How to Tightline Eyes

Readying Your Eyes For Tightlining

Apply an eye primer to your lids. Although it's optional, primer evens out your skin tone and helps your makeup last longer. This will keep your eye liner in place. Dab a small amount of primer onto your lids using a makeup brush or the pad of your ring finger. Allow the primer to dry before you continue.

Cover your under eye circles with concealer, if you have them. Choose a concealer that is the same shade as your skin or 1 shade lighter. Using a concealer brush or your finger, lightly dab the concealer under your eye. You can apply the concealer over foundation, if you're wearing it.

Use pencil eyeliner. Since tightlining requires applying eyeliner closer to your eyeball, make sure that your chosen eyeliner is waterproof. Choose pencil eyeliner that twists up for the easiest application. The eyeliner can be any color, but for a “natural” look, try to use an eyeliner that matches your eyelash color (brown, light brown, or black).

Sharpen your pencil. Your waterline is more vulnerable to infection than the rest of your eyelid. To remove bacteria that can collect on makeup implements, sharpen your eyeliner pencil each time before tightlining. A sharp pencil is also easier to use for this precise task. Do not borrow someone else's eyeliner. Sharing eyeliner can introduce foreign bacteria to your eyes, which can result in an infection.

Hold your upper eyelid in place. Raise your chin to tilt your head back a little bit and look up. While your eyelashes are grazing your brow bone, use a cue tip or the end of a dry makeup brush to press your lashes upward and hold them in place on your brow bone. Now you can look down while keeping your upper waterline exposed. If you're having trouble exposing your waterline, gently increase the upward pull on your lashes until your eyelid is stretched taut. You may use your finger instead, but the heavier pressure may cause creases and make even application more difficult.

Applying The Eyeliner

Line your upper waterline. Start by placing your eyeliner vertically on the outer corner of your waterline. Your waterlines are the moist rims near the base of your eyelashes, which come in contact with each other when you blink. Trace your upper waterline back and forth with your eyeliner. Do this two or three times, depending on how deep you want the color to be. Repeat on your other eye. Don’t trace your eyeliner all the way into the inner corner of your eye. This will make your tightlining look unnatural. Stop when your get to the area where your tear duct starts, or where your lashes start to thin out. If you plan to only tightline your upper lid (which makes your eyes look bigger), take care not to blink while applying. If you blink before the eyeliner dries, you'll transfer a little eyeliner to the lower lid and lose the effect. Using eye drops before you begin may help. If you do blink and transfer a bit of eyeliner to your lower waterline, you can dab it away using a clean cotton swab.

Fill in space between lashes. You may use the same eyeliner for this, or an eye shadow of a similar color. If using eyeliner, gently stipple and dot the spaces between your lashes. If using eye shadow, push it up into the base of your lashes. If you use eye shadow to fill in the spaces between your lashes, make sure to use an angled edged brush. This will help add pigment with precision.

Emphasize your lower lashes (optional). If you would like a little more pop to your look, gently run your eyeliner near the base of your lower eyelashes. Most people apply this just below the lower waterline, not directly on it. Be aware that dark eyeliner on your lower lids can make your eyes look smaller. Try not to make this lining too thick or too dark, because it will detract from your natural makeup look. Do this on both of your eyes. Taper your liner off about 2/3 of the way to your inside corner. This will prevent the liner from making your eyes look smaller.

Curl your eyelashes (optional). If you like, use an eyelash curler to curl your lashes. Open up the curler, fit your lashes in the curler’s open space, and gently close the curler shut. Make sure the rubber strip of the curler is right at the base of your eyelashes. Softly squeeze the curler with a pulsating rhythm. Curl both of your eyelashes in this way. For added curl, after squeezing the curler vertically, turn the curler horizontally (following the curve of your eyeball) and squeeze a couple more times. Always curl your eyelashes using light pressure. If you feel pain or discomfort, adjust the curler and try again.

Apply a neutral eyeshadow that works with your skin tone. You can choose a good neutral color by staying within 2 shades of your natural lip, cheek, and eyelid colors. For darker skin, they also include plums. This will enhance your eyes while still keeping your look natural. Use an eyeshadow brush to lightly apply a thin layer of shadow. Popular neutral colors include peaches, pinks, and golds. For example, you might choose a pink lipstick that nearly matches your lip color.