Liquid eyeliner made easy(ish)

So, lots of people seem to have trouble using liquid eyeliner, myself included :P However, it does have it's advantages against pencil liner:

LIQUID EYELINER
Pros: great for precision lines, deeper/darker color, lasts longer, can be used for intricate designs
Cons: can be a pain to apply, has to dry first, smudges easily when still wet




PENCIL EYELINER
Pros: great for everyday lining, smudges nicely for smokey eyes, easier to apply, can be used to make precision lines if sharpened
Cons: smudges easily, doesn't last as long, color isn't as deep/darkSo anyway, if you're not good with applying liquid eyeliner like me, you can try this method, which I've found is waaay easier than just straight-up liquid lining.


LIQUID LINING MADE EASY(ISH)

What you need:
• Black liquid eyeliner
• Black/gray pencil eyeliner

What to do:

• Line your lashline with your pencil liner, as you would normally, except try to make it a thin, light line (sharpen your pencil)

• Extend the line slightly past the outer corner of your lashline. Make sure it tapers off nicely to a point.

• Now that you have a "template," it'll make it MUCH EASIER to use your liquid liner to TRACE over the pencil line. This gives the line a lot more precision and also makes it darker.

• Trace over the line completely, and make sure you make the end point taper off nicely again. I usually line from the middle to the outer corner point, and then from the tip of the point back to the middle and inner corner, but you can do whatever you are comfortable with.

• If you smudge with the liquid liner, make sure to wipe it off quickly and thoroughly before it dries or else you'll have to use makeup remover to get it off. BUT you can do touchups on small smudges ones you're done using a little makeup remover on a q-tip.

And you're done! Just remember, the key with liquid eyeliner is PRACTICE & PATIENCE (: I'm looking into different kinds of liquid eyeliner (mine is from Long's Drugs, was super cheap, but creates a nice line) but the specific style that caught my attention was a pen-style applicator. It seems that it would be A LOT easier to use:

However, the ones I was looking at are hella expensive. The first one I wanted is from Shu Uemura, and you have to pay separate for the cartridge and the applicator (both ~$18). The second one I wanted is from Stila, which is ~$16 from a retailer. If I purchase later, I'll do a review on this type of applicator.