How do I make my eyeliner stay on and not smudge?

October 29, 2009   in Ask, Eyes, How To/Tips, Make Up

eyeliner

Speaking of eyeliners (guyliners to be exact), V asked me this question recently and I thought it’d be a good post – no one likes smudged eye makeup, do they?!

How do I put on eyeliner so it doesn’t smudge within a few hours?

It may be extra hard for those with oilier lids to keep eye makeup and eyeliner on. Apart from getting a good eyeliner that doesn’t smudge (waterproof formulas are the best), there are a few tricks you can try out.

  • First, sweep your eyelid with some loose powder to soak up any oil.
  • Apply your eyeliner, whether it is ink or pencil. (Here’s how to apply eyeliner).
  • Next, take a fine eyeliner brush and apply a eyeshadow over your eyeliner line to really ’set’ the eyeliner. I like to do this step twice, just to be extra careful – and I never get smudges. It also works for the lower lash line as well.

So to sum it up – the best way for eyeliner to stay put and not smudge is to have a base and top ‘coat’ of powder.

What do you do to keep your eyeliner from smudging? Oh, and if you have beauty question as well, just e-mail me and I’ll be more than happy to help!

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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Tavia October 29, 2009 at 1:00 am

Hi Renee! I was never an artist with the eyeliner, most of the times I stick only with eyeshadows and mascara :) . Your advices are really great, I should try them next time and see the difference.
Tavia´s last blog … La Prairie Life Threads – Silver, Gold & Platinum – Perfume Collection – Fall 2009

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2 Renee October 29, 2009 at 1:19 am

Hey Tavia! Aw, it’s no problem! Glad you found it useful. If you do try it out, do let me know how it works for you! I do this trick usually and my eyeliner never smudges :)

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3 ruth October 29, 2009 at 7:50 pm

Hey Renee. I will certainly try out this trick. I’ve always had problems with smudged eyeliner. My eyeliner could only last an hour before I’d looked like a panda!!!! Great Post! Thank you!

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4 Renee October 30, 2009 at 12:54 am

You’re most welcome! I know what you mean about the ‘panda eyes’ Ruth. Really annoying isn’t it? Hope this helped – let me know how it goes! :D

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5 sunmom October 30, 2009 at 6:53 am

for me, i apply a liner sealer! i have very oily lids and teary eyes which makes it even tougher for eyeliners to stay on… :)

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6 Renee October 30, 2009 at 1:37 pm

Oh a liner sealer? I’ve never heard of that before? Tell me more? :-P

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7 sunmom October 31, 2009 at 6:16 am

liner sealers come in liquid form and can be mixed with pigments and applied with an eyeliner brush to create an indellible, liquid liner finish. imagine being able to turn any color of eyeshadow into eyeliner!!! on the other hand, if you are more used to pencil liners, just swipe the pencil liner like you used to and brush the liquid on top. among favorites are BE’s weather everything liner sealer, make up forever eye seal and milan gelle drops! i personally have BE’s and will be reviewing about it soon! :)

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8 Lorlori October 30, 2009 at 8:24 am

Hey, people! I swear that Revlon’s Colorstay eyeliner never smudges !!! It’s so good… I can use it for whole 8 hours and it still looks good, smudge-proof!!! I hope this helps!
Ps.. Renee, I looovveeee your blog! I know life´s pretty busy, but I wish you could post a little bit more ! I’m just saying it because I really like the blog, but if you don’t have the time, I completely understand!!!!

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9 Renee October 30, 2009 at 1:41 pm

Lorlori you have no idea how happy your comment made me! :) I am so glad to ‘meet’ you and I’m so honored you love my blog. :) I do apologize for the slow posting, especially this week. I’m in my last term of college so the workload is insanity. I also signed up for driving lessons (stupidly!) at this time so my days are all work and driving haha. But I promise I’ll be back very soon and I’m catching up writing posts in the weekend, so next week onwards I should be back on track ;)

And if you have any ideas for posts or have some requests on what you’d like to see, do let me know! Thanks again for your comment and I hope to see you around more, Lorlori :) xx

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10 Amanda October 30, 2009 at 11:03 am

I love, love, LOVE Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners. They DO NOT smudge. Once it sets, that’s it. There have been times where I’ve used my eye makeup remover and there’s still the perfect line that needs a second go-round with more remover! Use the eyeshadow trick with the UD liner and you’ll have to try *very hard* to remove it.
Amanda´s last blog … The best laid plans

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11 Renee October 30, 2009 at 1:42 pm

Amanda I have heard SO much about UD eyeliners, especially from one reader, Sze Ling (where are you, girl? :-P ), unfortunately I may only have to try them out when I am overseas, UD is not sold in my country. :( The colors look AWESOME though and I’m really glad to hear you found an eyeliner that works for you! I hope to try it someday too.

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12 Mary October 30, 2009 at 11:47 am

Renee!!

How are you?? I also use this trick for when I go to attend parties, special events, etc :D Otherwise, I just try to deal with raccoon eyes hahah.. but not lining my waterline helps with that!
Mary´s last blog … Miracle Product!

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13 Renee October 30, 2009 at 1:43 pm

Hey! where have you been? :-P Busy with school? I’m well thanks, hope you are too!
Haha raccoon eyes. Say no to raccoon eyes! This trick takes less than a few minutes and it’s worth it. And I don’t line my waterline either, makes my eyes look tiny :(

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14 prettybeautiful November 2, 2009 at 3:42 pm

my lids are super oily. what do i do is: apply eye base, then a layer of power foundation, then another layer of eye base again, then again foundation, draw the liner, and pat on similar eyeshadow, or a layer of loose powder :D

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15 Renee November 3, 2009 at 1:11 am

Wow! Thanks for your input, prettybeautiful. Seems like you’ve got a winning formula! Hope this can help my readers who may have oily lids too. :)

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16 Cat Mc January 12, 2010 at 6:19 am

I am loving the nail varnish on the model in your photo. And the great tips, What is it?

Great work thanks for all the help ;-)

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17 Renee January 12, 2010 at 1:47 pm

You’re most welcome Cat! :)

Unfortunately I’m not sure about the nail polish the model is wearing, it’s stock photo, not my own. :( I’m guessing it’s a shiny nude color. I know Bourjois makes a great nude color that I use myself :D

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18 dominican babrbiie March 10, 2010 at 8:15 pm

o0mg i like da thick black eyeliner on top of eye n den da blue on bottom lo0ksz hot n fierce =]

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