13 Unexpected Ways to Wear Winged Eyeliner That Are Taking Over Instagram

Successfully executing razor-sharp, winged eyeliner is no longer the most impressive thing you can do to your lids anymore. Thanks to Instagram, we've learned of dozens more fun, fancy, and completely mesmerizing ways to wear cat-eyes. If a classic cat-eye look is what you're after, then there's lots of traditional winged eyeliner inspiration, courtesy of your favorite celebrities. Right now, though, we're going to focus on some of the most experimental takes on the timeless look.

We rounded up every single winged eyeliner trend you could possibly imagine — including, if you can believe it, pom poms. Keep scrolling to see the boldest, most innovative winged eyeliner trends on Instagram.

1. Feather

Messing up your liner is par for the course, even for professionals. Dahlia C., a 19-year-old makeup artist from Romania, offers a solution: feather-like liner. After drawing on your wings, she recommends adding wispy lines above and below it. "This is the step where I tried to be really careful so that the lines would be thin and pretty," C. says. "I barely touched my skin when drawing those little lines on." The patience and delicateness will be worth it because the tiny lines camouflage any smudges or unevenness you might have accidentally created when making your flicks.

2. Nude

Makeup artists like Janeen Kurdi have been subbing in concealer for a black liquid liner for more neutral flicks. (Kurdi has previously shared her nude liner tricks and tips with Allure, if you're interested.) Paired with nude lipstick, it's basically no-makeup makeup, right?

3. Underliner

Your lower lids deserve some liner love, too. Follow your lash line as you would for your upper lids and draw your flicks upward. You can also swoop the line inward like Teisha J for a mod look.

4. Lightning

Embrace those days when you can't get your wings even so they just keep getting thicker and thicker by turning them into a bolt of lightning like makeup artist Tara Buenrostro, who is a member of Kat Von D's Artistry Collective.

And here's a closer look.

5. Ombré

Committing to one eyeliner hue isn't necessary for ombré liner. Whether you're into mattes or metallics, blend all your favorite shades together for a technicolor look.

6. Layered

In addition to standard black flicks, people have been tracing along the same lines with one or two different colors to create a compounded liner effect. If you already know how to do cat eyes, this look will be very simple for you to try at home.

7. Stacked

Australian makeup artist Nicole Tait wanted to see how many wings she could fit onto her lids, so she drew on five different colors. All interlock to create an optical illusion that makes my brain hurt (in a good way).

8. Polka Dot

Remember pointillism from your Art History 101 class? Makeup artists on Instagram have been adapting that artistic technique to their makeup by creating cat-eyes out of tons of tiny little dots.

9. Negative Space

Emma Watson's makeup artist, Kara Yoshimoto Bua, created the impression of a cat-eye by drawing on incomplete wings — tracing the top lashes, extending the line past the outer corners, then bringing the line back to just before the crease without filling in the negative space.

10. Pom Poms

Instagram has no limits on how far they'll take their wings. Case in point: Makeup artists have actually been gluing craft supply pom poms (the very same ones from your childhood arts and crafts projects) onto their lids for a colorful and 3-dimensional look.

11. All Around

Before heading to the fall 2017 Saint Laurent show, our June 2017 cover star Zoe Kravitz drew on graphic wings that went along her creases. The video below will show you exactly how she pulled off the look.

12. Dots

In addition to winging out her upper lids with a pretty turquoise liner, Katy Perry's makeup artist Anthony H. Nguyen added a simple spot under each lower lid. To find out more about the dotted liner trend, here are some helpful tips.

13. Floating

Instead of drawing on wings that start at the base of your lashes, British makeup artist Stacey McDonald elevated the look — literally. With the help of tape, she lines lids a couple centimeter higher to make the wings look like they are floating above the lashes.

More trends taking over Instagram:

• Charcoal Hair Is the Goth Girl's Response to the Unicorn Hair Trend

• These Weird Brow Stamps Are Taking Over the Internet One Arch at a Time

• The “Shine Line” Trend Is Like Rainbow Highlighter for Your Hair

Now, learn how to create Adele-style cat eyes: