Thoughts on Tightlining and Lining the Water Line

[#1]

Tightlining and lining the water line (or does the term apply to both?) are two things that I don't know much about.  I've played around for, but that's pretty much it.  I tried the Buxom tightlining liner, but it tickled and burned my eyes.  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry lol.  I've used my waterproof flash Sephora liner in Flashy Green on my waterline and it didn't bug me, but I couldn't tightline with it.

I'm wanting to experiment more with this technique, and I would love to hear your suggestions or thoughts on the technique.  I really want to tightline with a black liner since I have deep set eyes (small lid, deep crease it seems like).  When I use black normally, I have to make sure it's a thin line.  If not, it does not look right whatsoever.  Perhaps tightlining would be best then?

[#2]

Hey Kimmi, I know what you mean about the "tickling" sensation! And here I thought I was the only one, haha. For tightlining, I use a creamy kohl liner. Right now I am using MUFE aqua liner in black. I usually just use whatever kohl liner sample I have on hand (I seem to accumulate a lot of black sample liners). I find the smaller size easier to manipulate. Just something to keep in mind.

[#3]

Kimmi, you've already gotten great advice, I read this post because I too only recently ventured into the world of tightlining. I would definitely say that the others are right about the pencil you use.  I own mostly urban decay eyeliners and a few sephora brand and between the two, I can only use the UB to tightline.  If I try to use the Sephora brand my eyes begin to irritate me and water.  Now that the Sephora expert has suggested it, I might try the Kat Von D in the future to see if I get better results than the UD. Good luck. :-)

[#4]

HI kimmi,

Tightlining and lining the waterline are very similiar. Lining the waterline refers to applying eyeliner to the lower lashline, where as tightlining is for the upper waterline. I love tightling, it provides my eyes with more definition while giving the illusion that my lashes are fuller. It does take a steady hand an a bit of practice to master since the waterline is a very sensitive area. I would recommend using a soft liner, like Kat Von D's Autograph Pencil which contains cottonseed oil an ingredient will softens and conditions the delicate lash line. My waterline is also very sensitive and I find that this is one of the more gentle pencils out there.  

[#5]

Thank you both for your info!  Since my nearby Sephora in JCP has the Kat Von D products, I'll have to look into her liners.  I love her eyeshadows and lipsticks, so I'm willing to bet I'll like her liners as well.

[#6]

Tightlining and lining the water line are different. If your eyes are sensitive or tear up, tightlining is probably better for you. I tend not to line the water line unless using a kohl pencil (make sure the pencil and your hands are clean of course; pencils work better in the inner rim than a powder or cream)..I like the YSL CRAYON YEUX HAUTE TENUE - Long-Lasting Eye Pencil for this purpose. A lot of makeup artists feel like a smokey eye isn't complete unless you line the inner rim...you could also use a flesh colored pencil if you want a softer look or to make the eyes look brighter.

Below is info on Tightlining. You can use a pencil for this also (or cream, powder, etc)...mainly a technique of getting the color between the lashes to make them look thicker and make the eyes look bigger. You can also try this AFTER applying mascara (also a good tip for a cat eye or smokey eye) to get a better gauge of the curve of your eye, which is enhanced with mascara.

TIGHTLINING

One very long lasting way to line the eyes would be to use Laura Mercier Eye Liner (Cake Eyeliner) along with her Flat Eye Liner Brush. Wet the brush and then mix the water on the brush with the Eye Liner until you have a consistency similar to shoe polish. Then wiggle the brush in between the lashes (not on the water line, rather under this but between the lashes on the lower lash line, and also onto the lid). Basically try and get as close as possible to the lash line, and try not to create a thick line, but rather just polished definition in the eye area.

Hope this helps!

-Theresa