MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Duck

I am on my second one of these which is a bit of a record for me.

Since I learnt how to tightline, I have been applying eyeliner of any type to the underside of my upper lashes and I find it infinately liberating, I no longer have to worry about getting my eyeliner straight, or worrying about whether to flick or not to flick, the angle, the length, goodness what a minefield, with this I just apply, careful not to poke myself in the eye - I have done that a few times, or worse poke into my eyelashes, and go.

This lasts on me most of a day without any smudging or travelling, but it does depend where I apply it, if I stray into the upper waterline then there is migration into the lower waterline and out into the lower lashes and beyond, but if I apply with care just to the base of the top eyelashes it is nigh on perfect all day.

The shade is a dull brown with no real red in it to me.

My only gripe is that it is not easy to sharpen and get a decent point to it.

There are some more reviews on MUA, and more colours on the MAC website, although the graphics denoting the colours are abysmal.

Laura Mercier and Tightlining

For years eyeliners were a mystery to me, I would look in admiration at my peers who could line and flick with open mouthed admiration and despair that my inherited saggy baggy eyelids would not allow me to line my eyes.

Around 15yrs ago my sister chucked a Laura Mercier Bleu Marine Cake Eyeliner into my hands and for a while it stayed there, misunderstood really although I did have a vague recollection of something called tightlining. Thankgoodness for MUA. When I can be bothered this is how I line my eyes, flicks just get lost in the folds but this method just makes my eyes look a bit more groomed.

Once I understood what tightlining was all about I went a bit OTT and bought all of LM's cake eyeliners so along with Bleu Marine I purchased Black Ebony, and Brown Mahogany with varying success.

No prizes for guessing which one I have used the most.

Here they are swatched on my arm, Black Ebony, Brown Mahogany, Bleu Marine

One does need the correct brush to tightline.

I spent a small fortune on all of these from MAC, Bobbi Brown, Smashbox, and that specialist makeup shop in Covent Garden who's name escapes me, until I twigged and bought the brush designed for the job, the Laura Mercier Flat Liner brush

It is the denseness of the hairs that enables me to pick up enough product and apply it in the right place.

So how to tightline - this is not just about the right tools, it is about the right consistency of the product, it needs to be quite glue like in order to stick to the underside of the top lashes - I don't take it onto the top waterline, it is just to thicken the underside of the top lashes. I have to say that I lick my brush, I am not advising this, it is just what I do, it gives the consistency that I want.

Here are my eyes without any adornment of any kind apart from a glasses mark and a bit of worn off Laura Mercier secret concealer around my eyes, no mascara, no curling of eyelashes and obviously no eyebrow grooming.

Brown Mahogany applied to left eye below

This is the subtlest of looks, I am not entirely convinced of the Brown Mahogany on me, I have to work quite hard to get the colour into the lashes.

Bleu Marine applied to left eye below

I use this colour the most, it is a bit of an is she isn't she sort of look (as in the old harmony hairspray adverts)

Black Ebony applied to left eye below

This has the most dramatic look for me, however none of these colours scream eyeliner but the product certainly thickens the eyelashes and for a mascara phobe like myself that is perfect.

That flicky eye thing

If anyone (anyone?) is reading this who is under 40 or who is over 40 but has firm taut eyelids then step away from this post, for this is not for you, go on shoo.

I do not have taut eyelids, infact I have hardly any eyelids, they sag and droop at the end of my eyes, folding in on themselves, hence the lack of eyeshadow posts.

But flicky eyeliner, well I would love to be able to do that, and I stalk those who can namely the lovely Laura from sofarsochic

I can tightline but to get that clean flick at the end, well it is not happening for me, I have been down the youtube line but frankly the tutorials are all by women young enough to be my daughter and have space and firmness in the eye area.

However today (for I had no scheduled post) I was flicking (ha see what I did there?) about and came across this video and a lightbulb switched on, so here is what I used.

Maybe not the best of eyeliners, but I do not have a liquid eyeliner at the moment. Technakohl by MAC is meant to be a long lasting eyeliner and Photogravure is that bridge between grey/black/brown, swatched below

In the past when I have tried to do a flick, I have got to the end of my upper lash line and thought "where do I go now?" and despite careful measuring, the resulting flick just gets lost in the folds. This tutorial goes from the outside of the eye in, ie from outside of eye towards the nose and exaggerates the angle.

I have applied the technakohl on the upper lashes, above and on the upper waterline as in tightlining, but then I have made a thicker more pronounced angle, see below.

Of course the finished look is nothing, there is not a iota of a flick but it is there and I am delighted. Watch me now kill this trend.