Far be it from me to ever say something nice about Paris Hilton…but at a recent US party she had terrific winged eyeliner. She very often wears cute things, which is bizarre because other times she looks very er, trashy. I’m not super wild about her dress here, but like I said – the makeup is good!

People get so afraid of doing winged eyeliner (myself included), which is why I want to show you pictures that will help you visualize how it should look next time you think about trying it.

The reason why winged eyeliner is so cool is that it really defines your upper lashes. The idea is to take the eyeliner (generally liquid) and run it over the top of your eyelid, and wing it out for bolder eyes that look larger than they are.

What’s important to notice is how the liner was painted onto the top lid with an angle.It’s unnatural to think of doing, but it’s a really good method. It gives heft to the eyelid, but ALSO it gives you a different angle to draw the wing out from. This legs the winged movement go more out to the side than downwards. It’s also a great way for when you want to wing out your eye with the double lined wings (just two lines).

The idea of winged eyeliner is to look like you have an extra long eyelash, basically. Only it helps all of your eyelashes look bigger.  Use a pencil to draw the effect you want first (even a light lip pencil can work) then go over it with your liquid one. Balance your elbow on a counter, and don’t forget to breathe. (You can also try using a card to draw the winged line.)

What you need is water-resistant eyeliner for the bottom (which can be used for any style) and liquid eyeliner for the top.

1. Stila Liquid Eyeliner $16
2. PUR Minerals Eye Defining Pencil w/smudger $17

Here is a screencape from Sarah Victor's YouTube. You must watch her video.