Need help with eyeliner making me look old

Hi all I need some help with eyeliners that don't make me look tired and haggered. I love to wear falsh lashes but the black eyeliner has to go. This picture really shows how bad it looks. I realized how heavy handed I was in applying my makeup. I've been in and out of the hospital so my skin is pasty and even my foundation looks like crap... Help please.

Black eyeliner can look pretty harsh.  Try using brown or gray eyeliner...it's still dark but much softer looking.  Those are the colors I use.

For me, during the day I only apply eyeliner to the outer third of the lash line and smudge it from there towards the inner corner a little tapering it so it doesn't look like EYELINER HAS BEEN APPLIED.  I also never use black below the lash line during the day and very rarely at night.  For night, I follow the same rule as above but I will add a black to the waterline and then smudge it up.

If I follow the lash line from the inner to the outer corner, it looks heavy handed, makes my eyes look smaller and really ages me. 

Yup, I agree with what others are saying. Try a gray or brown, skip the bottom, and try to make a thinner line, and smudge that down into your lashes. 

I don't think the top part of your eye makeup is as bad as you think it is, I think maybe the bottom part ei; your eyeliner underneath your bottom lashes is a bit harsh and your waterline should be filled in with either a white or nude coloured eye pencil, I think you should leave out eyeliner underneath your bottom eyelashes, just put a touch of mascara on them instead to keep underneath your eyes looking less dramatic, it will definitely open your eyes up more and If you have hooded or partial hooded eyes which I can't see that you have in the picture, the false lashes and thin eyeliner will work great for you...have a play around and remember there are no rules in makeup, do what feels best for you, what YOU like not what others want you to look like.

Forgot to say - I will use black liquid eyeliner at times on my top eye, but not often and with a light hand and a slight wing - at my age cat eyes and heavy black liner just draw attention where I dont' want it to go.  On the top lids and bottom lash line, I use a liner that is in the same color family as my crease color (I tend to match it exactly, I have an extensive eyeliner collection, lol), and on the top lids, I will make kind of a sideways V shape just at the outder edge of the lid and smudge that all up together and slightly outwards to create a subtle wing.  This makes my eyes look wider, and more open.  As we age we tend to lose valuable eyelid real estate and if we use heavy eyeliner it makes our eyes look closed off.  A less is more approach if you will.

I am 41 and I have similiar issues.  I use a dark brown, navy, purple or a thin line of black on the top 2/3 of my eye lash line.  On th bottom I generally stick to dark brown or plum shadow applied on half the lash line with a brush or nothing on the bottom lash line depending on how dark my circles look that day. I've found that dark eyeliner makes my dark circles stand out.

You also may want to try white shadown or highlighter such as Benefits Watts Up on the inner corner of your eye (tear duct).  It gives you a wide awake look.

Good luck to you.

Hi,

I agree about black being harsh sometimes, but it might help to follow some of the tips in these videos, as they all talk about how far out to take your eye makeup to lift the eye up, making you look younger and less tired.

http://youtu.be/kEAYXm3ezNg

http://youtu.be/lVVvKse8NS4

http://youtu.be/Ks95VNxckAo

If you tend to experiment with colour but not techniques, these videos are great for ideas for changing your look as you get older (as is Wayne Goss!).

Originally Posted by lyniroquai /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I don't think the top part of your eye makeup is as bad as you think it is, I think maybe the bottom part ei; your eyeliner underneath your bottom lashes is a bit harsh and your waterline should be filled in with either a white or nude coloured eye pencil, I think you should leave out eyeliner underneath your bottom eyelashes, just put a touch of mascara on them instead to keep underneath your eyes looking less dramatic

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This is exactly what i would have recommended. Do not use liner under eyes at all. Also, Navy blue or deep plum are alternatives to the black, brown, gray. 

When choosing eyeliner and mascara, try to match the two as closely as possible. Eyeliner is used to create the illusion of thicker, fuller eyelashes, and that illusion is completely shattered if the two makeups don’t match. Use your overall coloration as a guide when choosing these crucial items in your cosmetics kit.

If you’re extremely fair, as you are with very light skin, eyes and hair, avoid black. Piling on black makeup will make you look like a raccoon at best. Instead, opt for a dark brown; you’ll still get a dark, mysterious look, without a weird contrast. Eye liner and mascara are both readily available in browns and dark browns; do your best to find a liner and mascara in the same shade.

Have you tried applying eyeliner only to your water lines? I used to apply on the top and bottom of my lids and it always smudged or aged me. A good mascara and long lasting waterproof eyeliner on the water lines can be a subtle but still effective use of eyeliner. But like someone else said, wear make up the way you want that makes you feel the most beautiful, to hell with what other people think!

I used to have eyeliner problems then I started using bobby brown concealer under my eyes I swear it makes me look years younger.  I wear a thin black line on the bottom I wear Kat von d  liquid liner

Thanks to all you ladies for the great responses and all the great tips. I will work on my techniques and will post pics as soon as I figure out the best combination of eyeliners and foundation. I never thought to use brown liner as well. I guess I got stuck in time from when I first started wearing makeup at 14 till now at 45..wow. I do have tons of different eyeliner colors so I will test them out. I also used a translutent powder and I think that's what made my foundation so dry and settled into my wrinkles. Thank you all again for all your help and suggestions, you all rock big time!!!

I think eyeshadow for eyeliner is a great alternative.  It is less harsh and the color choice could be endless.  Also, I feel I have I to wear some kind of liner on my lower lid and matte bronzer usually does it for me.