Honestly? I always thought putting eyeliner on the bottom lid was a disaster waiting to happen. Made me look tired or like I got punched. But hey, saw a picture, loved the look, and decided to actually try doing it myself. Without the mess.
The Total Fail Attempt First
Grabbed my usual black pencil liner one random Tuesday morning before work. Just tried to scribble it along the waterline, like I saw on some video ages ago. Big mistake. Blinked maybe twice? Yeah. Ended up with these weird smudges underneath my eyes. Looked like a sleepy raccoon had attacked me. Even tried fixing it with a cotton bud. Just made it worse. Washed my face clean and went out bare-faced instead.
Felt kinda defeated, ngl. Figured maybe my eyes just weren’t made for it. Then stumbled across this “5 simple steps” idea. Sounded too easy, but desperate times.
Gearing Up for Round Two
Okay, weekend rolled around. Had time to actually pay attention. Gathered my weapons:
- That same black pencil liner (I didn’t rush out to buy anything fancy)
- Small, stiff angled brush (had one from an old eyeshadow set, finally useful!)
- Translucent powder
- Q-tips (for inevitable damage control)
Set up shop by the window for good light. Took a deep breath. Let’s do this.
The Actual Steps That (Surprisingly) Worked
Step 1: Powder Patrol. First thing? Dipped that angled brush in the translucent powder. Dabbed it gently right underneath my lower lashes, on the bare skin where the dark circles usually hang out. Didn’t put it on the lid, just under it. Seemed pointless, but the guide swore it stopped smudging. Okay, weird science, let’s trust the process.
Step 2: Tiniest Dot Action. Sharpen the pencil liner. Like, really sharp. Then, didn’t try to draw a line. Instead, looked straight ahead. Took the pencil and just pressed a tiny dot right at the outer corner of my lower lash line. That’s it. One small dot.
Step 3: Brush Duty. Immediately grabbed the angled brush again (didn’t put powder on it this time, it was clean!). Dabbed that little dot of eyeliner I just made. Started gently wiggling and smudging it outwards, like towards my temples, but only along the outer third of my lower lid. This took patience! Kept it super short. Didn’t go anywhere near the inner corner.
Step 4: Connecting the (Tiny) Dots. Needed just a bit more towards the middle? Dabbed maybe one more micro-dot along the lash line further in. Smudged it gently with the brush towards the outer smudge I already made. Made sure it wasn’t a solid line, more like faint dots connected by smudge. Important: Left the inner half completely bare.
Step 5: Setting the Scene. Waited a minute, blinked a few times. Checked. Amazingly, no crazy smudge! To be safe, took my powder brush with just a hint of translucent powder and lightly, lightly tapped it over the smudged liner area I created. Not packing it on, just a gentle set.
The Big Reveal
Stepped back. Didn’t look like a raccoon! Didn’t look bruised! Just looked… defined. Like my eyes looked a bit bigger and more awake, but super subtle. Blinked like crazy a bunch more times over the next hour. Hardly any transfer! The powder trick underneath actually felt like magic.
The whole “only outer corner” and “dots not lines” thing was the real game-changer. Felt manageable instead of terrifying. Would I do this every day? Probably not, takes a focused 5 minutes. But for nights out? Yeah, totally adding this to the toolbox.
Weirdly satisfying figuring out something that always seemed impossible. Still amazed it actually worked with stuff I already owned.
