'Invisible eyeliner' is the easy new way to nail winged liner

Without even USING eyeliner

Editor / August 09 2022

Everyone loves a classic, crisp cat eye, it's true, and yet a solid wing remains one of the most difficult-to-master beauty looks in the game. And as much as we adore statement liner, it can be a bit much for everyday. A conundrum! Blessedly, our beloved TikTok beauty gurus have presented us with a sublime solution: 'invisible eyeliner', a 'liner' look that's both easier to nail and more low-key to wear.

And here's the kicker: you don't even need any eyeliner to achieve it. Wondering how that's even possible? Allow us to explain. You actually use concealer to carve out your shape. After loading a little product onto an angled eyeliner brush, you're almost aiming to create a negative space wing where your real skin acts as the 'definition'. It's basically a very chic optical illusion!

You start by drawing a line of concealer below where your dream wing would sit (AKA winging out from just below your lower lash line), and then another one stemming from the outer corner of your upper lash line, allowing the two to meet in the middle (leaving the perfect wing shape as 'bare' skin).

From there, you use a brush (perhaps a slightly flatter one) to blend the concealer outward, buffing everything but the wing outline into skin, providing coverage around the eye area while also giving the eye an elongated shape.

Sounds a tad confusing, we know: here's what you're aiming for visually...

@truquedegringa

@truquedegringa

@truquedegringa

Magic, right? It's the ideal way to give eyes the lifted appearance we all crave without weighing them down with heavy makeup or dark shades. And all you need is concealer and a brush or two! We love a TikTok trend that pulls from what we already have stocked in our makeup bags.

FYI, you can dial up the drama by opting for a concealer colour a few shades deeper than your skin tone, to give off more of an 'eyeshadow blended to utter perfection' vibe. Or you can apply an actual eyeshadow over your lid (without the need for much precision) and then polish and neaten by layering a concealer-aided invisible wing over the top. Here's how that would look...

So if precision isn't a skill you'd get endorsed for on LinkedIn, and wielding a jet black eyeliner is your idea of a nightmare, give invisible liner a go. It's a minimalist's makeup dream!


Main image credit: @kirsty.belle


Craving more eyeliner inspo? Here's what Adele uses to create her signature wing...

Delaney began her career in the Australian beauty media industry in 2015, landing amidst the glossy world of women’s lifestyle magazines (or more literally, in their beauty cupboards). Since then, she has gone on to write across a multitude of beloved Australian media brands, including OK!, NW, InStyle, and Harper’s BAZAAR. She’s covered every side of beauty content, from directing beauty editorial shoots to rounding up the best glossy serums for golden hour skin. Having spent nearly a decade immersed in the beauty realm, Delaney’s knowledge of beauty is as extensive as her collection of tinted lip oils (read: extremely extensive). Delaney is currently the Digital Managing Editor of BEAUTYcrew, and her beauty wisdom also appears across beautyheaven, ELLE and Marie Claire. She enjoys channelling her personal hobby (testing beauty products) into her professional work (talking about testing beauty products), and considers perfecting the art of a cat eye in a moving car her life’s greatest accomplishment.