DIY Eyeliner: Try It Out Thursday
This new installment of my Try It Out Thursday deals with making your own eyeliner. If you’re not a regular eyeliner wearer or like to stick to the good old black liner you might ask yourself, what’s the point? There is a lot of point though! People with oily lids can create a custom waterproof formula that won’t budge. Those who aren’t afraid of color, like me, will have endless choices by creating eyeliners from eyeshadows in their collection.
There are several ways to create your own eyeliner. Here are a few and my thoughts on each one:
01. Mix eyeshadow(s) or pigment(s) with water: I know of many people who like this method but it’s my least favorite. Even with an eyeshadow primer, I find that eyeliner created this way fades and smudges way too quickly. You’re basically diluting the eyeshadow so wear time will be less than stellar.
02. Line your eyes with a sticky base then pat powder eyeshadow on top: This is the technique commonly used to create rainbow eyeliner. It’s less fussy because it requires no mixing. For this technique I prefer using really sticky cream products that don’t set too much (like the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils) so that they can grab onto the eyeshadow.
03. Mix eyeshadow(s), pigment(s) or glitter(s) with a makeup setting spray: Important clarification! By setting spray I mean the ones that extend the life of your makeup (like the Urban Decay All Nighter Spray, Model In A Bottle, MAC Fix+, Skindinavia Makeup Finish, etc.) not toning/refreshing face mists like the Caudalie Beauty Elixir because those will irritate your eyes. This is actually my second favorite method. It’s very easy and the results are long-lasting. All you have to do is take your eyeliner brush of choice, swirl it in your eyeshadow, and then spray your brush. Some people spray the brush before, but to prevent contamination and keep my eyeshadows free of residue I prefer to do it after.
04. Mix eyeshadows(s), pigment(s) or glitter(s) with a sealant/mixing medium/eyeliner maker: This is my favorite method. It’s not the most convenient because it involves using a product that most brands don’t make and most people don’t own. Also, you have to mix the powder with the sealant in a clean surface which means more hassle. However, it provides the best results (in my opinion) because the resulting eyeliner will not budge. You can also create your own unique shades by mixing several eyeshadows or mixing eyeshadows with glitters! Endless eyeliner possibilities. You could make any eyeliner color you dream of, even colors that no one has ever made before! (Can you tell I love makeup?) Anyway, the products you can use to do this are Make Up For Ever Aqua Seal, MAC Mixing Mediums or any other equivalents.
To create the two looks above I used MAC’s Mixing Medium in the eyeliner variety. They offer several kinds including a matte and shiny one. I like this product a lot, it yields a very very very long wearing eyeliner. However, it performs well with matte and metallic eyeshadows but when it comes to glitters it can sort of crack :/ I’d love to try the MUFE Aqua Seal as I’m sure it’s a better product (it’s more liquid whereas the Mixing Medium is a gel which makes it prone to cracking).
I hope this inspired you to experiment with makeup or gave you some ideas. That’s the purpose of my Try It Out Thursday series. Let me know if you enjoy making your own eyeliner colors as much as I do.
Want more beauty reads? Check out the Isobel‘s blog, Isobel Rose. Her latest post is a NARS Face of the Day. Also take a look at Cherry‘s blog, Cherry Pie. In her latest post she shares her favorite bath time products.
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56 Comments
Jessica
6th Feb 2014 - 2:47 pmThis is such a cool idea! I was almost out of my seat with excitement when you were talking about all the different eyeliner color combo opportunities! I think I'm going to try this one day and who knows? I may end up not having to buy a liner for every single color occasion, haha!
– Jess
The Mod Mermaid
TheBeautyMilk
8th Feb 2014 - 4:41 amYes! No need to buy a bunch of different liners. 😀 Glad you love this idea just as much as me x
maliberry
6th Feb 2014 - 2:48 pmI use Illamasqua's Sealing Gel and find it works really well with most products 🙂 x
TheBeautyMilk
8th Feb 2014 - 4:45 amI forgot about their Sealing Gel! I shall add it to the list. Thanks x
Sara Chergui
6th Feb 2014 - 2:49 pmWow the gold eye liner looks so gorgeous !
Sara,
http://thecrimeofashion.blogspot.fr
Beth
6th Feb 2014 - 2:51 pmInglot's Duraline is a good product for this!
Beth
Beth Young Makeup
TheBeautyMilk
8th Feb 2014 - 4:46 amDidn't know they made that, thanks for letting me know 😀
Ying
6th Feb 2014 - 3:02 pmYour eye make-up looks really pretty. I sometimes spray my brushes with MAC fix+ before dipping it in my eyeshadows in order to give a more intense pigmented line~
Half baked looks so pretty as an eyeliner~ Thank you for sharing, i hope you have a lovely day! <3
Ying ♥ || *- YingcBeauty-*
X x X x X
Des
6th Feb 2014 - 3:09 pmSuch a great idea! I have SO many different Eyeshadows and like Jessica said above, no need to buy a liner for every occasion!!!
