How often do you sharpen your cosmetic pencils?

Hey there everyone!

If you've clicked this thread, I am guessing you use at least one cosmetic pencil- be it lip liner, eyeliner, a brow pencil, concealer pencil, etc.

So, what I want to know is how often do you sharpen those pencil cosmetics?

Do you do it only when it's dull?

Do you do it every time for hygeinic reasons?

Do you only do it when it's basically all the way in the pencil casing?

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I usually only sharpen when it gets dull, but I think I might start sharpening after every use for two reasons:

1. This way, every time I go to use it, it'll be sharp

2. Any bacteria it picked up will be removed and won't sit on the pencil, breeding. Yuck!

I sharpen mine for hygienic reasons. So all my liners are sharp and... Short, lol. 

I only have a few. I sharpen my lip liners frequently, because I can't stand automatic lip liners. The few pencil eyeliners I have get sharpened whenever they get clogged with eyeshadow/gunk, or when the wood starts to poke me in the eye.

I probably sharpen mine every two to three uses. I just can't stand the thought of wasting all that product by sharpening every time. Also, some pencils are just so stinking soft that it takes way to much effort to sharpen them. I'm currently having that struggle with my Starlooks lip and eye pencils. They're so soft I can't get them to come to a point without breaking off! The struggle is real....

pokeballssohard said:

I probably sharpen mine every two to three uses. I just can't stand the thought of wasting all that product by sharpening every time. Also, some pencils are just so stinking soft that it takes way to much effort to sharpen them. I'm currently having that struggle with my Starlooks lip and eye pencils. They're so soft I can't get them to come to a point without breaking off! The struggle is real....

Click to expand...

Yeah, I hear your pain on that one!

But here's a neat little trick that you can work around that... Just place your soft liners in the freezer for about 10-20 min. then sharpen them.

On hot exterior location set days, we place liners in a cup of ice cubes or we use those compressed air cans, (the ones used for dusting keyboards) and we turn the can upside down and spray the liner tip for 1-2 seconds which freezes it. 

The trick is to not to let the tip freeze solid or it will break off in the sharpener when sharpening. So you have to find the right balance.

If the tip is frozen solid like in winter or too long in the freezer, just place the tip in a Kleenex between your thumb and index finger and gently twirl the liner, the friction will slightly warm the tip for sharpening.

HTH good luck!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I am the only person who uses my liners so I sharpen them when the casings are cutting my lips or eyeballs. My sharpener is all the way at the bottom of my makeup drawer and I hate digging it out unless I have to! XD

vogueboy said:

Yeah, I hear your pain on that one!

But here's a neat little trick that you can work around that... Just place your soft liners in the freezer for about 10-20 min. then sharpen them.

On hot exterior location set days, we place liners in a cup of ice cubes or we use those compressed air cans, (the ones used for dusting keyboards) and we turn the can upside down and spray the liner tip for 1-2 seconds which freezes it. 

The trick is to not to let the tip freeze solid or it will break off in the sharpener when sharpening. So you have to find the right balance.

If the tip is frozen solid like in winter or too long in the freezer, just place the tip in a Kleenex between your thumb and index finger and gently twirl the liner, the friction will slightly warm the tip for sharpening.

HTH good luck!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Click to expand...

Super helpful to know! Thanks for posting this. 

@@vogueboy You know, I have totally had the thought to chill them cross my mind before, but I'm always attempting to sharpen them in the morning when I'm rushing or just too lazy. Haha. Now that I have an official endorsement, I will make my lazy butt go through with it. Thanks for the tip!

@@vogueboy Great tip! I first learned that tip in a Bratz colouring book, I'm glad professionals use/came up with it!

I usually sharpen mine each time I use them on other people, and if I only use them myself every two or three times, but I also disinfect them after every use. 

vogueboy said:

I sharpen mine for hygienic reasons. So all my liners are sharp and... Short, lol. 

Click to expand...

