As someone who adores an undone, finger-painted makeup look, eyeliner typically does not make it in the rotation. Forget about a sharp, winged tip—even creating a clean line proves quite the challenge with these shaky fingers. That is, until I received this gold-mine tip during a Zoom event with makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift, founder of clean makeup and skin care brand RMS Beauty.
Now? My eyeliner looks expert-level, and it’s just as easy as swiping on shadow.
A tip to expertly apply top eyeliner.
I wholeheartedly believe that eyeliner can smell fear. Read: Every time I try to create the perfect line, tracing the skin ever so slowly, it ends up looking jagged with gaps of skin poking through. And when I try to fill in those slots, I end up making the line thicker and thicker until it practically devours my entire lid space.
So Swift recommends ditching perfection with a simple tip. “Aim at the lashes, not at the skin,” she says. You see, even though the liner may be pointed down toward the lashes, most of the pigment will wind up right along the lash line, with zero gaps of skin. The famed makeup artist demonstrates it herself, using her Straight Line Eye Kohl Pencil to create an effortless flick—if your line does end up a bit wobbly, the sponge tip makes it easy to blend and smudge the soft kohl (you’ll just end up with more of a smoky eyeliner).
A final note: Don’t stretch your lids while applying eyeliner. Sure, it might create a smoother surface for a finicky pencil or felt tip, but tugging at your delicate lid skin can exacerbate sagging down the line. We suggest skipping this habit if you can; plus, you can aim for the lashes without pulling your skin taut.
Top eyeliner is tough to tackle, whether you’re opting for a classic line or glam cat-eye. To make the venture much easier, do like Swift and aim for the lashes instead of the lid skin. Chances are you’ll wind up with a clean application, and any errors you do make will be undetectable under a coat of mascara.
