A Makeup Artist's Tips To Master Winged Eyeliner, Once & For All

"Don't be scared of eyeliner—she can smell fear," quips celebrity makeup artist Alexandra French when I ask her about her must-have application tips. As someone whose hands shake at the mere sight of a felt tip, I'd proudly slap that proverb on a bumper sticker and parade around town. It seems every time I attempt to create the quintessential flick, I wind up with a bathroom counter littered with cotton swabs and very angry, splotchy eyes. Of course, I'm not alone: A quick search on Google conjures plenty of "how-to" guides, each promising a wing so sharp it could cut glass (and no tears!).   

But if there's anyone to school us on an A+ eyeliner game, I'd argue it's French. After all, she won an Emmy Award for her work on Season 2 of Euphoria, which included a number of stunning graphic eye looks—some of which would be incomplete without a signature fierce wing.

Unless you're feeling super confident with your liner skills, you likely won't master a razor-sharp wing with one clean glide. According to French, most people find it helpful to outline the shape of the wing first before filling it in. "I love to sketch out the shape first before going in with smudge-proof eyeliner," she explains. "I either do this with a pencil eyeliner or a felt tip one." FRECK makes an especially fabulous felt tip—it also contains peptides and panthenol to simultaneously encourage lash growth.

As we mentioned in our full eyeliner guide, it may even help to work from out to in. Decide where you want your flick to stop, then draw downward until you connect with your outer eye corner. Then with small strokes, fill in where needed on the eye, adding in more depth and thickness where you want.

If you don't get the flick just right, don't fret: Even professional makeup artists rely on touch-ups. "You would be surprised at how helpful tiny [cotton swabs] with micellar water can be!" says French. "If I have a client in my chair who is getting their hair done at the same time and their head is being pulled aggressively or they're busy with something, I will messily draw on the liner to get it in the right place and then take the [cotton swab] and just start cleaning it up and shaping it to perfection." 

All you need to do is use the tip of the cotton swab to erase any jagged edges and sharpen the wilted wing. Since micellar water can dissolve both oil- and water-based products, the pigment should lift right off. To make the contrast even sharper, French suggests tapping some concealer around the line, especially right underneath the wing to define the shape. 

Different eye shapes may require slightly different moves to achieve a wing—ultimately, there is no "foolproof" guide to applying eyeliner because not everyone will wield the tool the exact same way. Not to mention, using a different technique can help accentuate your eye shape even further.