This winged eyeliner hack will change your life

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(Image credit: lambada/Getty Images)

published 4 December 20

Bobby pins are like Spanx - they keep everything hoicked up. But we never thought they could also create the slickest winged eyeliner look we've ever come across.

According to a TikTok video posted by @annnakra, a professional makeup artist, all you need is a bobby pin and a liquid eyeliner to stamp the outline of a cat eye flick on the corner of your eyes.

Suddenly in 15 short seconds our make-up world stopped spinning on its axis. THIS is all it takes to get perfect symmetrical wings when you have an overactive eyelid and unsteady hand? Seriously?

@annnakra (opens in new tab)
Новая кисть ELAN.NET.UA идеально рисует стрелки ❤️
♬ оригинальный звук - Kravchenko Anna (opens in new tab)

Some pointers to get you started. We recommend you use a heavily pigmented liquid eyeliner that comes in a brush rather than felt tip pen format as there will be more product to deposit onto the bobby pin.

There's nothing to say your liquid eyeliner has to be black, though - a slash of bright liner can look just as chic.

Overall, matte liners create a more dramatic effect; metallic textures are softer. Purple flatters all eye colours while gold looks particularly stand out on dark skin.

Then, you simply coat the open end of the bobby pin in liner. Line up the bobby pin to the outer corner of your eye, making sure your flick doesn't dip below the lower lash line as this can drag the area down.

Press down - and voila, a hollowed out winged shape! Extend it if you like, colour it in and repeat on the other eye.

Consider this the equivalent of cookie-cutter winged eyeliner as the bobby pin will mirror the exact same shape and size of cat eye flick on the opposite eye.

Then all that's left to do is to draw along the lash line to join up the wing to the inner corner of your eye. Make-up artist, James Molloy (opens in new tab)recommends taking the liner as close to the lashes as possible.

"If it still looks gappy, take a black kohl eye pencil and use it to tightline and fill in any areas where you skin is showing through," he says. "This has the added benefit of making your lashes look fuller."

One word: genius. Especially now that Ariana Grande (opens in new tab)has made 60s liner go viral.

Fiona Embleton

Fiona Embleton is a multi-award-winning beauty editor who has tested over 10,000 products in her 10 years + of writing and shooting beauty stories. For the past four years, she was the Senior Beauty Editor at Marie Claire, having previously worked in the role of Beauty Editor at both Stylist and Cosmopolitan. She has recently gone freelance and alongside My Imperfect Life, she has written for titles including ELLE UK, ELLE Canada, Buro 247, Harper's Bazaar Arabia, Vogue Scandinavia, and ES Magazine. Beauty journalism allowed her to marry up her first-class degree in English Literature and Language (she’s a stickler for grammar and a self-confessed ingredients geek) with a passion for make-up and skincare, photography, and catwalk trends. She loves jumping on the latest internet-breaking beauty news, dissecting the best red carpet looks, and having the crème de la crème of dermatologists, make-up artists, and hairstylists on speed dial so she can tap them for the best advice. She’s a discerning beauty shopper and knows it can be confusing trying to navigate what’s hype and what really works. So if she really likes something, you can trust that she has reached that opinion by vetting it against everything else she’s ever tried. Her career highs? Interviewing Cate Blanchett and winning a Jasmine Award for the deeply personal feature Cancer Stole My Mother’s Scent.

This winged eyeliner hack will change your life

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