Here’s a questions from on of my readers

“I read your ‘Professional Image’ blog, and in it you mentioned that I shouldn’t wear eyeliner to work, but when I look at myself without it I feel like my eyes disappear. What can I do to make my eyes stand out without looking like I’m wearing too much make-up?”

Now that we’ve addressed our eyeliner separation anxiety, there is a technique of eyelining that is more subtle and natural. It will give your eyes that little bit of that definition that you crave, but no one will even know you’re wearing it!

It’s Called Tightlining, and it's becoming more and more popular lately.

This can be tricky as you carefully smudge a thin line of eyeliner only onto the lashline without going under (making it look unnatural) or over (into the membrane of the eye which can cause irritation or infection). When done correctly, it will look like you have a thick dark lashline, not like you are wearing eyeliner.

Here’s how to do it:
- First choose one of the product choices below:
This is a delicate area. You do not want to use something that requires a lot of pressure, as this may cause tearing, making the application virtually impossible.
1. Kohl eyeliner pencil: this is a soft pencil that transfers the product more easily than a traditional eye pencil. (definitely my first choice)
2. black or gray eyeshadow and a fine brush. Smashbox eyeshadows are great for lining because of their creamy texture. They’re not powdery so you won’t get any remnants falling under your eye.
3. You can use liquid eyeliner, but it creates a harsher look and tends to get a little messy.
- You will want to do the tightlining before you apply any eyeshadow.
- Top eyelid Use finger to pull top eyelid up and smudge liner just into the area where your eyelashes and eyelid meet.
- Bottom eyelid Use finger to pull bottom eyelid down and repeat - Do not extend liner to the inner corner and do not bring liner to meet in the outer corner, this may cause your eye to appear smaller.
- Now apply your eyeshadow and mascara.

For those of us eyeliner pros who can practically apply it in our sleep, this shouldn’t be too difficult, but if you’re having trouble getting a good line, try the following techniques:
- use small dashes instead of trying one full line.
- try dotting liner on in between lashes, this will give the same effect.

Send your beauty questions to pamperpartiespgh.webs.com and I’ll answer them in my next blog.

Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for another dose of the beauty blog!

Oh, and happy lining!

Thanks,
Bethany