Now and again, the million dollar question wavers between being a question of the existential depth of the human soul... and the ethical use of white eyeliner in a daily cosmetic ensemble. (Thanks to the handful of you that hung on through that train wreck of a joke). But really, there is a lot of confusion encompassing this simple little product; from 'What's the point of a white eyeliner' to 'how do I know if I'm using it right' to the dreaded 'is this look not good for me', white eyeliner has been given a bit of a bad rap over the past few years. It could just be the beginner's blues, we aren't quite sure, but we're going to deposit our two cents on the issue here, hopefully in a way that helps alleviate the anxieties that we experience when someone mentions 'white' and 'eyeliner' in a sentence within close proximity of each other.
What exactly is the point of white eyeliner? White eyeliner can, and often is, used just like black eyeliner. You can use it to line you eyes without the presence of black eyeliner for highlighting purposes, or with; using both products in conjunction gives the eye more depth and the white is meant to accentuate the white of your own eyes. For some makeup styles, the presence of white eyeliner is absolutely essential; For example, a gyaru style requires much more makeup than one would normally apply, and this includes contouring, highlighting, defining, or downplaying certain features of the face to achieve a gyaru look.
Often, the eyes tend to be the most accentuated part of the look, and this is due in part to the use of sometimes three or more pairs of lashes, shadow, black liquid liner in a round top shape, and you guessed it, white eyeliner. To achieve the trademark sweet eye look that so many gyaru subscribers thrive to attain, there is a need for their liner (lashes too) to be drawn out and downward past the normal line of their eyes; this creates a negative space where no makeup is applied between the liner and the lower lash extensions. To fix this, as it often looks strange, that space is filled with all mute white liner or cream shadow extending the appearance of white eye space. Pretty cool right?
Some of us have very soft, or very hard facial features; for some of us this can be a bad thing because is draw the attention to the wrong features of the face. With white liners, or muted cream shadows, it easy to correct this problem temporarily by drawing attention to other areas of the face using a game of lines and shadows (or in this case, highlights).Softening hard edges or Contouring the Face.
Perking up Your Look.If you've been missing out of sleep, chances are it's showing on your face, especially in the under eye area. While there are several long term solutions to this (in addition to the sea of long term exacerbators like lack of good diet habits, exercise, excessive alcohol and drug exposure, genetics, etc) There are some quick fixes too. Two of which, concealer and white eyeliner, are commonly picked first over the lasting solutions. If you find that you're looking a bit more tired than usual and the usual concealer stick routine isn't giving you the desired result, swiping a mute white eyeliner or shadow can help downplay the dull look perfectly. Take care in what type of liner you use for this fix; using an automatic or non creamy pencil can, and often does, result in an undesired outcome (something along the lines of appearing to have accumulated a chalky white residue underneath your eyelids). Have a blender on hand and this will almost never be a problem.
The Best Base.White eyeliner can be used in lieu of most cosmetic bases given it is applied correctly. It can be used to line the lips and keep the color true to its in tube hue, and even prevent feathering of colors. As a eyelid primer or brow base, white liner accentuates the color and shape of most eyeshadow colors and can give the illusion of larger eyes. For problem areas on the skin, white liner can actually cover them quite nicely with the addition of a concealer, and proper blending.
Game of Shadows.Using white liner to contour one's face and give definition to softer areas is a common beauty practice that for many takes time to replicate. It's all a trick of blending and having a basic understanding of what kind of shadows ones face creates. For instance, a person who has a very wide nose with a somewhat undefined bridge could use a line of white liner in the center of their nose, blended ever so lightly outward to create the illusion of a sharper point and more narrow bridge. Another way to achieve this effect is to add white shadow to the inner corners of your eye and blend it outward. A little practice is necessary to find out what amount of white will work best for each person, but this trial and error period can mean the world of difference between looking awake and looking jilted.
As goes with most makeup ventures, it is really up to each one of us to be bold enough to figure out what works best, so don't be afraid to try something different! You may find that it suited you well after all. Don't forget to keep a tab open for the second installment of this 411, we've got a lot of ground to cover in a short period with this product; we've literally barely hit the tip of the iceberg.
-C9K
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