Master the Cat Eye

It there any beauty look more talked about than the cat eye? From Cleopatra to Taylor Swift, with every Dolce & Gabbana runway show in between, that sultry flick of black liner can range from innocent to bombshell. The one thing it has in common, at least when a makeup artist starts talking about it, is a pot of gel liner and an angled brush. But how to tackle the tools if you’re not an artist? We asked a professional, Cassandra Garcia, for the ultimate guide to painting on your liner like the pros. Here’s her simple DIY to what she calls “the simple and precise” method of application.

  1. Make sure your brush is completely covered in pigment, dipping both sides into the pot.

  2. Starting at the outer corner of your top lid, follow the natural shape of your lid and flick out.

  3. Draw a line from the outer corner to the inner corner of your top lid from end to end. Trace as closely to the lash line as possible, building on for thickness as desired.

  4. Still not convinced? You’ll want to be first in line for Benefit’s new They’re Real Push-Up Liner. The first lash-hugging gel liner in a pen comes out later this month and it’s completely goof proof.

Photo: Henry Leutwyler