Precision is OUT....at least for now!
The 90’s are back, and with vengeance. The flannels, the crop tops, (my mom calls them Cop-Tops sooo…there’s that,) the cutoffs and the MAKEUP. A few weeks back, you might have read about my new FAVE trend that’s ruling and reigning at the moment: Brown! Brown shadows, liners, blushes and brown lips are so fab, so 90’s and so TLC-of us to embrace. (The girl-group dancing in satin-Pj’s…not the channel.) But on top of the brown-phenomenon, another 90’s makeup throwback is showing back up on the scene. Not only does it look great and fashionable, but it’s releasing women everywhere from the pressure of having to have “perfect” makeup!!
High five, high five, high five.
Smudged eyeliner and shadow are the latest in a slew of fab makeup trends that are randomly popping up in the last couple of months. Some might say it’s never gone out of style…but for those Pinterest-obsessed girls who LOVE a solid, sharp winged liner?? This is for YOU. Precision and perfection when it comes to a “wing” are gorgeous and photograph so lovely, and yet at the same time, make many women have a love-hate relationship with their liquid liners. I swear, I bet 9 out of 10 women assume that everyone BUT THEM has this magical, secret-trick to perfecting eyeliner that somehow they’ve missed. Tons of women ask me how to get it right, how to get it even and how to just plain keep it in one spot all day. I hear you, I sympathize, and have days where the eyeliner struggle is SO real. Trust.
But this season, you can hit pause on that 10-minute wannabe cat-eye fiasco in the morning and REST in the smudged-liner trend. A messier eye-line is so in and even better, so easy.
How to achieve it? You’ll need:
The right brush: My fave? I dig MAC’s #219 Pencil Brush. It’s small and comes to a point, which will make softening your liner or eyeshadow super easy and quick. Honorable mention: if you don’t want to take the plunge and use a brush like the 219, you can use an angle brush in it’s place to get a general idea. The angle brush won’t quite give you the same look, but it’ll help you see the direction that the smudge-brush will take you in!
A soft-liner: Don’t attempt using your waterproof eyeliner for this trend. Chances are, it’ll dry before you actually get a chance to smudge it or move it around and then you’ll be left thinking something is wrong with your blending capabilities. Don’t fret: you’re normal and those won’t work. Look for a soft-liner. Any soft-touch pencil, Kohl or cream pencil should work well.
A matte-eyeshadow: If it’s matte, great quality AND you pack it onto an eyeshadow base that’ll hold everything in place all day?? A matte shadow will work! This is probably the best way to try the look out with different shades without having to buy a bunch of new product. After all, who doesn’t have a multitude of shadow-palettes lying around?
A finger: Let’s be real. We’ve been using our fingers to apply makeup for years and for a trend like this, it doesn’t have to be any different. While I LOVE the control and look that a brush will provide, your ring-finger can be used as a last-ditch effort to smudge-out your liner, for free!
Does all of this sound scary?? Pause. You def don’t have to use a black shadow or liner for this look. I’ve been using, (you guessed it,) TONS of browns, bronzes and caramel shades to achieve this look in a “softer-than-black” kind of way, but with an obvious pop. With a neutral brown shade smudged across your lash-line but still paired with black mascara, everything still pops as it’s supposed to yet in a subtle way for Fall. Promise. Ease into this look by trying it with softer colors first. Not only will this give you lots of versatility when it comes to color options and different looks, but it’ll give you confidence when you’re ready to take the plunge on a darrrrrrk color.
Extra Tip: Smudge your lower-liner too! Want to give you eyes that smoky-look without having to apply tons and tons of shadow? Use a soft brown as a liner for top and bottom then brush it out. Not only will you not have to check to make sure it isn’t smudging all day, (you already did that when you applied it,) but it’ll be a high-impact look for a fraction of the time AND product.
Instead of worrying about your perfect cat-eye tomorrow morning, put your liquid aside and give the smudged-look a try. You’ll be tracking with the 90’s comeback, look way chic and save yourself some serious time in the AM.
Try it, love it, tag me @makeupwithme_!!
Xx
