There was a time when we all used to rim our eyes in black eyeliner. That retro beauty trend seems to be making a big comeback. However, these days the technique is a lot more subtle by placing the eyeliner on the inner rim of your eyelid, known as your waterline.
Gently lift your lid away from your eye with a finger and apply good quality waterproof pencil eyeliner to the inside of your lash line. Always apply eyeliner to your upper lid’s waterline before your lower lid to avoid accidentally smudging your eyeliner with an errant finger.
Applying eyeliner to your waterline might feel scary but it is something that you can totally do. The trick is using the best eyeliner for your waterline and knowing how to do it correctly. The good news for you is that I have step-by-step instructions to make the process of applying waterline eyeliner easy.
Is Eyeliner Safe For Your Waterline?
I am sure the thought has crossed your mind, “is eyeliner really safe for your waterline?” Your eyes are a very sensitive area. Therefore it makes sense that applying eyeliner so close to your actual eyes could cause irritation.
The truth of the matter is that this will only occur if you use the wrong type of eyeliner. The good news is that there are plenty of eyeliner formulas out there that are perfectly safe to use on your waterline.
One girl that I know has used her lip liner as an eyeliner to match the color shade to her lips. I would not use my lip liner anywhere near my waterline as the risk of bacteria from my mouth getting into my eyes is too great.
As you can see, I’m not saying that you don’t still need to be careful while applying eyeliner. But yes, eyeliner is safe for your waterline.
The Best Type Of Eyeliner For Your Waterline
You might have wondered if you can put liquid eyeliner on your waterline. The answer to that is almost always no. Ideally, you want to use a pencil eyeliner for this task. If at all possible choose a waterproof pencil eyeliner. I tried a non-waterproof eyeliner once and landed up with an unflattering look as the eyeliner started to run a bit.
Applying black eyeliner to your waterline will give you a classic makeup look. A great alternative is lining your waterline with nude eyeliner. It can help brighten the look of your eyes and make you look more awake, which is great on some of those mornings when your eyes look really tired.
If you have blue eyes then using bright eyeliner like purple or cobalt blue can look superb. I must admit that as a teenager using cobalt blue eyeliner never crossed my mind until I saw Princess Dianna rocking the look.
How To Apply Eyeliner To Your Upper Waterline
Now that you have chosen which eyeliner to use to line your waterline, the time has come to actually get to the main event, and that is applying eyeliner to your waterline.
My hot tip is to start by using eyeliner on your upper waterline. If you do your lower waterline first then there is a very real chance that you will smudge your lower waterline with a finger while doing your upper waterline. I learned that the hard way so you don’t need to.
This is a technique that’s also referred to as tightlining. I wrote a detailed article about tightlining that you can find here. Apply eyeliner to your upper waterline by following these simple steps:
Step 1: Expose Your Waterline
Use your ring finger to gently, very gently lift your upper lid and expose the waterline beneath your upper lash line. Please make sure that you wash your hands and they are clean before you start this step.
Step 2: Absorb Any Excess Moisture
Use a cotton swab to gently soak up any extra moisture around your upper eyelid that could interfere with your eyeliner application.
Step 3: Apply Your Eyeliner To Your Upper Waterline
Simply swipe your pencil eyeliner along the dried area of the lash line and voila, you’ve done it. One thing though, just make sure to look straight into the mirror and slightly tilt your head down while you’re lining your upper waterline.
It may feel a little weird the first time you do this, but with practice you’ll be a pro in no time.
How To Apply Eyeliner To Your Lower Waterline
Don’t be alarmed after you have finished lining your upper waterline if you look in the mirror and can hardly see anything for all of your hard work. Remember that the other name for tightlining is invisible eyeliner.
Once you have finished applying eyeliner to your upper waterline, it is time to move on to your lower waterline by following this easy tutorial.
Step 1: Expose Your Waterline
Looking head-on at the mirror, you won’t be able to see your full waterline. To achieve a perfectly lined waterline, you will have to pull your lower lid down gently. I use my ring finger. Again, please be gentle.
Step 2: Absorb Excess Moisture
Just the same as what you did with your upper lid’s waterline, using a cotton swab to remove excess moisture from around your waterline. You want your eyeliner to be able to “grip” the skin as you apply eyeliner.
Step 3: Apply Your Pencil Eyeliner To Your Lower Waterline
Once you have dried the excess moisture from your lid, pop the top off of your eyeliner and trace it along the exposed area. It is that simple. Continue swiping eyeliner along your lid until you’ve achieved the color intensity you’re looking for.
Remember that lower waterline eyeliner is a lot more visible than your upper waterline so don’t base the amount of eyeliner you apply along your lower waterline on what you can see after finishing your upper waterline.
How To Apply Eyeliner To Your Upper And Lower Waterline In One Step
Now that you have seen how to line your upper and lower waterlines, wouldn’t it be great if there was a hack that you could use to line both waterlines at the same time? The good news is that there is!
If you want to line both your upper and lower waterline, but are in a rush (story of my life) here is a little hack for doing it in one single step.
Start by tightlining your upper waterline but apply your eyeliner thicker than you normally would. Then quickly close your eyes before the eyeliner has a chance to dry. When you shut your eye, some of the color transfers to your lower waterline. Think of it as an eyeliner version of the lipstick hack where you put lipstick on your upper lip, then purse your lips together and transfer color to your lower lip.
Repeat the process on your other eye, and you’re good to go. Applying eyeliner to both upper and lower waterlines doesn’t get much easier than that.
How To Remove Eyeliner From Your Waterline
Now that you officially know how to apply eyeliner to your waterline, at the end of the day you will need to remove your eyeliner. We all know that it is a bad idea to go to bed with our makeup on.
Make sure that you use a gentle makeup remover since this makeup technique involves the product you’ll need to remove being very close to your eye. Try using micellar cleansing water for waterproof makeup.
All you do is saturate a cotton pad with micellar cleansing water and gently wipe the pad over your eye makeup. If any eyeliner stays behind on your waterline, then use a cotton swab or cue tip that’s been dipped in the same micellar water to clean away any stubborn spots of eyeliner.
Why not expand your knowledge even further by reading another makeup/beauty article here on Pink Femme. You can find them either via the menu at the top of the page or by clicking this link that will take you to the list of all the beauty articles.
When it comes to my choices for makeup and beauty products, I only use L’Oréal Paris (Available on Amazon). I have really sensitive skin and never once have I had any negative reaction to any L’Oréal product.