How to create a classic Hollywood cat eye look

The perfect cat-eye liner look brings to mind those 1960's actresses that graced the silver screen.

1960's eyes make-up

Sophia Loren

I do cat eyes every day.

Eyeliner ... friend or foe? Eyeliner can be one of the best tools in your beauty arsenal, if you know how to use your weapon right. The way you should line your eyes has a lot to do with the shape of your eyes.

Applying eyeliner well takes concentration and a relaxed hand. I recommend starting with a pencil liner to get the hang of it, and possibly graduating to a liquid liner when you feel more confident. Because there are many variations of the cat-eye look, ranging from sharp, thin and pointed to fat and supersmudgy, there are as many techniques.

My cat-eye look

All you need is:

1. A steady hand. Don't even think about trying this at home if you're jacked up on coffee or in a rush. Take deep breaths and relax.

2. Black eyeliner. I'm using Bourjois eyeliners or Essence waterproof. I like this Guerlain Divinora eyeliner too - because it looks so elegant and the brush is needle sharp. Liquids rule.

3. A neutral eyeshadow -- peach or taupe. You don't want to add color to the lid or diffuse the cat eye by blending. I'm using MAC: wholesale benefit naked eyeshadow.

4. Apply Mascara or False Eyelashes.

I always wear false eyelashes.

Let's do it:

Brush the neutral shadow on entire lid. Blend this color from your lids softly up to your brow bone, as your base shadow. You may want to add a bit of subtle shimmer under the arch of your eyebrow.
 

Starting on the inside of the eye, trace the black liquid eyeliner right along your upper lash line with a steady hand. The line should be ultra-fine. The only way to create a thicker line is to go back and add another right next to the first one. By doing this, you already have a straight line to follow. (It helps to gently pull the lid out to create a straight lash line.
You want to flip the line upwards at the end toward the temple. This is a very retro look and you can go more subtle and still get some oomph.
Add a boatload of mascara to TOP LASHES ONLY. I am talking like two, maybe even three coats. You might want to either add a few false eyelashes to the outer lashes OR just add more mascara there. The longer the lashes at the outer end, the more of a cat eye you get.



Here is the result:

The look: Cat-eye

With love,


Idda van Munster


A special thanks to my friend Safet Hadzimusic for the photos.