HERE'S EXACTLY HOW I DO MY SIGNATURE EYELINER
But, recently I was on a plane to Cape Town for work. Really, I enjoy these trips to literary events dotted in beautiful locations. I only complain when they're set precariously atop each other, week in and week out, like a Jenga block about to topple from the unbalanced weight of them all. The lady seated next to me turned. "Gorgeous eyeliner, darling," she said. She was from the UK, and I gather from all the episodes of Ladies of London that they address each other like this a lot. And so a conversation was struck up, that spanned where I was going - a book festival, why - because I'm an author, what books I've written - The Four Hundred Club, Splitting an Empire, Creating Literary Art. She learned about my publishing house, and how we have a few smart international clients that publish in South Africa because of the exchange rate. She took several business cards for her friends.
I think everyone should have a signature something. It's such a conversation starter, and you never know where that conversation will go.
A signature doesn't even have to be anything dramatic. Just a small detail that people remember about you. Mine is a delicate double wing eyeliner. Steps to follow, and a shortened video at the end for a quick demonstration:
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| This is what the signature eyeliner by Keli H looks like by the end of her tutorial |
Step 1: Prep
Makeup will have a dusty, dry look if applied on skin that's not moisturized. Here's what I use:
- facewash to cleanse the face first
- toner to moisten the skin, applied with fingers instead of a cotton swab
- eye cream to hydrate the under eyes
- day cream with SPF
You can read my full review of the Clicks skincare range, which is just as excellent quality as the expensive stuff, at a third of the price.
I also brush my eyebrows neat, and use an eyelash curler for a few seconds, before I start with the makeup. Already the face looks vital enough to dash on some lipstick and leave home without anything further.
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| You might like to tie your hair up with this jasmine scrunchie from the Lotus Boutique while working on your makeup. It doesn't leave a hair bump! |
Step 2: Concealer
I use concealer under my eyes. Just the tiniest spot because I'm not using it for colour correcting; I'm using it to brighten the under eye area.
A useful tip I learned for under eye brightening: dab your concealer down towards your cheekbones so that everything under the eye pops.
I then lock it in using powder.
The products I use:
- Mac Studio Radiance Concealer shade NW30
- Ponds Pinkish Glow powder (available from the Lotus Boutique, their store link is below for the products hard to find in South Africa)
Step 3: Eyeshadow
I'll be honest - I don't own eyeshadow. But if there is anything I learnt while studying at university away from home - it's how to be resourceful. So I simply use blush, that way I don't need to buy seperate products.
I don't have technique on the eyeshadow. I simply take the same concealer brush, swirl it around the blush palette, and spread around my eyelids, as well as swipe it across my temples. Now there is probably everything wrong with what I've just said. But honestly, I like that the shade of my blush matches what's on my eyes, and using the same brush means all the colours used on my face blend together, and the messiness of the way I do it adds ease to the look.
The best kind of art happens when you defy convention
Product I use:
- Mac Mineralized Blush shade Lovejoy (it's pink brown with gold shimmer)
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| Swatch of Mac blush shade Lovejoy |
Step 4: Eyeliner
This step is the make or break of the look. And should it be the latter, I unfortunately need to wipe it all off and start again.
Fun fact: my entire shower, makeup, and hair routine takes 2 hours, so I sometimes wake up in the dark before dawn to start getting ready.
There are 2 parts to this step. The first is to draw the double wing. I take a liquid eyeliner (pencil or roll up won't work for this) and draw a curved line from the outer corner of my eye towards the outer corner of my eyebrow. Then I draw a second one beneath it. This is probably best demonstrated in the video below the written steps.
The second is to use the liquid liner and line the area where the eyelashes meet the eyelid. Just a note that the width of the line should not look like an extra layer of liner on top of the eyeshow - the line should be almost imperceptible on the eyelid, only used to darken that space where the lashes meet the lid. The deepening of that black space creates beautiful contrast.
Because eyeliner is very difficult to get symmetrical on both sides, I like to use a liquid product with a very precise tip of the brush.
Product I use:
- Lakme Eyeconic liquid liner from the Lotus Boutique
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| The sharp precise brush tip of Lakme Eyeconic liquid liner |
I developed this signature double wing by complete accident. One day I was trying to do the traditional wing look. My hand shook and hit a miss, and next thing I know I had 2 gashes of eyeliner on the corner of my eyelid! The artist in me saw the potential. So I reworked into my own look.
Step 5: Mascara
I don't naturally have prominent lashes. And the one time I used falses, I couldn't see the top half of my visual field - it takes some getting used to, so I've done away with the complexity and opted out of false lashes altogether.
A tip I learnt to bold the eyelashes, is to first run the mascara wand horizontally across the ends of the lashes to coat the ends, which are usually not pigmented so our lashes naturally look shorter than they really are.
Product I use:
- Mac Stack mascara
Step 6: Kajol
One of my favourite physical features about myself are my eyes. I like that they're large and expressive, and the precise shade of brown is moody.
I like to use Kajol to outline the edges of my waterline, making my eyes seem just the tiniest bit larger, and also to line the inner corners to define their shape.
Products I use:
- Lakme Eyeconic kajol liner from the Lotus Boutique
- OR soorma powder liner from the Lotus Boutique (you can also get an authentic brass kohl pot to decant it into!)
Step 7: Brow Gel
I've inherited scraggly eyebrows from somewhere up the family tree, because the rest of my immediate family have got full, plump caterpillars. But I found the perfect solution for my situation. A tinted fibre brow gel. It serves up 3 fixes:
- the fibres create extra lifelike 'eyebrow hairs' to fill in the gaps
- the tint darkens the colour of the brow to look fuller
- the lamination of the gel sets the brows in place so you can style them in a shape that looks thicker
The eyebrows really frame the entire eye look.
Product I use:
- Mac Fibre Boost brow gel shade Onyx
Because the signature eyelook is so striking and captivating, I recommend using something super simple on the lips.
Personally, I finish it all off with the Lakme Liplove tinted balm in the shade cherry.
Shop your items to create your own signature look at the The Lotus Boutique: https://thelotus108.wordpress.com/
Video tutorial for the Keli H signature eyeliner:
Written by Keli H, author and publisher. This piece is from her personal editorial archive on style, authorship, art, and inspired living. More articles at keli-h.com
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