I’ve had this post sitting in drafts since February. I kept thinking it was too silly to post and perhaps I hadn’t explained it clearly enough. But I tried the technique again last week, nailed it and it changed my eye makeup and shape completely.
Disclaimer, I do feel I’ve got a bit of a nerve suggesting this makeup trick because I only manage to get it right about 20% of the time, but it does work IF you can master it.
I call it the ballerina tip because it’s something ballerinas do to make their eyes stand out from a distance when they’re on stage. Instead of ballerina, I could’ve said actor, dancer, drag queen – you get the idea.
This is a less extreme version, but get it right and hello, big doll eyes!
Simply apply liner on the lower lash line as straight ie horizontally as you can – although this is easier said than done for the sausage fingered amongst us.
Below is a diluted version. Instead of following the line of the eye upwards, you draw it out and along as straight as you can manage. If you’re really handy with eyeliner, you can ‘mirror’ it with a line on the upper eyelid extended out and bring them almost together with a gap in the middle.
If you want to go all out, you could fill this little space between the upper eyelid line and lower eyelid line with a soft white or creamy coloured pencil. This would be a bit too full-on for me, but Mac Studio Chromographic Pencil in shade NC15/NW20 would work beautifully.
My weapon of choice for the lower lid is Mac Powerpoint Eyeliner pencil in Stubborn Brown. This should to be sharpened to a good point for the straight line, otherwise, it can look a bit overdone. You can always thicken the line later.
To get that sharp point I use cheapo metal sharpeners because I find none of my fancy sharpeners – and I have the Benefit and the official Mac one (which has a snug-fitting case to hold the shavings in), will give me that precision point I need.
Copyright: Marc Jacobs “Theatrical Ballerina” makeup by Francois Nars
