How to Do Winged Eyeliner

There’s really nothing more classic than a winged eyeliner look, commonly referred to as the 'cat eye.' It’s such a sleek, clean look, but it can be difficult to achieve without the proper technique. And really, what is the proper technique? The truth is...there isn’t one. There are many! There are all sorts of techniques people use to create a winged eye. But I'm going to show you my way of getting the winged eye look below.

Here’s my step-by-step guide for how I create a winged eye. We also created a super Pin-able graphic below with all the photos to make it even easier for you to remember. Just scroll down to get the perfect-for-Pinterest graphic! My personal favorite liner to work with is the Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner. It’s a waterproof liquid liner pen that’s easy to use and always produces beautiful results.

While some people like to start right at the inner corner of the eye, I personally like to start at the outer end, creating somewhat of a blueprint before I commit to drawing the entire line. I begin by drawing a diagonal line from the corner of my eye about halfway up toward the end of my eyebrow. This helps me map out the specific angle and shape of that flirty flick!

Next, I like to create the entire ‘flick’ shape by drawing another line that meets with the first line to create a point. It’s best to draw this shape first and make sure you’re happy with it; if you’re not, you haven’t gone too far yet and you can erase and start over.

Now that I’m happy with the shape, I’m going to go into the inner corner of my eye and begin drawing a line that extends all the way over to meet that second line I drew, finalizing the overall shape of my winged liner. Here’s a tip: When you’re drawing along your lash line, let the pen or brush fluidly move along the curve of your eyeball. This way you’ll create the perfect liner that suits the shape of your eye.

All that’s left now is to color in this shape I’ve created! I’m always careful to press the pen into my lash line really well so there are no gaps between my lashes and the liner.

Sometimes you’ll find there are jagged parts of the liner that aren’t entirely smooth. No biggie! Here’s what I like to do to smooth out the line and erase any mistakes: I take a very small liner brush and rub it into a makeup remover wipe, then I go in and clean up anything I need to with the brush. Repeat as many times as you need to for a super clean liner.

Here's the Pin-able version of this winged eyeliner technique with all the step-by-step photos!