Nothing, as gel eyeliner is often the last thing you apply to your eyelid when doing your makeup. Eyeliner can be difficult to apply, so you might be tempted to apply it before your eyeshadow so that you don’t ruin all that hard work.
However, applying eyeshadow over gel eyeliner can smudge it and dull its color. Applying your eyeliner over the top of the eyeshadow completes the look without ruining it.
Before starting: I’d suggest you make sure you know the real difference between luqid and pencil eyeliner.
If your gel eyeliner has trouble drying down, you can use a small amount of translucent powder over the top of it to keep it in place. However, this can also lessen the boldness of the color. Instead, you might want to use a black eyeshadow to set your eyeliner.
If your gel eyeliner dries down well on its own, the only thing you’ll need to put on it is a setting spray when finalizing your makeup look.
Should you wet your brush before using gel eyeliner?
Nope, gel eyeliner is slick enough and doesn’t need any more liquid before applying it to your eye. The only reason why you might add water to your eyeliner is if it was dried up and old. However, if this is the case we might suggest buying a new eyeliner.
Adding water to gel eyeliner can make it less opaque and harder to apply. Use the eyeliner how it was intended – with a dry brush!
How do you put on gel eyeliner?
Gel eyeliner is easy and smooth to apply, making it one of the most popular types of eyeliner to use for beginners. However, just like with any type of eyeliner, practice makes perfect. Many people consider eyeliner to be the most difficult makeup application to master, so don’t worry – you’re not alone.
Below is a step-by-step guide on how you can apply your gel eyeliner perfectly every single time.
Step One: Prepare your canvas
Before jumping right into the eyeliner, you need to make sure that your eyelid is clean and clear of all makeup and oils. Once you get the hang of gel eyeliner you can apply it over eyeshadow, but while learning it’s best to use a clear base.
Use a makeup remover to remove all dirt and debris. Allow this to dry down before applying any eyeliner over the top of it.
Step Two: Dip right in!
Use an angled brush with a clean line to apply your eyeliner. Make sure that there are no stray hairs flying out of the brush and that it’s not frayed. This will leave you with unclean lines and make your eyeliner look messy.
A wider textured brush will be best for smoky eyeliner while a thin brush will be best for clean eyeliner application. The brush you use will be dependent on your personal preference.
Once you’ve found the perfect brush for your gel eyeliner, dip it into your gel eyeliner pot and ensure that both sides are coated. Run the brush over the back of your hand a few times so that you remove any excess product.
Step Three: Line your eye
Place your brush as close to your lash line as possible in the middle of your eye and draw a thin line towards the outer corner of your eye. Now take the brush to the inner corner of your eye and draw a thin line to connect to your first line.
You should now have a thin line of eyeliner from the inner corner of your eye to the outer corner, right up against the lash line. If you don’t want to draw a wing you can leave your eyeliner here and move onto step four.
However, if you want to draw a wing, position the brush where you want the tip of your wing to start with the angled tip at the top. Glide the brush down towards the outer corner of your eye, rotating it slowly so that the tip of the angled brush meets the end of your initial line.
Rotating the brush like this allows the bristles to make the wing thicker as it gets nearer your eye.
Step Four: Build your eyeliner up
You should now have a translucent wing and a thin line of eyeliner near your lashes. Dip back into your eyeliner pot and reapply a second coat to build up the color and make it look more dramatic.
You might also need to connect the wing to the initial line by making it slightly thicker. Keep working on your eyeliner until you’re happy with the result. Take your time, though, so that you don’t go overboard and make your eyeliner too thick.
Step Five: Do it all again!
Yay – you’ve just completed your eyeliner on one eye… but there’s another eye that is looking extremely bare right now. Take a deep breath, dip your brush, and repeat the process all over again. Try and make the second eye look as similar to the first eye as possible.
Where do you apply gel eyeliner?
Gel eyeliner is traditionally thought of as a makeup product for your eye. It can be applied on top of the eyelid, right alongside your eyelashes, to accentuate the lashes and give your eyes a bolder look.
You can also use gel eyeliner in the waterline, and many people find that they’re much more comfortable than applying a traditional pencil eyeliner to the waterline. The gel feels more moisturizing and less scratchy. It can also last longer than pencil eyeliner.
It is possible to apply the gel eyeliner to below your eye underneath your bottom lashes. However, the gel eyeliner might be slightly too bold for some people to use here. It is also more likely to smudge throughout the day here and ruin your makeup look.
Some people use gel eyeliner over the rest of their face, either to draw small tokens on their faces or even fake freckles. You can also use gel eyeliner to fill in your eyebrows if you’re in a pinch or line your lips before applying lipstick.
Gel eyeliner can be applied all over the face, not just the eyes! However, this is the most common place to apply gel eyeliner.