Danielle O'Connell
6th Feb 2014 - 3:10 pmI've been looking to switch up my every day brown gel liner, but will definitely have a little snoop for the mixing medium the next time I'm at a MAC counter to try this instead!
Danielle · danielletc.com
Sophie
6th Feb 2014 - 3:12 pmThis is wicked <3
Carly
6th Feb 2014 - 3:32 pmThis looks amazing on you! I can't even pull off regular eyeliner very well so for now I'll stick to that, but such a fun idea 🙂
Brianna at Brikasia
6th Feb 2014 - 3:36 pmI love doing this! My favorite mixing medium is the Makeup Forever Aqua Seal. I swear, once you mix pigment with that stuff, it will not budge! Graftobian also has a similar product (I think it is called the Magic Seal or something like that? Can't remember) and it is supposed to work exactly the same as the Aqua Seal. I have it but haven't tried it out yet, but I'm sure it'll work the same!
Ana Leote
6th Feb 2014 - 3:40 pmI always love your DIYs! This one is just beautiful 🙂
xx
http://www.analeote.blogspot.com
Chelsea Leigh
6th Feb 2014 - 3:40 pmAwesome post! I have to try this!
http://www.chelsealeigh.ca/
Emily Allen
6th Feb 2014 - 4:11 pmWow I need to try this now, I love how half baked looks glad I have that eyeshadow in my naked 2 palette now :p x
EmmiHearts
Makeupbypatricia
6th Feb 2014 - 4:12 pmLOVED this! The gold was my favorite! Xo
Anonymous
6th Feb 2014 - 4:28 pmGold eyeliner looks so gorgeous on you! I need to try this <3
http://sparklyghosts.blogspot.co.uk
Zara
6th Feb 2014 - 5:09 pmAhh I love this idea <3 That way you can achieve all the colours of the rainbow without having to buy an eyeliner! <3 The navy blue colour looks amazing!!!
zaras-bowsandpearls.blogspot.co.uk
Rikki Poynter
6th Feb 2014 - 5:25 pmThat looks awesome.
RIKKI POYNTER
// RIKKI POYNTER MAKEUP
daisy walters
6th Feb 2014 - 5:38 pmyou're amazing at eyeliner!!
xxx | daisydaisyxxo
Esin D.
6th Feb 2014 - 6:15 pmI actually read how you love MAC's Mixing Medium on your blog before and got one as a Christmas present for myself and I now know why you love it so! Thank you for another gorgeous product recommendation and idea x
R Day
6th Feb 2014 - 6:20 pmGorgeous… It looks so much better than a regular glitter eyeliner!
xo, Rebecca
wednesdaypress.blogspot.com
Emily H
6th Feb 2014 - 6:38 pmThe Urban Decay liner looks gorgeous! Such a great idea! xx
Whimsicality
Carmen
6th Feb 2014 - 6:45 pmThe golden liner looks so pretty! I really need one for myself 😀
xx
Nesita
6th Feb 2014 - 6:58 pmThat brown smoky eye with Half Baked as a liner looks awesome!!
Amber Hunter
6th Feb 2014 - 6:58 pmI would never have thought of this! I've used plain eyeshadow as a liner before but you've given me so many options now. Thank you 🙂
Amber
Lovely Notions
Julie-Ann Fortune
6th Feb 2014 - 7:30 pmI have illamasqua sealing gel, I don't experiment enough! You've inspired me xx
Gabrielle Crystal ℛoseℬonniee
6th Feb 2014 - 7:32 pmLovely photos ! Great post <3 🙂
ℓα ℒιcσrηe – ℒa vie est ℓa petite ℓicorne.
* GIVEAWAY *
Bunny. I ♡
6th Feb 2014 - 8:16 pmThis looks lovely! The gold looks beautiful, need to try this next time i go out a nice change from just black liner xx
~ VISUALCANDY INC. ▲
Shereeeen ♥
6th Feb 2014 - 8:32 pmWow! You do your eyeliner beautifully. I suck at applying eyeliner so really need to start praticing 🙁 X
http://thefashion-junkie.blogspot.co.uk
Kelly
6th Feb 2014 - 8:52 pmHave you ever tried the Inglot Duraline? It's kind of an oily product that I use for lots of things. From creating colorful eyeliners to giving some new life to a somewhat dried up gel eyeliner. I think you'd really find some great purpose for that.
