you can get maximum intensity (as compared to felt tips which tend to deposit less product.

The colors are actually quite wearable in real life despite how bright they look in images. They also don’t smear off when rubbed, and don’t crack after drying, unless you really coat on layer after layer.

The Bad News?

They’re a good bit smaller than they look in pictures (1.3ml or 0.04 oz as compared to the typical 2ml or so in the average liquid liner). This isn’t too much of a problem in the sense that most liquid liners dry out before they’re finished, but at $13.99, bear in mind that these are definitely higher-end.

The fact that they come with a fine brush also means they might not be the best option for liquid-liner novices or those with shaky hands. 

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Tips for Use

1. Instead of trying to apply your liner in one single stroke, you’ll get more control and a more intense line if you apply it in sections. Center, outer, and then inner corners when you have the least amount of liquid left on your brush.
2. Take care not to apply too many coats of liner or your liner will crease and crack after drying.
3. If you’re going to do what I do and stack liners (black and lime shown here), apply the paler color first in a thick swatch along or close to your lash line. THEN apply the darker or black shade thinly along the base. Doing it the other way round (black first then colored) would be a whole lot messier and harder to control.
4. Arm yourself with Q-tips and a disposable mascara brush. All that liquid liner that you get on places like your skin and your lashes is going to show up instantly. After applying, clean up any smudges with the the Q-tip or by briskly running the mascara wand through your lashes.
5. You can wear it neat without shadow, but always add a little dark color around the lashes or wear tons of mascara. Your lash line can disappear otherwise.
6. Wearing a full strip along the entire upper lash line creates the optical illusion of a smaller but more defined double-lid
7. If you have a very steady hand, wear it along your lower lash line!
8. These, like most liquid liners, are made to last. They won’t come off properly with just soap and water. Use a makeup remover.
9. Apply it thick over the entire lid and gently smooth out with your finger tip for a dramatic eye shadow look!

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Lime Crime products are vegan and cruelty-free.