"Eye" love this trick, and you will, too – promise!
Here’s the deal. My cumulative sleep debt for an average week amounts to something approaching a small nation’s GDP. Caffeine, my one great jittery joy in life ...
Which is why this neat little liner trick you’re about to be privy to is particularly near and dear to my exhausted heart. When it comes to concealing circles and fending off fatigue, white liner is seriously the best thing since sliced bread. And hey, we know how much you ladies love eyeliner, right?
Want to give white eyeliner a test-drive in anticipation of upcoming office all-nighters? Try this fabulously fresh look conjured up by our makeup buddy Rina Sim, who’s managed to maximise our model Sherena’s doe-eyed appeal with just a judicious clean white flick.
The rest of the face was left as is, with a pat of undereye concealer, light lashings of mascara, a nude lip tint and a dab of illuminating highlighter giving Sherena’s face some added dimension. Otherwise, there was nary a hint of colour or extraneous embellishment.
The overall effect is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, won’t you say. And the best part? All told, faking eight hours of sleep should take you no more than two minutes, tops. Timers, at the ready? Go!
STEP 1. Start with a wash of matte taupe shadow across your entire socket. Next, select the best creamy pencil in your beauty arsenal. Quick note about colour selection: An off-white eggshell hue works better than a blinding white shade, as the pureness of the latter can ironically draw attention to the redness of the whites of your eyes.
Got your tool in hand? Draw a thick line from the base of your upper lash line ending midway up your crease. Let the line taper off at the outer edge of your eyelashes. The "blinking" effect of the pop of white as you open and close your eyes is very fetching!
STEP 2. Use an angled sponge to lightly smudge the triangular corners next to your tear ducts – the white eyeliner does double duty as an inner eye highlighter. Because this look is about clean, almost architectural lines, leave the rest of the line on the outer corners sharply defined.
STEP 3. White eyeliner is inextricably tied with the cool chicks of the Mod era, so we thought it'd be fun to update the look for our decade. Follow the steps above, then flick the line up and out to create a subtle right-angled wing. (Position a business card at the desired angle at the outer corner as a guide if you need help in steadying your stroke.)
Finish with one or two coats of mascara to allude to the overblown falsies of the 1960s, but don't go overboard with the wand – you want the white wing to do all the talking.
And you’re done! Eight hours of sleep with minimal elbow grease. Now excuse me while I head to the office pantry for my fourth cup of joe!
Photography: Vernon Wong; Art direction: Eugene Quek and Sabrina Tiong; Hair and makeup: Rina Sim using M.A.C Cosmetics (9762 6084); Model: Sherena Ng / Basic Models
Sherena is wearing a polyester-viscose blend tee, $56.90, from Topshop. Topshop store locations can be found here.