Eye Pencil: 10 Tricks I Swear By

Ahhhh, the classic pencil eyeliner, easier to use than a liquid liner but not quite as long-lasting. As a teenager, I used to heat up my cheapie drugstore liners on glaring lightbulbs before applying to my eyes, but there are better ways to do this now, so I've learned. Enjoy these eye pencil tips and tricks. I wish I knew them back when I was a teenager.

1. Dash, Dash, Dash

Renowned makeup artist Laura Mercier tells Allure Magazine one of the best beauty tricks she's learned is to create a perfect line on the upper and lower lashes by first creating dashes. Here's how to do it:

• Pull the skin taut at its outer corner.
• Apply a series of dashes with the eyeliner starting from the inner corner out (it's up to you which you prefer).
• At the halfway point of the line, angle your pencil so you're now drawing with the side of it. This will create a thicker line.
• Connect the dashes.

2. Set Your Line With Eyeshadow

Penciled lines tend to melt away by the end of the day. Set your line with eyeshadow. I like to dip an eyeshadow brush into a dark shadow and trace over my penciled line.

3. Use a Brown Pencil -- Not Black -- If You Have Fair Skin & Hair

Black eye pencil is simply too harsh on women with fair skin and hair. Instead, use a brown pencil.

If you have dark hair, you can try makeup artist Mally Roncal's trick: line your upper lash line with black eyeliner and your lower line with brown.

4. Smudge

To get a casual, smudgie "I slept in my makeup last night" look that everyone's after at the moment. apply a pencil line only to the bottom lashes and then smudge it with your finger.

5. The Easy Smoky Eye

The easy smoky eye requires a kohl pencil -- the fatter the better. First, warm up the kohl pencil by rubbing it on the back of your hand. Then apply the pencil by dotting it along the upper and then the lower lashes. Take a Q-tip and dab it into a moisturizer or eye cream and smudge your line of kohl dots with it. Follow with a sweep of dark shadow (browns, deep purples, blues) to the lid.

6. 3 Ingenius Ways to Warm Up a Waxy Eye Pencil

There's nothing worse on your lids than an eye pencil that won't go on smoothly because it's too cold or waxy. I know of 3 ingenious ways to warm up a cold or waxy eye pencil:

1. Rub the tip on your hand until it softens.
2. Roll the point between the tips of your fingers.
3. Heat up the end quickly by holding into a flame for a very quick second. Then let it cool for another couple seconds before applying to lid.

Anything labeled "creamy" or "kohl" will go on softer. Keep this in mind next time you buy an eye pencil.

7. How to Make Eyes Appear Larger

"If you completely cover both the top and bottom lash lines with liner, you're going to close the eye, making it look smaller. To make it look larger, you only want to apply it both halfway on top and bottom."

8. Try Colored Pencils

In deep shades like forest green, navy, and plum, "they give a playful look,

9. How to Line the Inside Rim of Eyes

Lining the inside of the eyes can be super sexy, especially for evening. To do it correctly, use a waterproof pencil and make sure to sharpen it to a point. This will remove any germs that might have been on the pencil. Pull upper lid up and line the inside rim first from the inside corner of the eye out. Follow with the bottom lid.

Note: If you have small eyes, avoid lining with dark pencils, which will make eyes look even smaller. Instead, use a beige pencil to line the inside rim of the eyes. This will make eyes pop. Avoid a white pencil, which doesn't look natural on anyone.

10. Q Tips to the Rescue!

Whenever I mess up my penciled line, I take a Q Tip and put it in a bit of eye cream or moisturizer and dot it over the messy spot. I find it works better than my beloved Clinique eye makeup remover which tends to bleed, messing up the rest of my makeup.