How to Get Sexy, Lived-In Makeup—Without Sleeping in Your Liner
Is there anything sexier than slightly undone, smudgy eye makeup? While sleeping in your makeup might be the most natural way to get your liner looking lived-in, we’ll pass on potentially compromising our skin and eye health, thanks. Luckily, there’s another alternative to getting a smudgy liner look without going to bed with a face full of spackle. We talked to celebrity makeup artist Jamie Greenberg—you know, the woman behind some of Kaley Cuoco‘s best looks ever—and got all the details on exactly to fake that lived-in look.
First, Line Your Lash Line and the Waterline.
With a brown or black eyeliner pencil in hand, start by lining your top and bottom waterlines. Greenberg says some of her favorite pencils include MAC Cosmetics Kohl Power Eye Pencil in Feline ($16.50, maccosmetics.com) and Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion ($20, urbandecay.com)—so you can take your pick.
Next, take your pencil and line your lash lines—Greenberg says you should be filling in the spaces between your lashes. “Then, take your finger or a smudge brush and move back and forth, slowly blending them out,” she explains. Keep smudging until you get the look you like.
Use Eyeshadow to Enhance the Look.
You’re not finished after you smudge your liner. The next step is to take a brown or black shadow and press it on top of your smudged liner—this sets the liner and softens it out even more. And if that’s not enough for you? “Take it one step further and take the smallest amout of Vaseline ($3.69, target.com) and dab and smudge with that, too.” And this goes without saying, but do be mindful that you don’t get it in your eyes!
Keep Everything Else Natural.
Jamie says that the eyes should be the only messy part about the overall look—so keep everything else on your face sleek and minimalist. She suggests using a lip stain for the lips and using a bit of highlighter and blush on the cheeks. Cheek and lip tints work wonders in this scenario—she loves Stila Convertible Color ($25, stilacosmetics.com), and we can vouch for Burberry’s Lip and Cheek Bloom ($30, nordstorm.com). Finish off by brushing your brows up, and voila! You’re embracing your inner babe.
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