Get in Line'r!

How old were you when you started experimenting with eyeliner?  I was probably in the sixth grade...I definitely have the seventh grade photos to prove the learning curve was quite looooong!  That would have been a tiny, hard-tipped pencil from the generic, all-inclusive, fold-out tray makeup kit I'd gotten as a birthday present.  Along with a six-pack of Play Doh.  Twelve was a weird age for me, what can I say?!!? 

So I started  with lipstick and eyeshadow much earlier, but the rest of my eye/liner repertoire came closer to junior high.  AND I have been experimenting ever since!  Even now, in my EARLY thirties, I have added new products to my lineup...most recently the extremely-popular gel eyeliner.  I have been obsessed with trying this and finally picked some super-black-gel-liner-in-the-little-glass-pot at Wegman's last week.



Maybelline EYE STUDIO gel liner with brush


Like all types of eyeliners, this definitely takes some practice.  I started with the small brush that came with the pot (not a bad value for the $8 price point!)  Ever faithful to the retro-inspired cat eye, I tried recreating my flicked-end first...only to create a blob of black.  Yikes.  So I tried starting in the center of my lid and making small strokes along the lashes to build my line.  Hmmm....Not so smooth. 

So, I enlisted the help of my "line up" of brushes to experiment with...

Real Techniques, Avon, Your Name Professional and Maybelline liner brushes.

So far my favorites are the first two in the picture above, the "accent brush", which I use to smush the color into my lash line and the "pixel-point eyeliner brush" with which I can draw a fairly smooth line.   These are both from Real Techniques. 

The two most important things I have figured out are to scrape off excess product and not hesitating once I put the brush down on my lid.  I do love how intensely pigmented this gel is!  This particular brand is supposed to last 24 hours, but I have found it slides a bit after awhile if you don't have a nice base of shadow on your lid.  Also, I still use my felt-tip liquid or my smokey pencil (more on those some other time!) when I'm in a hurry.  I definitely want to keep experimenting with gel liner, perhaps adding a few other brands to compare results. 

Here's to creating more fabulous gel-icious looks!! 
L