Beauty 101: "I Suck At Putting On Eyeliner"

Yesterday, I asked our commenters if there were any beauty basics they felt they just couldn’t master. The response was overwhelming, so I’ve decided we’re going to tackle one of these beauty basic bummers each weekend. Lesson #1: Eyeliner.

I was struck by the number of responses and the honest and humor in the comments: it appears that there are many of us who never really learned how to do the so-called “basics,” though we all apparently assumed that everyone else had. I guess not, eh?

So here’s how this is series is (hopefully) going to work: much like we did with constipation cures, I’m going to solicit beauty advice on specific topics from our makeup-savvy readers, and then round them up in a big, helpful post for those of us who are, uh, not as cosmetically-inclined. Over the next few weekends, we’ll be touching on hair issues, blush problems, nail woes, lipstick queries, waxing and shaving worries, and so on and so forth. Today, we’re going to concentrate on eyeliner.

While scanning the 1000+ comments left on yesterday’s Beauty 101 thread, I noticed that eyeliner popped up quite frequently as a makeup basic many women felt they just couldn’t get the hang of:

I can’t do liquid eyeliner whatsoever. Nada, not at all. The line tends to look like the Fraiser logo, and then I blink and I end up with a matching line just below my eyebrow.

I’ve never been able to apply liquid eyeliner. I always make it too thick and end up looking like Amy Winehouse.

I suck at putting on eyeliner on my eyelid. It looks horrible and I can never get it to look like a straight thick line.

I cannot do eyeliner – is it supposed to go INSIDE the outer edge of your eye? that seems so unsanitary! but if it’s outside I can’t get it close to the edge, it’s just glorified eyeshadow!

One word: eyeliner. I’m 30, and I still can’t put the stuff on.

I’ll admit that I have my own issues with eyeliner; I’ve tried tricks I’ve read in magazines, but playing “connect the dots” with the stuff usually ends up with my eyes looking like one of those maps little Billy creates by running through a panel of Family Circus. It’s…not cute.

So help your fellow Jezebels out! If you have any tips or tricks when it comes to applying eyeliner, either leave them in the comments below.

Update: Your answers have been posted!

Earlier: Beauty 101: Which Basic Beauty Skills Did You Never Quite Get The Hang Of?
The Reader’s Treasury Of Constipation Cures