Winged eyeliner is a notoriously troublesome beast. Just when you think you’ve perfected your makeup, the urge to add a subtle flick of eyeliner at the edge of your lashes will emerge, which often results in a numerous mistakes and a raft of used cotton tips in an attempt to clean up the ensuing mess. This is often down to winged liner being a last minute addition to your face, when in reality it requires a steady, measured approach.
Despite being difficult in execution, winged eyeliner remains one of the biggest makeup trends we’re seeing at the moment – at least if It girls Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, Bella Hadid, and sister Gigi are any indication. The current liner look du jour is characterized by an elongated wing at the outer corner of the eye, which amounts to a natural-looking feline flick.
If you’re hesitant to attempt such makeup mastery – or if you’ve tried and failed before – fear not. Erin Parsons, go-to face makeup artist responsible for many of Gigi Hadid’s liner looks, has broken down her easiest tips for how to nail winged eyeliner in one go on IGTV.
“If you do have any flubs, it happens. It’s eyeliner,” says Parsons, which is comforting to say the least. “You just take a Q-tip and some micellar water and then you just clean everything up.”
She starts at the inner corner of the eye, creating a triangle shape near the beginning of the lashes, then moves it towards the outer corner. The trick, as she demonstrates, is in forming a kind of map for her flick by drawing it in lower than she regularly would. “You’re going to start at the outer part of your eye and you’re going to pull outward, but you’re going very low because you’re going to go on the bottom and connect,” Parsons explains.
She then simply goes over the liner to perfect it, without filling it in. To get a more solid line like Jenner, all you have to do is color it in. Done! Now that you’re a bona fide eyeliner aficionado, shop our favorites for creating a winged liner look below.
Long-Lasting Eyeliner, $33 SHOP NOW
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner, $22 SHOP NOW
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