How to wear graphic eyeliner: 4 Beauty Panel tips for mastering the look

While we love us a good classic cat eye, there’s just something so intriguing about graphic eyeliner that we’re determined to find ways to incorporate it into our day-to-day lives. From soft feathered strokes to intricate designs, and everything in between, graphic liner was a huge trend on the Fall 2014 runways. We saw different interpretations from design houses like Zac PosenJean Paul Gaultier and Lanvin and it’s officially become one of our favourite looks for the season. Of course, there’s nothing we love more than taking a bold trend and making it more wearable for the real world, and two of our Beauty Panel members showed off their beautiful, more subtle interpretations of the trend. The other two? They went all-out and super dramatic! We’re seriously swooning over these stunning liner tricks!

Challenge 77: How do you pull off graphic eyeliner? See the answers now! »

Have a beauty question you want to see the panel answer? Send it our way at [email protected]. Read on for the answers to this week’s challenge and for more goodness, get to know all contributors on our Beauty Panel hub page.

Jump to: BRITTANY MESSNER | MAGGIE NG | AMY MCKISSOCK | JOYCE WONG



Brittany Messner
Calgary | Life, Set Sail

Being someone who never wears anything more adventurous than a classic cat-flick, I found this weeks challenge to be…a challenge. But that’s part of the fun right!?

For this look I lightly traced out my lines with a wet M.A.C 210 brush and Urban Decay‘s Crave eyeshadow. I gave myself a generous wing on the outer corner of my eye and carried it on almost halfway through the crease. I then filled in the inner corner where the too lines meet, creating a sort of shading. When I was satisfied with my “rough draft” I went over my lines with M.A.C‘s Fluidline gel liner in Blacktrack. I think the important thing when going for a look like this is to work with products you’re already comfortable with using and that they be easily fixed with a Q-tip if needed. This is not a look you want to use waterproof liquid liner with!

Most importantly, have fun! Part of the beauty of makeup is being able to take inspiration from one place and make it work for you!

My goal was to create a look that wasn’t too far out there, simple enough for your everyday beauty addict. No makeup artists needed. The result? A twist on my favourite winged liner that’s just cool enough I think I’ll actually wear it.

Products Used: Laura Mercier Radiance Primer in Radiance Bronze, Marcelle Sheer Tint Fluid Moisturizer in Creme Beige, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly, NARS Bronzer in Laguna, NARS Blush in Desire, Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Cover and Crave, MAC Fluidline Gel Liner in Blacktrack, Clinique High Impact Mascara, Anastasia Brow Wiz in Soft Brown, Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Colour in Bikini Pink



Maggie Ng
Toronto | Beauty PhD

Inspired by the geometric liner looks from one of Mary Katrantzou‘s runway shows, I decided to give graphic eye makeup a try. I’m sure there are tricks to making your lines straight and/or symmetrical; from scotch tape to using a business card as a guide, however I basically achieved this look by drawing the shapes by freehand. The key is to use a liquid eyeliner pen that has a super precise tip that doesn’t skip. Drawing dots and connecting them certainly helped as well.

Not exactly a look I’ll be sporting on a daily basis, but there are ways to make graphic eyeliner more subtle and more wearable for everyday. I did end up going out in public like this to grab a quick dinner from a takeout place. The guy who served me commented, “Nice eye makeup. I thought you were wearing spectacles at first. Good illusion!” I just laughed about it and totally agreed with him that makeup is very transformative. When you play with shapes, contours, and angles, you can completely look like a different person!

Products Used : Skindinavia “The Makeup Primer Spray”, Glo Minerals Powder Foundation in Natural Medium, Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler, Annabelle EYEINK Liquid Eyeliner in Black, MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Eyeshadow in I-526, Annabelle Biggy Zebra Bronzing Powder, Annabelle TWISTUP Retractable Lipstick Crayon in Naked, Cricket Carbon Comb, Salon Care Bobby Pins, Kerastase V.I.P. Volume In Powder, Shu Uemura Detail Master Directional Fixing Spray



Amy Mckissock
Burlington | The Prettyvain

When I hear graphic liner, wearable is not the first word that comes to mind. And yet with the trend sweeping the Fall 2014 catwalks of Zac Posen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Hervé Léger, and Dries Van Noten (to name a few) it was clearly time to take this style to the streets! My favourite take on graphic liner this season was seen at Lanvin; a simple smudged out black liner with an artsy influence. To recreate the look I began by priming my lids to ensure that my makeup lasted all day before simply lining my upper lash line with a healthy dose of a black eye pencil. I then went in with a brush and a black gel liner to thicken up the lash line and create the painted pattern on my lid, working my way into the crease. Since the eyes are so bold, I decided to pair them with a neutral lip, pale pink blush and glowing skin. So go on, experiment this fall and incorporate the graphic liner trend into your daily beauty regime!

Products Used: MAC Strobe Cream, MAKE UP FOR EVER Face and Body Foundation in #32, Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Ivory, MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Pressed Powder, NARS Laguna Bronzer, MAC Blush in Well Dressed, Urban Decay Primer Potion, MAC Eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown, Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Eye Pencil in Black Velvet, Bobbi Brown Longwear Gel Liner in Black Ink, L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess in Blackest Black and YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain in 101 Nude Provocateur



Joyce Wong
Toronto | Sparkly Playground

The graphic liner trend certainly isn’t suitable for my work setting so I decided to have more fun with it by adding super dramatic lace lashes. To balance out the heaviness on top of the eyes, I decided to draw the eyeliner underneath my eyes with a 2-4 mm gap. Since the eye make up is grabbing most of the attention, I simply filled my brows full to frame my face and kept everything else (cheeks and lips) as subtle as possible.

Products Used: MAC Lipstick in Myth, NYX Lipgloss in Whipped , Annabelle Studio Pigments in Aurora, Shiseido MAJOLICA MAJORCA Liquid Eyeliner in BK911 (Metallic Black), Shu Umuera Eyelashes , Filled brows with Urban Decay Naked Basics in Faint

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