Winged liner for people who have given up on winged liner

Lining the upper lid with a black pencil towards the winged flick
#beginners #eyeliner #tutorial

Lindsay Larsen

Makeup Researcher

4 Mins Read

Winged liner is basically a personality test. Either you’re born with a steady hand, or you’ve spent 20 minutes trying to make two wings match and ended up with a full cat-eye on one side. If that’s you, this one’s for you. Here’s the 5-minute method we use on busy mornings. No steady hand required, we promise.

What you need

  • Your liner. Beginners, go for a felt-tip liquid liner (it’s basically a pen). Pros, grab a gel liner and a thin angled brush for more control.
  • A cotton bud with a drop of micellar water or concealer, for fixing mistakes.
  • A good mascara to finish. We love the essence Lash Princess Mascara: cruelty-free, budget-friendly and dramatic.

The 5-step method

1. Find your angle

Look straight into the mirror. Imagine a line from the side of your nose, past the outer corner of your eye. That’s where your wing should point. Same angle on both sides = wings that actually match.

Placing a black eyeliner pencil at the outer corner of the eye to find the angle for a winged liner

2. Flick first

Start at the outer corner and draw a short line along that angle. Keep it small. You can always go longer, but you can’t go back.

Drawing a short eyeliner flick outwards from the outer corner of the eye

3. Make a triangle

Connect the tip of the flick to the middle of your upper lid, then fill in the little triangle.

Lining the upper lid with a black pencil towards the winged flick

4. Clean it up

Run your cotton bud along the bottom edge of the wing to make it sharp. This is the step that makes it look professional.

Finished sharp winged eyeliner, with a blush brush sweeping across the cheek

5. Final touches

Mascara is really all you need! Just one coat will add that pop to your liner

Applying black mascara to the lashes over a finished winged eyeliner look

Quick fixes

  • Wings don’t match? Do the flick on both eyes first, then fill in.
  • Shaky line? Rest your elbow on the table.
  • Smudged by lunch? Let it dry with your eyes half-closed for 30 seconds, and use eyeshadow primer if your lids get oily.
  • Hooded eyes? Draw the wing with your eyes open and looking straight ahead, so it doesn’t disappear into the crease.

Pro tip for the MUAs

Working on clients? A gel liner and an angled brush let you adapt the wing to every eye shape. Keep a smudge-proof formula in your kit for long shoots.

Once you’ve got the basics, have fun with it: a tiny flick for uni, a sharp wing for a night out, or brown or plum instead of black for a softer look.

Your turn: what’s your biggest winged-liner struggle? Tell us in the comments, and we might answer it in our next post!

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