Nope. You’re not imagining it. Blue eyeliner is cool again and you might be thinking of giving it a go.
Replacing the traditional dark ‘smoky eye’ on red carpets and on influencers, there’s something simple but effortlessly trendy about a woman wearing a flick of bright blue eyeliner.
But as anyone who’s tried to master any form of eyeliner before would know, there’s nothing bloody simple about it. (Here’s a handy video tutorial on eyeliner hacks below, post continues after video.)
Scroll through the hashtag #blueeyeliner on Instagram and you’ll see so many different shades and styles of blue eyeliner, from crisp wings and smudged lines to geometric patterns no number of YouTube tutorials could help us master.
Sure, some of these looks are more works of art than a casual weekday office look, but you better believe you can wear blue eyeliner in real life if you want to.
Here’s exactly how, plus nine great blue eyeliners to get you started.
How to wear blue eyeliner in real life.
How you wear blue eyeliner is up to you, your mood and what you feel comfortable with.
Although you might look at it and think ‘she’s a bit bright’, a punchy cobalt blue is one of the easiest shades of blue to wear. For something more subtle or closer to your standard black eyeliner, try swapping in a navy. Teal, denim and powder blues also look chic but can be trickier to pull off.
‘That’s great, but what do I wear blue eyeliner with?’ you ask.
Doing either a bold eye or a bold lip (but never together!!!) is the oldest makeup rule in the book, but frankly, we’ve moved on.
Honestly, I reckon you can wear blue eyeliner with anything. You could wear it with a cream peach product on your lips and cheeks or a bright fuchsia lipstick. You could also wear blue eyeliner with a nude lipstick and bronzer, or a clear lip balm.
If you’re looking for a rule to grasp on to, blues do look lovely worn with colours with a peach or pink undertone. Here’s how I wore the new Fenty Beauty Flypencil Longwear Pencil Eyeliner in Sea About It ($33).
What if I'm crap at eyeliner?
Same. No one came out the womb with perfect winged eyeliner. But in all seriousness, there's one easy trick you can use to wear blue eyeliner if you don't feel confident applying it.
That trick is blending your eyeliner, which is code for smudging it as if you did it that way on purpose. On the occasion you nail your eyeliner on one side and royally eff it up on the other, use a Q-Tip or a small blending brush (some eyeliners come with a teeny sponge on the end, you could use that, too) to smudge the line upwards and outwards.
The result is a more relaxed, faded finish that adds just enough of a pop of colour to make your everyday makeup look edgy.
Best blue eyeliners.
Hopefully, by this stage I've convinced you to give blue eyeliner a go.
Should you choose to accept the challenge, here are some great blue eyeliners in different shades and formulas that fit into all budgets.
- Revlon So Fierce Vinyl Eyeliner in Cobalt Blue, $23.95.
- Maybelline Tattoo Liner Gel Pencil, $14.95.
- Charlotte Tilbury Rock ‘n’ Kohl Eyeliner in Marlene Midnight, $43.
- Fenty Beauty Flypencil Longwear Pencil Eyeliner, $33.
- The Quick Flick in Blue Velvet, $34.99.
- MECCA MAX Zoom Shadow Stick in Teal, $18.
- Clarins Waterproof Eye Pencil in Blue Orchid, $38.
- STILA Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Bluefin, $34.
- Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Eyeliner, $10.95.
Feature image: Supplied/@theamyclark.
Would you try blue eyeliner? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
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