6 hacks for perfect winged eyeliner

Winged eyeliner is one of those beauty basics that sounds amazing in theory, but can cause serious anxiety. Now the wings can only go two ways: make you look like an angel (the expectation) or an angel of death (the reality). But if you want to soar and not sink, here are five easy ways to get it right…

1. If you’re new to winged liner, start with a pencil first. A pencil eyeliner is easy to apply, but it doesn’t spread as smoothly or thickly as gel or liquid liners. But that’s a good thing for winged liner virgins, because you can control the spread.

2. Don’t think wings, think a triangle. A perfect cat eye is actually a triangle. Decide the shape of your wing. Draw a dotted line before colouring it in, just like a sketchbook.

3. Use scotch tape. Put a piece of clear tape starting from the inner corner of your eyelid, going out at an angle. Get another short piece and put it below your bottom lashes at an angle, joining the two tapes. Now fill in the space. Pull it off and your perfect winged eyeliner is done.

4. The shaky hand struggle is real. But tackle it in three easy steps.

Step 1: Sit down.
Step 2: Place your elbow on a flat surface.
Step 3: Rest your pinkie on your cheek to stabilise your hand.

5. Keep a makeup remover-soaked cotton swab handy for any mishaps.

6. Concealer to the rescue. Any liner mishaps can be taken care of with a dab of primer or concealer that can fix the smudges.