Eyeliner is eyeliner, right? Nah, you know better than that. A cream gel liner is one of the most versatile liners ever. Check out four ways to use cream gel liners:
To get your perfect winged liner: Gel liner is the easiest to work with. It gives you the precision of a liquid, without the mess. It has staying power. (I’ve had liquid liner just run down my face before when my allergies acted up, but it usually takes a little more for gels to go anywhere.) You can smooth out the edges with your brush without worrying that evidence of the cup of coffee you had beforehand is going to show up on your face (shaky hands, much?). But you still get that intense, opaque color you want when you’re doing the winged liner (or any style, really).
To fill in your brows: This is tricky because there’s not a whole range of gel liners out there designed for matching your hair, but if you happen to find a cream or gel liner that gets pretty close, you will love this tip. First, comb your brows. With just a tiny amount of product on an angled brush, use short, upward motions to fill in any sparse areas. Start in the middle of your brow and work your way toward the edges so you will have less product on the brush when you get there. A good gel liner will last and last, but if you’re skeptical, you can always set it with a matching powder.
As the base for a smoky eye: Sure, you could use a regular old eyeshadow base or your concealer. BUT using a dark cream or gel liner as a shadow base will add depth to the colors that you didn’t expect. If you have shimmer or a duo-chrome effect you want to play up in your shadow, the black base will make that “pop” more, as well. Apply a thick line near the lashes—don’t worry about getting it perfect—and then smudge it up to or just above the crease. When you’re done smudging, the top of the color should be barely-there and there should be no obvious line. Blend, blend, blend, for a perfect smoky shadow base. Apply your shadows on top as you normally would.
Face painting: Sometimes, you just need a little face art. A swirly line here, a flower there, a team logo over there… Using a pointed brush and a little creamy gel liner will give you perfect control so you can get the look you’re going for. You can dust a little translucent powder over the top for additional staying power. Or, as in the image above, you can use it to draw shadow shapes to fill in when you want a crisp edge for dramatic makeup looks.
Let us know if you find a new way to use a cream gel liner. We’d love to add to the list!
