How to Put on Stacked Eyeliner
By Deanna Pai. Photos by: Emily Kemp.
On any given day, you can find me scrolling through Reddit, browsing Lord of the Rings fan theories, the Frasier subreddit, and, obviously, the site's vast network of beauty pages. (There's a land called Procrastination, and I am its queen.) That's how I stumbled across a makeup technique called stacked eyeliner, something I'd never heard of before. This wasn't really a surprise. My idea of a smoky eye is grabbing the nearest black eyeshadow and haphazardly rubbing it on my lids before calling it a day. I call it: "Lazy emo." Truthfully, it's straight-up "lazy."
I do not wear eye makeup of any significance. Ever since my skin reached a place where I felt comfortable without wearing foundation (a truly life-changing occurrence) I've done a clean sweep of my entire makeup routine, paring it down to tinted brow gel, a cursory swipe of mascara, and maybe lipstick—if I even remember. I'm okay with it, considering I'm not exactly Pat McGrath over here. I got a liver transplant two months ago, and to keep my immune system from attacking my brand-spanking-new organ, I take so many medications that I could operate a pharmacy out of my kitchen cabinet. One of them causes shaky hands—something I didn't even notice until someone helpfully pointed it out to me. (Thank you for that, resident liver transplant psychiatrist.) The tremor is so bad that liquid liner makes a cameo in my nightmares.
Despite this, I was into stacked eyeliner, which looked striking and pretty in a very minimalist way. And it didn't look like it'd require special tools or extra time—which is essential if I'm going to move from the "thinking about it" phase to the "actually doing it" part. Also necessary: An IRL pro to break down the steps for me. With the help of Chicago-based makeup artist Jenny Patinkin, I managed to re-create this look.
Step 1: First, I primed my eye area with Nyx Cosmetics Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone{: rel=nofollow} ($7). "It’s important for this look that the color of your lid be totally neutral," says Patinkin. "Visible discoloration or small capillaries will be a distraction." I used my finger to tap it on all over my lid.
Step 2: I used Make Up For Ever Aqua XL Eye Pencil in Matte Black{: rel=nofollow} ($21), a creamy, gel-like formula, to create a simple winged eye. (Although liquid would be just as good, according to Patinkin.) "Eyeliners that tug at the lid or that get smudged easily, like kohl, aren't a good option for this look, since you need a sharp, precise line," she says. The pencil made it fairly easy to draw on, in case you too err on the side of shaky.
Step 3: Then, I used a liquid liner to trace just above the black eyeliner. I went for Urban Decay Razor Sharp Water-Resistant Longwear Liquid Eyeliner in Chaos{: rel=nofollow} ($22), a rich, cobalt blue. This was the part that had worried me. I was always passable with liquid eyeliner, but with my new tremor, it seemed way more likely that I'd just drop the wand into my lap. But I managed to draw on a fairly smooth line—once I figured out that I could use one hand to steady the other, which was holding the applicator.
A few other color combinations that work well together? Black and white, black and bronze, black and teal, navy and gold, and black and silver (which is great for the holidays coming up, says Patinkin).
Step 4: Even if you happen to have a super-steady set of hands, mistakes are bound to happen. But it's not like you're doing this in permanent marker. If you can't create a perfectly smooth line, you can go back and clean it up with an angled eyeliner brush, like Sigma Beauty Small Angle Brush ($15), and an oil-free makeup remover, such as Almay Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover ($6). Dip the brush into the makeup remover and then carefully sweep it along the edge, smoothing it out. "Make sure you’re using the very tip of the brush to do this," says Patinkin. "If you drag it on its side, it’ll wipe away your primer or shadow."
The Result:
Surprisingly, the toughest part of this was having my photo taken while applying liquid eyeliner. So if you have shaky hands, or no patience for complicated smoky eyes, or just really, really love eyeliner—all totally valid reasons—try this. It is worth it.
For more eyeliner tips, check out:
The Best Tips for Wearing Bright Eyeliner
The 9 Best New Sweat-Proof Eyeliners Out There, Hands Down
9 Eyeliner Hacks That Will Change Your Life (or at Least Save You Time)
This story originally appeared on Glamour.
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