Double Rainbow: A Double Eye Liner Tutorial

Recently, I’ve been rediscovering my love for eyeshadow. You see, on an average day, I hardly ever wear much (if anything) on my eyes. The basic look in my arsenal is mascara, eyeliner if I’m feeling fancy or if I have the time, blush, contour, highlight, and lip gloss. When listed, it seems like a lot of prodcuts, but the truth is, I can get through that routine in a matter of minutes. However, I randomly started to crave wearing eyeshadow again a few weeks ago and have worn it a lot since! If you follow me on Twitter, you might remember this tweet from last week in which I shared my newfound love for subtly introducing some colour with eyeliner without wearing an actual rainbow on the eyes (YIKES) or for when I don’t feel like fussing over a full eyeshadow look.  It’s a look that’s really easy to create but one that will leave you accepting compliments all day long. The good news? I’m here today to show you exactly what I do to achieve a sultry, subtle look that will highlight and brighten your eyes in a flash (of colour).

 The Steps

1. Gather your products. For my technique, you’re going to need two crucial items, a neutral eye liner and a pigmented, colourful liner or eyeshadow that can be used instead. Of course, you can use any shadow of your choice, but I really like the look of a little, tiny pop of colour peeking through if you’re standing close enough to me or catch my face at the right angle. I opted for MAC Cosmetics’ Atlantic Blue, a really pretty matte, bright blue that fades into a nice prussian blue throughout the day. You’ll also need an angled brush to apply the colour and a blending brush to wipe away stray colour, for which I used Sigma Beauty’s E65 – Small Angle brush and E40 – Tapered Blending brush. For the neutral eye liner, I always go for black, because it helps the colour pop and frames my eyes, but feel free to use brown, grey, or any colour of your choice. Lately, I’ve been opting for my favourite eyeliner for months now, which is the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper, which is a liquid liner, but this also works with pencil liner or gel liner (keep in mind that you will need another angled brush or a thin eye liner brush if you opt for the latter). Finally, fallout is common with any coloured eyeshadow, especially matte ones, so you’ll probably want some clean, dry q-tips around and some eye makeup remover around in case things get really bad (read: smudge city starts to form on your face, not fun). Today, I chose to use the Clinique Rinse Off Eye Makeup Solvent, but honestly, there was zero method to my madness; I just chose whatever makeup remover was closest to me. 
2. Using the angled brush, start to form a thin-medium line on clean, dry eyes. It’s important to keep the line quite close to the lashes at first, because it’s always easier to start small and build up than to go for a thick line and have to erase some or start again. Use small, gentle strokes to work the colour into the lashline, and slowly develop it into a medium line. If the eyeliner is being applied over eyeshadow (which, yes, can be done, though I think it pops more when worn alone), make sure to take it slow, it will decrease any chance of minimizing the look that time and effort have already gone into! 🙂
3. There will most likely be some fallout under the eyes, in the inner corner and maybe even the eyelid, so now is the time to take a Q-tip and clean away. Don’t be afraid to bust out the eye makeup remover if need be, or wet the Q-tip with a splash of water, just be cautious and slow (again) if forming the eyeliner into a shape (ie. cat eye, Egyptian, etc.).
4. Optional: tightline the eyes with a neutral eye liner of choice. I find that this step a crucial one because it enhances the colour on the lids (think blank canvas) and also adds length and fullness to the lashes when mascara has been applied. If you’re wondering, I used MAC’s Technakohl eyeliner in Graphblack, but any black, smudgy liner would work.
5. Using the neutral liner, create a thin line directly on top of the bright liner. This colour should be fairly close to the lashline, but still visible. In other words, it’s best if the neutral colour is placed about halfway over the bright one and follows the shape of the bright liner. This can take patience and practice, but once the technique is mastered, there is no going back! 😉
6. Lightly dust the fluffy blending brush over the eyelid to ensure a clean, shadow-free eye. If necessary, lightly tap the blending brush into a contrasting colour (see below) and apply it softly to the crease. This will once again enhance the liner’s colour, but it will also diffuse any stubborn colour remaining on the eye.
7. Now that the eye is clean, it’s safe to apply concealer. I used my failsafe, most wonderful NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Café, but any brightening or regular concealer will do the trick.
8. Apply mascara as normal. I used my favourite combo as of late, which is two coats of the L’oreal Telescopic Clean Definition Mascara in Blackest Black followed by a single coat of Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. It’s the most lovely combo for when you want mile-high, voluminous lashes! Oohh la la! And if that weren’t good enough, you’re done! Get ready to stun all the fellas and the ladies with this gorg yet unexpected look! 🙂

After the eyes are done, complete your makeup as normal & the result should look something like this:

Alright, so now you know how to do it, but I wanted to share some top secret tips with you to take this look from “wow” to “POW!”

The Tips

• Depending on what colour you plan on using as your bright option, sometimes it’s easier (and quicker) to pat the colour onto the eyes rather than swipe as normal.
• I find that applying the bright colour and layering the neutral on top is more simple and time saving than the alternative, applying neutral liner as normal and then trying to neatly apply colour above it. Trust me, I’ve tried it, and the results are inevitably a whole lot of hot mess on your eyes and lots of cussing into the mirror. Do yourself a favour, apply the colour first.
• The more pigmented the bright choice, the better. However, if you are wearing eyeshadow underneath, I recommend keeping things neutral and fairly matte. Remember, you want the eyeliner to be the focus of the look (and of your face),  so any shimmer or bright colours on your lids would compete with your liner and would not look super flattering.
• Using an eyeshadow primer before you start this process can make a huge difference in both time it takes to apply and longevity of the look.
• Restrict the preliminary, “bright” colours to colours that compliment and enhance your eyes. For example, I know that blue, purple, green, turqouise, grey and navy shades brighten, widen and look best on my brown eyes, so I naturally gravitate towards those colours. However, if you have green eyes, you might consider purples, dark greens or greys, etc. Stick to colours that you know will work!
• As referenced in step 6, sometimes a light dusting of crease defining colour can elevate this look to the max. If you choose to do this, think of the colour wheel. You want to use the opposite colour to that of your liner, but in the most neutral form you can find. For example, today, I used bright blue as my preliminary liner, so I applied a very light layer of orange-toned/warm brown into the crease. If I’d gone with a purple pop, I would have applied a more yellow-toned, medium brown or, if I’d gone with a green, I would have applied a cool-toned, almost pinkish brown. Again, choose colours that work for you not against you. Keep within colours you would normally apply into the crease (no, this is not the right time to try that new smokey grey you’ve been eyeing!) and try to keep the colour as complexion-like as possible, like browns, taupes and peaches, but keep it as opposite in undertone as possible. 🙂
• Though I’ve used many eyeshadow brands to create this look recently, I find that MAC Cosmetics eyeshadows tend to work the best because they are very pigmented, apply and blend easily and are relatively inexpensive at $19 CAD per shadow (plus, I have a crap ton of ’em!).

There you go! Now, it’s your turn to give this look a try! With these tips and tricks, you can effortlessly create this look, but be prepared for the load of compliments coming your way if you do! Don’t say you weren’t warned, friend! 😉

If you do give this look a whirl, I’d love to see! Head on over to my twitter (@siobhanchloex0x) or instagram (@siobhan0x) and share your looks with #BeautyBylaws!

That’s all for me today, folks, but get ready for a very active Friday on the bylaws! As it goes, there will be multiple posts up tomorrow and there might even be a #FashionFriday in the works. Just maybe! 😉

Until tomorrow, friends.

Lots of love (as always),
S♥