An expert guide to liquid liner for mature eyes

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An expert guide to liquid liner for mature eyes

It’s long been known that attempting a cat eye with liquid liner is not for the faint-hearted. What begins as a vision of an understated and chic look can very quickly turn to pure chaos, full of watering eyes and smudged makeup.

RELATED: Princess Diana’s makeup artise convinced her to ditch this eyeliner style

RELATED: Liquid eyeliner for beginners 

And no matter how many ‘cat eyes for dummies’ tutorials you may watch, if you don’t have the steady hands of a surgeon, the eyesight of a hawk and the plump, springing and forgiving skin of your 17-year-old self, it seems almost impossible to execute this feline makeup look that will give your eyes an instant lift.

But according to Sales and Education Manager of KVD Vegan Beauty, Madison Drabble, there are a few ways to avoid the often unforgiving mistakes of a black liquid liner, particularly when trying it out on a mature eye. 


Image credit: KVD Beauty Youtube

Try a brown shade

Instead of your classic black liquid liner, Madison recommends a softer brown shade as they can often be “more forgiving” and will add the definition and drama of a  liquid liner without being too harsh. 

bh recommends: KVD Vegan Beauty Tattoo Liner Liquid Liner in shade Mad Max Brown ($30, available at Sephora)

Make sure your liners brush tip is precise

KVD’s resident celebrity beauty artist, Daniel Chinchilla, believes the key to successful liquid liner application is all in the brush. A small, concise wand creates “easy to make smooth and precise lines exactly where you want them without worrying about lines that are too thick”. 

Slow and steady wins the race

When it comes to the application technique, Daniel recommends starting at the outer corner of your eye and creating a line that extends as far as the “end of your eyebrow”. And while we know it’s tempting to try and nail it in just one big swooping motion,  lots of little strokes along your lash line to finish it off are the key.

bh recommends: COVERGIRL Get in Line Liquid EyelinerLancôme Artliner

Make sure your liner is waterproof

Daniel recommends a waterproof formula to ensure your liner will “stay put” during application and throughout the course of the day. Waterproof liner will also ensure that any eye folds or potential rubbing won’t mess up your hard work.

For more tips from Daniel, check out his video for KVD beauty, here.

Main image credit: KVD Vegan Beauty

Do  you wear liquid liner? Will you try any of these tips?

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Comments 47

  1. I’ve never worn liquid eyeliner and probably never will. I hardly wear any eyemake up as my eyes are sensitive. I can just get away with using certain mascaras and that’s all I can wear.

  2. I don’t do cat wing eyes – gave up on that one a while ago! Sometimes a girl just has to know when to call it a day on a cat wing – that’s me, I know I’ve given up on that look altogether. It looks amazing on my 16 year old though – and she’s got nowhere to wear it but her Yr10 formal is coming up and she could wear it to that.

  3. When I started wearing makeup at 12, I wore black liquid liner & mascara because that’s what Mum wore. I just had a knack for it. At 54, I still always wear winged liner. Sometimes, if I’m getting over a migraine, I wear navy because it makes my bleary scleras look their whitest.

  4. I have never bothered with liquid eyeliner. I think i gave it a go once and messed it up so badly that I figured it wasnt for me. Im quite happy with my eyeliner pencils.

  5. The wing look takes a while to master and yes a thin, small brush really does help. Being a pale person with light brown eyebrows I do prefer dark brown mascara and eyeliner but they are hard to find in the formulas I like and made by affordable brands. I have found some brown ones which were horrific to work with.

  6. Have started using brown liquid eyeliner and under eye pencil both are waterproof, just don’t do the winged eyeliner look anymore. Have to be bold to wear red lipstick. As I tend to stick to pinky brown lipstick and blush.

    Use a thinner line and it looks lovely now my hair is more a silver grey Bob.

  7. I honestly thought that the days of wearing a dramatic eye liner were over for me. I’m 50 and thought I would just look stupid. The lady pictured in your article however looks FABULOUS. I have new hope. I already changed from black to brown in my pencil eyeliner, and haven’t tried a liquid one for years, but now I’m inspired to give it a go. Thanks bh 🙂

  8. Hmm, I have an issue with close distance with my eyes (whatever it’s called). Seeing that I would need to remove my glasses to apply the liner, I’d end up with a highly unsatisfactory result. The model looks good though.

  9. I love a great wing and I can’t see me giving it up in a hurry. I agree with all of the above and sometimes I continue up from the bottom liner with my pencil for a quick daytime flick.

  10. I honestly cannot remember the last time I did my makeup without using a liquid Eyeliner and doing a wing. I turned 43 today and don’t see myself changing that anytime soon. I just have to keep learning and adapting with makeup as my skin ages.
    For those who would love to do a wing and can’t get it to work, try a product like The Quick Flick. Literally has a wing stamp on one end and your liner on the other.

  11. I love my Maybeline Hyperglossy liquid eyeliner, I use it above my top lashes and it doesnt irritate my eyes. Ive been using it for many years now. Great when its on special for $5.50AUD or generally $10Aud. good buy tho. No gunk in my eye corner like normal pencil eyeliners