13 incredibly useful eyeliner hacks

We love tricks that cut our getting ready time in half. But when eyeliner is added into your morning routine, every other shortcut taken can be made completely redundant with just one little slip of your hand.
Suddenly you can go from running twenty minutes early to an hour late - but with these eyeliner hacks in your head, that never has to happen again. Now you can get that perfect flick, and quick.
#1 Use a spoon
This kitchen utensil is not only good for scooping out Nutella, but can be used as a guide for the perfect eyeliner flick too. Line up the straight handle underneath the outer corner of your eye to create the sharp and straight underside of your flick, and then use the curved head to trace from the pointed tip back towards your lash line. Then you just have to fill in the outline!
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#2 Or if you’re fancy, an eyeliner guard
Instagram @beautyblender
The one from beautyblender is called a Liner Designer and looks like a bright pink guitar pick. It’s made of a rubbery plastic, making it easy to clean and comfortable and steady to hold (or adhere) near your eyes as you draw your lines. You also have the option of straight and curved edges to customise your liner look.
#3 Or even a floss holder!
The latest eyeliner hack to take over the internet comes courtesy of beauty blogger Makeup by Sugar. Simply grab one of those nifty little floss holders, coat the floss with your eyeliner and stamp it carefully against the outer corner of your eye to get the perfect flick.
Instagram @iamsugarcoated
Repeat this step just above the original line so that the ends meet, then fill in the gap with your liquid eyeliner. Genius! Just make sure your floss isn't flavoured - mint or other varieties with oils could cause the eyeliner to smudge or irritate the eyes. Definitely not what you want after all that hard work creating a cat-eye!
#4 Clean up with cotton buds
Mishaps do happen, but the next time you frustratingly draw your flick too thick or crooked, don’t rub it with your finger or smudge it to a point beyond repair - pick up a pointed cotton bud instead. Dip the pointed end into some micellar water or make-up remover (or make it really easy and use Almay Oil-Free Makeup Eraser Sticks) and then swipe it in one smooth stroke parallel to the line you wish to create, taking away any excess to leave a clean, sharp line behind.
blog.peppertap.com
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#4 Try sticky tape
For this one to work, you’ll need to do your eye make-up first and foundation second so the tape doesn’t peel off any of your make-up.
cupcakesandcashmere.com
Before drawing your lines, stick a small piece of sticky tape diagonally on the outer corner of each eye. Then apply your eyeliner, letting any mistakes slip straight onto the tape, rather than on the skin. Then once it’s peeled away, all unwanted liner will be taken off with it.
#5 Say no to black
While black liner is loved by many, a grey shade can actually be very flattering on ageing eyes as it’s less harsh and provides a more subtle line to keep eyes looking defined, but still big and youthful. Brown is also a great option for a more natural, daytime look. Not to mention both are more forgiving when it comes to wonky lines.
- Innoxa 2 in 1 Eye Liner & Eye Shadow Stick in Grey
- COVERGIRL Liquiline Blast Eyeliner in Brown Blaze
- Max Factor Kohl Pencil in Charcoal Grey
- Avon Glimmersticks Eye Liner in Cosmic Brown
#6 And hello to colour
Lining green eyes with purple can make them look greener as will blue liner on blue eyes, (click here to see what other liner shades suit your eye colour). Play around with them on your waterline, outer corners - or even add a second line to your classic black.
- Chi Chi Stay On Eyeliner in Wanna See Your Peacock
- Rimmel London Magnif’Eyes Double Ended Shadow and Liner in Dark Side of Blue
- e.l.f. cosmetics Studio Cream Eyeliner in Midnight
- INIKA Organic Eyeliner in Purple Minx
#7 Don’t forget white either
White liner on your waterline can make tired eyes look brighter and small eyes look bigger. Not to mention if you apply it all over your eyelid pre-eyeshadow, the colour you apply will be waaaay more pigmented (try Eye of Horus Goddess Pencil in Selenite White).
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#8 Set your liner with eyeshadow
bethbenderbeauty.com
If you want your eyeliner to last a really long time (or constantly suffer from smudging), lightly dust over it with a matching eyeshadow colour to hold it in place.
#9 Go thick with monolids
If you have monolids (aka your eyelids tend to disappear when you open your eyes), you can easily create the perfect line by shading in what looks like half an oval shape over your lid. Once you open your eyes, they’ll be perfectly defined - flick optional.
duitang.com
#10 Connect the dots
Use the tip of your liner to create a line of dots across your lash line, then all you have to do is join them up!
stylecraze.com
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#11 Use liner to create a quick smoky eye
bellashoot.com
Simply draw a hashtag on your outer eyelid and then smudge it using a brush or sponge for the fastest smoky eye imaginable.
#12 Start with your flick
blog.lifebooker.com
Try applying your winged eyeliner by starting with your flick and working your way towards your eye. That way if the wing always takes you a few tries, you’ll have less to clean up than if you did your entire line first.
Have you tried any of these hacks before? Have you heard of any others?
154 Member Comments
I have green eyes and I often wear purple/violet shades of eye makeup - not just eyeliner but also eyeshadow.
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So many great tips that I want to try now!
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Can't say I've ever tried any of these hacks before, I'm not very good a lining my eyes, and I've never really practiced as I feel it looks strange on me anyway lol
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I must give the dental floss trick a try. My problem is getting both wings at the same angle.
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The concept of using a dental floss product so close to your eyes actually concerns me - unless you were really careful with a steady hand it could get dangerously messy in my opinion. Not something I'd personally want to try.
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I like the sticky tape trick
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Great tips!! I'll have to try these next time. I do agree and find blackest of black eyeliner (at least on myself) not the most flattering shade.
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Great tips, I have tried some before.
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Great tips, I have tried some before.
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The tape on eye thing makes my eyes water just looking at it!
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Some eyeliners are very tricky to use and I love those firm ones, not the very flexible ones. That dental floss trick made me laugh, it is genius!
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Cleaning my eyeliner up with cotton buds is what I do. I should try these tricks.
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I agree that grey is perfect on ageing eyes. I have the Innoxa one that's recommended and am using it quite often
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Oooh I'm going to have to find some purple eyeliner. Love the tips BH!
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I don't leave the house without my liner. Love it and I think women look feminine and sexy wearing it. Think Bridget Bardot, love the look with a nude lip. I do struggle to get it just right but really holding your breath while lining is my best tip. I also use a white liner in my waterline and it really opens up the eyes and looks fresher.
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I'm a bit shaky with liquid liner so these are great tips
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I'd be interested to see if anyone actually gets the floss one to work! I think the tape is handy if you are doing a full dramatic eye but even then you need to make sure the tape is on even on each eye!
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These are great tips, and worth trying out. Creative for sure!
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So many good tips ...I have always been hopeless with the eyeliner , I rather do eye shadow and lots of mascara.
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I always did the eye then the tip first but I'll try that out next time!
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I love these tips! The floss stuff is pretty smart, really!
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Some surprising ideas!
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Great article! I like the idea of using a spoon of floss holder as a guide too.
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Loved this article. I have green eyes so I use mostly lilacs and purples and white around my eyes.
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I love the way they did the purple smokey eye look with those green eyes!
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