A version of these tutorials and article first appeared on xovain.com (RIP).

I’m typically a single-eyeliner-color kind of gal. Sometimes I get a little cray with some shimmer or cobalt blue winged eyeliner if the occasion calls for it. But usually I just do a swipe of black liquid liner or smudged brown pencil along the lash line paired with a bold lip.

But with a new crop of colorful eyeliners on hand, I couldn’t resist the urge to scrawl all over my face with them like a preschooler. I was originally planning to just take a pretty turquoise liner for a spin, but then an electric pink caught my eye. And then a sunny yellow. And this really classic ’80s purple. I literally wandered around aimlessly for half an hour trying to choose.

And then I thought, “Why don’t I try them all?”

Never one to shy away from a challenge, I decided to find some elegant ways to wear more than one liner at once without looking like a total weirdo. Here are two looks I discovered that are super easy to pull off – and most definitely won’t make you look like a preschooler.

LOOK 1
CANARY EYELAND
(yes, I got creative with these titles)

Step 1
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After applying your usual base makeup (foundation, concealer, powder, etc.), cover your entire eye with a powder shadow that’s just a tad lighter than your skin tone. This will help the colored liner stay in place and not bleed if your eyelids get oily.

Step 2
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Line the inner lower lid with a yellow liner. I was happy to find that Revlon Photoready Kajal collection is just as pigmented as higher-end lines like Stila, but way more affordable. I used it here in Matte Lemon.

Step 3
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Pull the upper lid taut and swipe the liner along the lashes.

Step 4
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Then move from the outer edge inward and up, toward the crease, so you have a little V. Continue that line until it’s halfway across your lid. Fill in the space between the lash line and the crease with yellow liner. Blend it a little with your finger, so it looks like a yellow wash on the outer three-quarters of your eyelid.

Step 5
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On the inner part of the top lid, use a bright turquoise liner to pick up where the yellow liner left off and continue tracing down along the inner corner of your eye. I’m kind of obsessed with Matte Marine, another pencil from the Revlon Photoready Kajal collection that reminds me of the aqua Hard Candy nail polishes I was obsessed with when I was 13.

Step 6

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Apply a coat of mascara. My longtime go-to is L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Million Lashes Waterproof mascara.

Step 7
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I like how this eye looks with bare or neutral lips, but being the lipstick-obsessed person I am, I had to see what it looked like with a color-pop lip. I tried Wet n Wild Silk Finish lipstick in What’s Up, Doc? – a steal at $1 (though I don’t even want to look at the ingredients list).

LOOK 2
EYE CANDY

Step 1
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Start with a neutral eye base as outlined in step one in the Canary Eyeland (ha!) tutorial above.

Step 2
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Use a bright pink liner like Sephora Collection Contour Eye Pencil in Romantic Comedy – Flashy Pink to trace a fat line along the upper eyelid crease.

Step 3
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Pull the upper eyelid taut and, starting at the outer half of your lid, make a wing with purple liner. Connect it to the outer edge of the pink crease line you made.

Step 4
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Use your finger to blend the lines together. If you’re having a hard time getting the liner to budge (for example, if you used a water- or smudge-proof formula), put a little eye moisturizer on your finger to help the blending along.

Step 5
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Line the inner lower lash line with turquoise pencil, only concentrating on the outer half of the lash line (leave the inner area bare).

Step 6
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Apply mascara and lipstick to finish the look.

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Words, tutorials, makeup, styling, and photography: Larkin Clark

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