Eyeliner Series Day 1: Pencil Eyeliner and How to Tightline!

Let me just start by saying that I have a severe love-hate relationship with pencil liner. I consider it the easiest and most convenient liner to carry around. Just for clarification, when I say pencil liner, I mean a made-of-wood, you need an eraser to sharpen it pencil liner, not one of those twist tops (I'll be talking about those tomorrow). Also, for those of you who want to skip my boring narrative and get straight to the application instructions, just scroll down to the passage underneath the image.

Seriously, a good color liner can do everything- brow touchups, lip touchups (as a liner or base), and it even makes a decent contour base in dark brown. Oh, and don't forget lining the eyes. You can use it for that, too. I especially love pencil liner for tightlining (lining the water lines). It doesn't run into my eyes like other types of liners and I find that I have more control over the amount of color I put on with pencil.

I think pencil liner is one of the most versatile beauty tools out there. Problem is, it never stays on my skin as long as other liners. Maybe it's because I have oily skin why the liner seems to rub off so quickly but, even with a primer and foundation, I lose my liner within two or three hours. I refuse to give up on it, however, pencil liners have too much possibility for me to swear off them forever. Maybe next time I'll try an anti-shine serum, primer, AND foundation and see how that works. Wish me luck!

How to apply pencil liner:
Eyelid:
A great way to apply this liner involves both hands. Use one to pull the edges of the lid slightly outwards and the other to run the pencil back and forth over the lid, making sure to stay close to the last line. The reason this is one of my favorite methods is because pencils tend to go on lighter than other liners I've used, so I find that I have to run back and forth to get a sufficient amount of color on my eye. The straight line method is quick, easy, and great for thicker lines, which is mostly what I use pencil liners for anyway.

Tightlining:
My absolute favorite thing to do with pencil liner is tightlining (definition above), it can make your look more dramatic, colorful, seductive, or whatever you're going for.  Here's a video I love that teaches you about tightlining; it's by Petrilude who is one of my favorite youtube makeup gurus.

Basically, you want to keep your lining hand steady and you can use the other hand to tug on your eye to make it easier to apply. I'm a super multitasker so I hate using two hands for something I only need one for. So, anyway, keep your lining hand steady and run the side of the pencil back and forth over your waterline, being careful not to come into contact with your actual eye.
Tip: I've found it a bit easier to look in the opposite direction of where I tightline. This means looking up if you're lining the bottom and up if you're lining the top.

That's all I have for this post. Check back tomorrow for my post on twist-top pencil liners, and maybe another if the post is too short!

Besos,
Twisted

Questions of the Day:
1. How do you feel about pencil liners? Do you use them for multiple things like me?
2. Do you like tightlining?
3. And, finally, did this post teach you anything or rehash anything you may have learned before? Answer in the comments, please :).