Hahha, oh the woes of being hygeinic. Did you ever get one of those pencil extenders we were chatting about in another topic a long time ago?

turntrekgodhead said:

I only have a few. I sharpen my lip liners frequently, because I can't stand automatic lip liners. The few pencil eyeliners I have get sharpened whenever they get clogged with eyeshadow/gunk, or when the wood starts to poke me in the eye.

Click to expand...

Heheh, wood poking you in the eye. Ouch!

pokeballssohard said:

I probably sharpen mine every two to three uses. I just can't stand the thought of wasting all that product by sharpening every time. Also, some pencils are just so stinking soft that it takes way to much effort to sharpen them. I'm currently having that struggle with my Starlooks lip and eye pencils. They're so soft I can't get them to come to a point without breaking off! The struggle is real....

Click to expand...

All my eyeliner pencils are really soft too. It stinks! I mean, I like it for application, but not for.... preciseness.

vogueboy said:

Yeah, I hear your pain on that one!

But here's a neat little trick that you can work around that... Just place your soft liners in the freezer for about 10-20 min. then sharpen them.

On hot exterior location set days, we place liners in a cup of ice cubes or we use those compressed air cans, (the ones used for dusting keyboards) and we turn the can upside down and spray the liner tip for 1-2 seconds which freezes it. 

The trick is to not to let the tip freeze solid or it will break off in the sharpener when sharpening. So you have to find the right balance.

If the tip is frozen solid like in winter or too long in the freezer, just place the tip in a Kleenex between your thumb and index finger and gently twirl the liner, the friction will slightly warm the tip for sharpening.

HTH good luck!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Click to expand...

You are AWESOME! Thanks so much for this tip. You rock and are a makeup MacGyver!!!

Shalott said:

I am the only person who uses my liners so I sharpen them when the casings are cutting my lips or eyeballs. My sharpener is all the way at the bottom of my makeup drawer and I hate digging it out unless I have to! XD

Click to expand...

Yikes! Yeah, my sharpener was so little, dirty, and hard to find that I didn't like digging it out. But now I got a new fat, bright green one from sephora that does 2 sizes and I keep it in a drawer so it's always there when I need it. It also catches the shavings so I don't have to be over a trash can at the time. Ooh, and it's antimicrobial!

turntrekgodhead said:

@@vogueboy Great tip! I first learned that tip in a Bratz colouring book, I'm glad professionals use/came up with it!

Click to expand...

Whoa! A Bratz coloring book had makeup tips? Who knew?

aqua_shell said:

I usually sharpen mine each time I use them on other people, and if I only use them myself every two or three times, but I also disinfect them after every use. 

Click to expand...

Good idea.

Ok, my take away message is I need to clean my sharpener, and sharpen my pencils more often. Also, for the soft eyeliner pencils, I'll pop them in the freezer for a few minutes beforehand.

YAY!

@@eastofthesun I have an UD Grindhouse in lime green, AND one of those Sephora sharpeners - it doesn't matter. I'm just lazy and unhygienic, I suppose. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

@@vogueboy - thanks for the sharpening of soft pencils tip! 

I sharpen my pencils fairly often, I like to be able to draw a nice thin line and I need to sharpen most pencils after 3-4 uses. 

@@eastofthesun Yes! I did get those pencil extenders. Best things ever! So thank you for that recommendation.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

@@eastofthesun I love those Sephora sharpeners, I have two, purple (my favorite color) and the blue one. I need to get that pencil extender! I only sharpen mine when it is getting close to the wood, I get too stressed about getting poked by wood. (get your minds out of the gutter, for shame!)

I sharpen when the tip gets dull. I have a heavy hand because I am not patient so every 3x probably. I have several sharpeners because I always lose the but one will pop up without too much effort.

Hi! I try and sharpen mine whenever they feel a little bit scratchy. If you do not have a sharpener to hand did you know you can just burn the end? 

My working lip liner compared to a brand new one. Yup and those pencil extenders sure do come in handy  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />