A retro flick or a full on cat’s eye? Thin and defined, or smoky and metallic? This season, why stick to your tried and true eyeliner application when there are so many ways you can play around with it to create a whole new look. Whichever style you choose to try, it’s all about customizing the trend to suit your face, says Tony Masciangelo, hair and makeup artist with Page One Management in Toronto. Here are five of our favourite ways and makeup tips to help you can play up your eyes with liner this season.

Make it metallic

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Altuzarra fall/winter 2012

You could say this look is for the more adventurous women but Masciangelo believes it can be worn by most of us as long as you adapt it to suit your face. Here are his makeup tips for this liner look. If you have a heavier brow bone, for example, don’t bring the eye shadow up to the brow, he says. “You still get the essence of the look without exactly copying it,” he says. And make it even more wearable (if bright metallic liner scares you) by opting for warm neutral shades of metallic liner. Think browns and golds.

Thin is in

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Stella McCartney fall/winter 2012

“This look is perfect for the holidays. It’s more girl-like but you can vamp it up with a darker lip colour,” says Masciangelo. To get the best thin line, pull eyelid skin upward to get the smoothest line. If you’re more experienced with makeup application, he suggests using a liquid eyeliner, while more mature women with less firmness to the skin may want to opt for using a black eyeshadow powder instead, smoking it out to give the liner a bit of an ombré effect to soften the look.

Fully lined

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Erdem fall/winter 2012

Fill in the whole top of lid and inside the crease and then soften the edges with your finger, a Q-tip or brush, says Masciangelo for this heavier eyeliner look. By making it softer and smoky, it’s more fashion-y, he says. And if you don’t feel that you look good with liner underneath (“some women with darker skin tones, eyeliner underneath can look like a shadow, making the eye area look even darker,” he says). If you don’t find liner on the top and bottom flattering on you, keep your eyeshadow up to the crease but balance the look with lots of mascara to keep the look airy and light, but still defined.

More makeup tips for the best eyeliner looks on the next page…

Feeling catty

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Adam fall/winter 2012

This version is almost half cat’s eye, making it sharper and more modern, says Masciangelo. You can best achieve this look with a black eyeshadow and using a wet angle brush to get the sharpest, cleanest line while achieving a slightly powdery look. If this look is too heavy for you, try lining your eyes top and bottom and then just adding a retro flick out to extend your liner slightly.

Draw the line

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DKNY fall/winter 2012

This may come off as something only runway-appropriate but if you don’t go as dark in real life with the look, it’s very pretty and wearable, says Masciangelo. He suggests trying it in a lighter, organic tone (such as a brown or shimmer tone in camel or cappuccino). To apply, using your finger or a medium to large shadow brush, deposit the colour at the centre of the lid to start and then extend the colour outwards so it becomes more of a wash of colour as you work the eyeliner shape to the outer corners.

Read more:
Fall beauty: Must-have blush
Beauty shop: Metallic eye essentials

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