New School Takes on the Old-School Cat-Eye

Consider graphic cat-eye liner as the LBD of the makeup world. It will never go out of style, can be worn in countless ways and always looks chic, no matter the eye shape. When mastered, an artfully-drawn-on winged liner can elongate your eyes, accentuate your features and create a fierce look.

However, there’s a learning curve (pun intended) to mastering the art of feline flicks, which makes it one of the most feared makeup styles. But an artist is only as good as her tools, and when you’re not working with quality products, it can leave you feeling frustrated—or like a total failure.

Besides practice, a major component to achieving a successful cat-eye liner look is a long-lasting, smudge-proof, super-smooth, highly pigmented liquid liner that won’t dare bleed. Enter L’Oréal Paris Flash Cat Eye Liner. This liner pen has a brush tip and comes with a stencil that’s built into the cap, which is an excellent winged eyeliner hack. The guide is shaped like a triangle with a single-size cut-out for a wing, or you can use the other flat sides to create a straight line.

Once you have some practice painting on the universally loved winged liner—with the right tools—consider mixing things up. Over the past few fashion seasons, the runways have shown us countless ways to be creative with liquid liner. Here are our favourite new takes on the classic makeup look and how to apply them using liquid eyeliner.

Punctuate your liner

If you adore graphic winged liner, try dropping a dot beneath each eye. The small circles add a touch of whimsy to your liner look while making your eyes seem bigger and brighter in a way that’s subtler than you might expect.

Get the look

1. Keep the rest of your eye makeup Add a neutral wash of colour on lids and skip the liner, eyeshadow and mascara on your lower lash line.
2. Apply mascara to the top lashes, and draw on simple cat-eye flicks using L’Oréal Paris Flash Cat Eye Liner. If you need guidance, use the stencil to get sharp flicks.
3. Add a small dot using the firm, narrow tip of the liquid eyeliner pen. Press the tip just below the centre of the lash line, aiming for beneath the pupils. Once you’re happy with the placement, twist the pen on the spot; this should leave you with a solid dark dot.

The floating crease

When you hit the refresh button on the classic crease eyeliner trend (which hearkens back to the ’60s) and add a New Age spin, you’ll discover the floating crease. Tutorials of this fresh and minimal iteration are sweeping Instagram and YouTube. We love it because it’s graphic and simple, not heavily blended and layered.

Get the look

1. Dust on a neutral matte eyeshadow. If you have oily lids, apply an eye primer before the eyeshadow. Then apply mascara on your top lashes.
2. When creating this look, placement is key. Keeping your chin up, look down into your mirror so that you have a clear view of your socket. Using a kohl liner, draw along the crease of the eye rather than the lash line.
3. Once you’re happy with the placement, trace over the kohl liner with L’Oréal Paris Flash Cat Eye Liner. If you’re feeling risky, try a coloured liquid liner.

Negative space

If you’re looking for something a little edgier, try your hand at a negative space cat-eye. This look is all about creating the outline of a cat-eye without filling in the lines.

Get the look

1. Curl your eyelashes before adding generous coats of mascara on the top and bottom to frame the look. On the lids, blend in a neutral matte or champagne-toned
2. Draw on a thick band of L’Oréal Paris Flash Cat Eye Liner in black along the lash line, flicking it up and out toward the crease. If you’re struggling, use the stencil or start lining the mid-lash line and working your way out in a series of short dashes, building the line as you go.
3. Using the tip of the liner, draw a short, thin stroke from the outer corner of the band toward the eye’s crease area; this will create a fierce triangle effect.