What is graphic liner?
In recent years, graphic liner has been used by beauty influencers and ordinary beauty-enthusiasts to spice up the basic, everyday eyeliner look. Graphic liner looks draw inspiration from avant-garde and editorial makeup. It isn’t limited to the eyes, though. Some have used it to create designs beyond the eyelids.
If you’ve heard of graphic liner before or you’re intrigued by it, you may be asking yourself these questions:
How Do I Start?
I know the feeling of wanting to try something new with your makeup but not knowing where the heck to start. Before you grab your brush and eyeliner, it’s important to know what your eye shape is. Your eyelids, especially as a beginner, are your canvas! So how can you tell what shape your eyes are? Here are 11 different eye shapes that can help you determine where to begin with your eye look.
After you’ve figured out what your eye shape is and what kind of look you’d like to do, it might be a good idea to invest in a set of water-based liners. There are so many different products out there with drastically different price ranges.
If you’re looking for individually packed water-based liners, Glisten Cosmetics is a great brand and my personal go-to. Founded in 2017 by Natalie Chapple, she has been able to release numerous liner shades at affordable prices. You’re looking at eyeliners priced around £6.50 or $9 USD each. Apart from water-activated liners, Glisten Cosmetics also sells liner brushes and colored lashes!
If you’re not that into water-based liners because they’re a bit tough to work with at times, there are alternative options that are still on the affordable side.
Colourpop has a Crème Gel Colour liner for $8 USD and BFF Liquid Liner for $9 USD. Other products that may run a bit more expensive, especially for beginners, include the SUVA Beauty liners. These water-based liners, or hydra liners, will run around $16 USD for one or $32.50 on a liner palette.
Another way to create colorful graphic liner looks is with Inglot’s $18 USD Duraline Drops, a product that turns eyeshadows and pigments into eyeliner. While on the pricier side, the huge plus to this product is that you can use the eyeshadows you already have instead of buying multiple liners.
Apart from the eyeliners themselves, you’ll need some brushes to work with. The most inexpensive options are thin paintbrushes or brushes for nail art: anything that will give you that nice, even precision. If you want to splurge a bit on the brushes, Glisten Cosmetics and SUVA Beauty both have their own sets, averaging less than $10 for each brush.
Who Should I Follow?
There are so many content creators who have released easy-to-follow graphic liner tutorials. One of the most-watched tutorials is YouTuber cutcreaser’s video “how to do graphic liner (EASY!)”. Her video follows one specific graphic liner look that’s one of the best for beginners. Other videos on cutcreaser’s account are guides for the best graphic liner products and brushes, along with other easy tutorials. Antoinette Mahr, formerly named esantoinette, is another YouTuber and content creator who makes a lot of videos on graphic liner, like her video 4 Graphic Eyeliner looks (possibly a series) | 1 palette & lots of liner | esantoinette, where she creates four distinct looks for people to follow and take inspiration from. While graphic liner videos on YouTube have slowed down, these creators and others have shifted their focus to TikTok and Instagram reels.
For more inspiration, I recommend creators Myla (@pradolic), who posts both on TikTok and Instagram reels, May (@mazzeys), who posts videos mainly on TikTok but a lot of looks on Instagram, and Mei Pang (@meicroft) who is known for her extravagant graphic liner looks on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Pinterest is also a great app or website to search for graphic liner looks that are most workable with a specific eye shape and style. Creating a Pinterest board specifically for graphic liner looks is the best way to compile cohesive looks.
Conclusion
While all of these are great ways to start your graphic eyeliner journey, these aren’t set rules to follow. Graphic eyeliner, as mentioned before, takes inspiration from avant-garde and editorial looks: both of which defy standards of beauty. So go wild and do whatever you want to express yourself!