Makeup artist tricks to wearing colourful eyeliner without looking like a clown!

1. Breasts or legs, not both

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Think of brightly hued eyeliner as the cosmetics equivalent of say, a bejewelled Prada dress – piling on your Fred Leighton or Harry Winston haute joaillerie is just overkill. 

Translation: Keep it simple and keep it going. Having said that, you don’t want your complexion to be completely nude (that would risk swinging to the other extreme; your features would just look top-heavy) – do as I would and pat on some undereye concealer and a slick of illuminating highlighter on the highest point of the cheek and brow bones to lend your face some dimension.

2. Pick your poison

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Let’s spin our colour wheel of fortune … and the million dollar slot goes to blue! I find cheery cornflower, deep navy or even metallic midnight aesthetically pleasing in the extreme, for the simple fact that the cool tones make the whites of your eye appear even whiter.  

On the other hand (or is that other eye), you may want to steer clear of yellows and reds – the former because sallow shades can make you look like an unfortunate Victorian-era victim of consumption, and the latter because red-rimmed eyes are only good for when you’ve been weeping in the toilet cubicle.

3. Lay down your base in black

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Now that we’ve got our fundamentals right, let’s just jump straight into it. Cosmetics pouch and steady hands at the ready!

First order of business: Line your upper and lower lids with a standard black – I’m currently obsessed with the supremely silky smoothness of Benefit Cosmetics’ memorably monikered They’re Real! Push Up Eyeliner, $42. To apply, use your free hand to pull the eyelid taut for a flatter canvas to work on. Gently graze the tip along the hump-shaped contours of your eye, working it in so that you get a dark, modestly winged tip. This will be the basic black base for a top layer of fun and fabulosity.

4. Perk up your peepers with a wild waterline

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While waiting for this black base to dry, deftly use your accent colour to fill in your waterline, which is makeup-speak for the pinkish rim around your eyes. Use your ring finger to press upon your lower lid for easier access to the waterline, then trace the tint in a thick rim starting from the inner corners and working your way out. 

A creamy, almost wet pencil is absolutely your default option for this purpose, because you really don’t want to be tugging unnecessarily at this delicate area – try Nars’ Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Abbey Road, $36.

5. Top up with a titillating topcoat

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Now for the kaleidoscopic kicker. Grab a kohl or liquid liner in a complementary colour that’s a notch glitzier than the one you used earlier on your waterline – I’m gaga for the glitter-flecked jewel tones of Burberry Beauty’s Effortless Kohl Eyeliner in 05 Blue Carbon, $39 – and layer it on top of the black, dragging the colour out into a modest tadpole-shaped tick. 

Quick as a flash, drop your instrument and switch to your little finger, smudging the still-wet liner into the black base for a multi-dimensional glimmer not unlike that seen on the coruscating carapace of a beetle. 

And you’re done. Bad pun alert: When it comes to the colour of your eyeliners, it’s really just best to wing it!