Kelly | secondhandspring
Lesley B
6th Feb 2014 - 9:24 pmThe Urban Decay Half Baked eyeliner you made is so beautiful! What a cool idea x
Boho Vanity
6th Feb 2014 - 9:56 pmThat gold is so pretty on you! ^-^
Jordan | Boho Vanity
Amy
6th Feb 2014 - 10:23 pmWow, Half Baked looks amazing as an eyeliner! Very impressed. I think it looks far better than a lot of coloured liners on the market! xx
jennie
7th Feb 2014 - 12:14 amI love the gold! I never would have thought of this at all!
Jennie xo | sailorjennie.com
Natalie B.
7th Feb 2014 - 2:26 amThis is such a great post! Thank-you. I'm older and have gotten away from using liner because it's a bit too harsh looking. Instead I usually use darker eye shadows to line. I'm going to try your suggestions right away! 🙂
Laura Neuzeth
7th Feb 2014 - 3:20 amHalf Baked makes such a gorgeous eyeliner! I used to use MAC's Fascinating Eye Kohl as a base back in my first years of uni to create really colorful eyeliners. I'm talking sky blue and lime green eyeliners. lol I like the result that the mixing medium gave you so maybe I'll get that in the near future. 🙂
Laura
http://www.lauraneuzeth.com
Natalie
7th Feb 2014 - 3:57 amGenius! I love how it turned out. For some reason I thought eye drops worked for turning eyeshadow into liner… Hmmm. I wonder where I got that idea from. I love the idea of making any eyeshadow into eyeliner. Oh, the possibilities!
Jannatul JFR
7th Feb 2014 - 4:43 amSo cool!
Leanne Marie
7th Feb 2014 - 8:47 amThis is such a good idea! I love it!
Leanne @ Leanne-Marie | Beauty, fashion & lifestyle. x x
Amber McNiff
7th Feb 2014 - 9:27 amgreat idea
http://www.ambermcniff.co.uk
Anonymous
7th Feb 2014 - 11:26 amGreat idea Coco! love the gold on you! looks awesome <3
Sheryll
7th Feb 2014 - 12:06 pmthe gold is just to DIE for! I've got to get my hands on the MAC mixing medium asap. I've been looking all over for a gold just like that.
http://thewanderlustproject.com
casuallyawkward
7th Feb 2014 - 8:50 pmThis is such a nifty idea and that gold looks absolutely stunning! wow!
Casualllyawkward
Jordan Alice
7th Feb 2014 - 8:55 pmThis is such a fantastic product. Half Baked looks gorgeous! x
Jordan-Alice
Kate from Clear the Way
7th Feb 2014 - 10:06 pmI have never tried this before, but I like the sound of your favorite. I can see how mixing with water wouldn't really work.
Jen27
8th Feb 2014 - 2:35 pmFun! Both variations turned out great- loving the navy liner especially! MAC Mixing Medium really is magic 🙂
-Jen
http://www.vibrantbeautyblog.com
Megan
8th Feb 2014 - 4:55 pmLove the idea of this!!! Now I need to find the perfect copper gold eyeshadow.
La-receta-de-la-belleza.blogspot.co.uk
Andreushki i
9th Feb 2014 - 5:12 amOMG, that is def on my list to buy next time I'm at mac its great way to use all your products!
andreushki.blogspot.com
drinkcitra
9th Feb 2014 - 7:23 amThanks for sharing this! I didn't realize the different techniques you could use to create your own eyeliner. Definitely will be trying a couple of these out!
SheerBeauty (Kayla)
9th Feb 2014 - 7:32 pmGreat post for me I use fix plus but I want to try Mac's mixing medium 🙂
Sandra
9th Feb 2014 - 10:10 pmSo, I guess I need to get a mixing medium… 😀
Biancarosa
12th Feb 2014 - 5:10 pmOh wow, this is such a fab idea! I loooove the gold colour! Will definitely have to try this out!
Biancarosa // xoxo
iamnare
14th Feb 2014 - 12:07 amI have a mixing medium from Bare Minerals that I use with their loose powder eyeshadows to do winged liner. However I thought I'd follow your advice and use my UD setting spray and it works incredibly! I actually prefer it to the BM Weather Everything (mixing medium) because it stays wet longer which gives me more time to work with the application. And it doesn't smudge! I also find that it is easier to work with. Thanks for the recommendation! I'm going to give the gold liner a try! 🙂
TheBeautyMilk
14th Feb 2014 - 1:45 amOh, tha is awesome!! I agree completely. My setting sprays give me more playtime and although they aren't as long lasting as a mixing medium, they are much easier to work with. Glad it worked out for you 😀