If there’s one thing us Singaporean ladies love, it’s eyeliner, and it’s a huge trend this year.
Whether it’s thick smoky black kohl or simple K-Beauty style flicks, we found the best beauty balance between trend and tradition for this Chinese New Year – coloured eyeliners.
Lace top, $29.90 from Zalora. Acetate sunglasses, $560 from Celine. Mini crossbody leather bag, $505 from Furla. Atelier Swarovski crystal ring, $550 from Atelier Swarovski. Crystal ring, $95 from Annielka.
There’s a whole array of coloured eyeliners out in the market for Spring 2015 – Shu Uemura’s latest collection gives you 10 options, Lunasol has two in their current collection, while Make Up For Ever has long been carrying a permanent line of coloured liquid and pencil liners.
You can easily adapt them to the lucky colour for your zodiac this year, but bear in mind these tips from makeup artist Dollei Seah to avoid any unwanted beauty boo-boos!
#1 DON’T DRAW THEM ALONG YOUR ENTIRE EYELID
Go big on the K-Beauty trend of drawing them on just the outer corners of your eyes.
“For those with hooded eyelids, there’s no point of putting the whole pink eyeliner over the lid because once you open the eye, you can’t see it. Just bring out a tint of colour at the end,” advises Dollei.
#2 PAIR PURPLE, BLUE AND GREEN WITH SOFT ORANGE COLOURS
Blue, purple and green are said to be one of the best colours to pair with brown eyes, but beware, these colours can actually make you look dull if paired with the wrong blusher and lipstick.
“Us Asians tend to be more sallow and yellowish (in skin tone), so if we use pink with green and blue – which both have a yellow component in them – it will look very ‘dirty’,” said Dollei.
She recommends pairing these colours with a light tint of an orange-peach lipstick and blusher, like Shu Uemura’s Glow On in M Soft Apricot and P Soft Apricot.
#3 DOT ALONG YOUR EYELID FOR INTENSE COLOUR
It can be a little tricky to get the colour from liquid eyeliners to pop. So draw one layer of your eyeliner first and let it dry for five minutes. (So long? Kiasu, okay. Just make sure it’s completely dry before you carry on to the next step.)
Then, Dollei says to add a second layer by dotting along the line you’ve just drawn for more intense colour payoff.
#4 USE AN EYE PRIMER TO BUDGE-PROOF YOUR EYELINER
Get your eyeliner to survive through multiple house visits in our humid weather with an eye primer, especially if you have oily eyelids.
Dollei used the Dior Backstage Eye Prime for this.
#5 KEEP THE EYESHADOW NEUTRAL
We know more than half of you are going to skip the eyeshadow, but know this – eyeshadows can help to “lock in” your eyeliner for even better staying power. So we urge you to try it this CNY, it’s very simple!
You can just apply a single colour on your eyelids, but make sure that the colour isn’t too strong, you want to keep it looking “nude”.
Dollei says that an easy way to do this is to “pick an eyeshadow that is one or two shades lighter than the eyeliner, it will look even lighter on the skin. So we are still achieving a very clean look that enhances the liner.”
Here, she used a frosted pink shade from the Shu:palette to match the pink eyeliner. (bottom row, fourth from the left)
And there you have it – the best look to wear this Chinese New Year. Trust us, it’ll be something easy to talk about at awkward gatherings.
Shu Uemura Metal:ink coloured liners, $40 each, and Shu Uemura Glow On blushers, $33 each, are available at all Shu Uemura stores and counters. For more information, visit www.shuuemura.com.sg, and follow the brand on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Shu:palette, $160, will be available from March 2015 at all Shu Uemura stores and counters.
Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes liquid eyeliners, $34 each, are available at the Make Up For Ever Academy & Pro Loft and Sephora. For more information, visit www.makeupforever.com.sg, and follow the brand on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Lunasol Noble Shade Liner, $45, is available at all Lunasol counters. For more information, visit www.lunasol-net.com.
Dior Backstage Eye Prime, $47, is available at the Dior Backstage Studio and all Dior beauty counters. For more information, visit www.dior.com/beauty/en_int, and follow the brand on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.