"Harsh liner can shrink the eyes and make the whole face look tired." — Mario Dedivanovic, The Masterclass
I spend way too many afternoons window-shopping outside designer boutiques in SoHo with an iced coffee, snooping on every celebrity photo in the glass, and we need to argue about eyeliner right now. Makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic keeps telling everyone to drop the harsh pencil lines, and I agree with him completely. Thick black rings pull the eyes downward. They really do! When you drop rigid, boxed-in habits for open-eye techniques, your whole face perks up.
Let us talk about that heavy line inside the lower waterline. I used to scrub black pencil across my waterline every single day, so I understand the stubborn habit. But that dark rim shrinks the appearance of your eyes. It also draws attention to natural under-eye shadows.
Put the dark crayon down! Instead of boxing your eyeball into a dark circle, press a creamy brown pencil directly along the upper lash root to add depth while keeping the whites of your eyes bright.
Pull that line into a soft upward tilt at the outer corner.
That tiny flick lifts the eye and makes you look well-rested.
Look at recent Paris runway shows if you want proof. Makeup artists at the Chanel shows skipped harsh inner-rim pencil entirely. They brushed soft, diffused tones along the lids and placed the deepest pigment strictly on the outer third of the lash line. Why? Because empty space lets light reach your eyes. The lashes appear thick, but the gaze stays wide open. I stood on the sidewalk studying those beauty looks, and the change is clear as day.
Beauty lovers are finally trading jet-black pens for rich brown tones, and I support this switch. Hard black ink sits stiffly against the skin and points out dry texture around the outer corners. Warm brown pigment does the opposite because it melts into your natural lash shadow. If you still draw a dark ring around your entire eye, take a clean brush and smudge those lines. Soft edges win every single time.