From The Straits Times    |

Fact: Singapore office ladies are obsessed with eyeliner (I blame K-Beauty, but that’s a rant for another day). Want to get in on the action but not sure where to start? There, there, don’t fret. You only really need one of the following three beauty basics to nail a truly “eye-conic” look of your own.

PENCIL
BEST FOR: Soft smudging of the rims for a less OTT version of a full-on smoke on the lids. A solid workwoman-ready pencil product in an everyday taupe is perfect for this purpose. Quick note: Selecting a liner with good glide is absolutely essential – you don’t want painful tugging around your delicate orbital region.

Starting from the inner corner and using a decisive hand, deftly trace around the contours of your lower lashline, then blink rapidly to transfer some of the pigment to your upper waterline. (You can use an angled eyeliner brush to pick up the pigments, but straight from the pencil is perfectly fine, too.) Finish by using a small domed brush to blur out the outer edges for a diffused, more natural appearance. So easy!

LIQUID
BEST FOR: Pin-point precision. Like needlework, use a liquid liner in a beautiful brown for understated amplification of your peepers, in a technique referred to in makeup parlance as “tightlining”. Here’s how. With a steady hand, “connect the dots” between your lashes, following your eye’s curvature and getting as close to your upper lash line as possible. Restraint is of the essence here. Don’t wing it out; rather, stop lining at the farthest end of your natural lash line.

Top tip: Stick to a clean canvas for a super minimalist take: Just a kiss of nude blusher, maybe a little mascara, a slick of gloss on the lips. The beauty is in the perfect little imperfections: Hair that’s mussed up and not too “done”, lips that don’t appear lacquered on. Elegant, easy to pull off, and very “visionary”, in all senses of the word.

GEL
BEST FOR: Budge-proof drama for night; think a sweeping cat-eye swoosh that’s as exuberant as the Nike logo. Big bonus: Gels are great for greasy lids because the polymers in most formulas bind to your skin like a temporary tattoo. This makes them fantastic for a fabulous feline flick, which for my money is the best pep-me-up ever: The jaunty tick at the outer edges gives down-turned eyes a beguiling Botox-like lift.

Start by resting the tip of your angled liner brush about two-thirds the way in from the outer corners to trace out the outer wing and where you want the “tick” to end. Now that you’ve got an outline of sorts, run it over it with a windshield wiping motion of the flat side of your brush for a really robust body. And you’re done!

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