Winged Eyeliner: Step-by-Step Guide

A winged eyeliner is not as complex as it looks, in fact with a little practice and a lot of patience, you can ace winged eyeliner looks even in your sleep. Read ahead for the steps, tips, and products for the perfect eye wing liner.

Let me paint you a picture: You wake up on the right side of the bed. You are jamming to your favourite tunes in the shower, and are pumped for this day. Today is the day you’re going to kill that task list. You want to channel a strong yet elegant Dita Von Tesse vibe (very 50s)- a bold red lip and a classic winged liner and grab this day by its horns. You’ve watched all the hacks, you’re armed with your eyeliner and your favourite beauty guru’s voice is resonating in your head. You start out strong. But, 15 minutes after wrestling with the brush you still don’t know how to do a winged eyeliner. Shedding tears and ending up with racoon eyes, you give up, defeated, looking longingly at Adele and Ariana Grande’s pictures.

Lining your eyes perfectly is no easy feat and requires more than a steady hand. It requires patience and a ton of practice. With so many hacks and tricks out there, zeroing in on the one that works for you is a personal preference and quite frankly, confusing as hell! However, for the uninitiated, we’ve got celebrity makeup artist Namrata Soni to break down that perfect winged liner, so you don’t have to wing it anymore.

Scroll to check out the winged eyeliner tutorial and tips for the perfect winged eyeliner look every time. What will you need? Simply a gel liner, tapered brush, patience, and most importantly, confidence.

Steps For The Perfect Eyeliner

Step 1: Start by stretching the eyelid and applying the eyeliner onto the centre, keeping your brush steady at an angle. Continue applying it towards the outer corner of your eye.

Step 2: Once you’ve lined half your eye, start by applying the liner towards the inner corner. Join both halves in the middle, and you will have a soft-lined eyelid. Ensure there are no gaps between the liner and your lash line.

Step 3: Here’s Namrata’s trick: Lift your brow and use the end of it as your guide. Start tapering your liner towards the tip of your brow, for that delicate and dainty wing. Try small, clear strokes to begin with, but once you’re a pro, you’ll be able to do it in a single swipe.

Perfecting the winged liner is an important skill in your makeup repertoire. You can create a tonne of looks using it, or you could just sport it by itself. And psst… it’s perfect for those days when you just can’t.

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6 Tips For The Perfect Eyeliner

Here are a few tips that you can use if the expert-recommended steps just don’t work for you.

1. Scotch Tape

Using scotch tape is the best way to draw a winged eyeliner if you don’t trust your free-hand skills. Take a small piece of tape and place it on the outer corner of your eye in such a way that you create a negative space for your wing. Make sure you don’t put any tape on your eyelashes as it can pull out the hair. Now, just paint in the gaps and gently remove the tap once the liner is dried up.

2. Steady Hands

Make sure to keep your hands and especially your elbows steady. Only make your wrist move to ensure a smooth, single-swipe, eye-wing liner.

3. Keep Makeup Remover Handy

Take an earbud and some makeup remover handy, as soon as you apply your liner, sharpen the wing using an earbud that’s soaked in makeup remover. This will ensure your eyeliner doesn’t spread too much and the finer result is a crisp and sharp winged eyeliner.

4. Press & Spread

Apply a small amount of eyeliner on the outer corner of your eye and with the help of your index finger smudge it slightly towards your eyebrows. This will create a natural winged eyeliner look, perfect for that effortless, sultry effect.

5. Start Small

Less is always more when it comes to winged eyeliner, you can always start small and make up for any imperfections, but if you start big you can’t make it even without looking like a raccoon.

6. Practice, Patience, & Perfection

With practice, you can ace any makeup look, even an enigma such as the winged eyeliner look. The way I practised was through pre-shower practice sesh where I could make as many mistakes as I wanted and the crime scene would be washed off in the shower.

Winged Eyeliner For Different Eye Shapes

Although winged eyeliner suits everyone, there are different styles of winged eyeliner that you can add to the mix to suit your specific eye shape to accentuate your whole look.

1. Hooded Eyes

   If you have hooded eyes, apply your eyeliner with your eyes open, if you apply it with your eyes closed, all the product will get covered. Instead, avoid the lash line and simply go with a small wing that starts from the corner of your eye. This makes your eyes look bigger and smouldering.

2. Almond Eyes

   Since almond eyes look big as it is, you don’t need a thick lash line, instead opt for minimal coverage on top of your eyes and a big wing. This will make your eyes look like a doe fluttering its lids like in a Disney movie.

3. Downturned Eyes

   A winged eyeliner can actually lift your downturned eyelids giving it a glam look. You can add a dramatic wing and some colour on the lash line to make your eyes look more perky and fun.

Winged Liner Vs. Cat-Eye

People often get confused with a winged eyeliner and a cat-eye. A winged eyeliner only connects the upper lash line and the outer corner of the eye. Whereas, a cat-eye connects the lower tight line to the outer corner and the upper lash line to the inner corner making the final result look like a cat’s eye.

Parting Thoughts

If you are not an expert when it comes to classic winged eyeliner or even different styles of winged eyeliner, then this guide is for you. With a few simple steps, and some helpful tips you can achieve a glamorous winged eyeliner look every single time. Make sure you have the right tools and products to get flawless results with every swipe.

FAQs

1. How to apply a winged eyeliner?

   Start from the middle of your upper lash line and draw a thin line outwards. Make a V on the outer corner of your eye towards the eyebrows. For more precision, you can use a gel eyeliner and a brush.

2. How to draw even winged eyeliner on both sides?

   To achieve an even winged eyeliner, keep your hands and elbows steady, only move your wrist and with one single swipe draw the line just like Ariana Grande lines her eyes.

3. How to make winged eyeliner look more natural?

   To make your eye wing liner look more natural, make a small wing and use an eyeliner pencil for a smudged look and natural finish.