How To Nail The Ultimate Smudged Eyeliner Look
Whether you're eager to embrace the return of indie sleaze or rebel against the reign of clean girl makeup, artfully smudged eyeliner is shaping up to be all the rage this fall.
While the cat-eye look never truly goes out of style, various eyeliner trends have taken over social media, street style, and the red carpets in recent months—deconstructed eyeliner, kitten eyeliner, and deep brown eye looks included—but the most recent to dominate the makeup routines of all of our favorite stars is a throwback look recalling the late aughts, indie sleaze renaissance and all.
From It girl of the moment Cailee Spaeny—who recently swapped out her Priscilla Presley-inspired thick wing—to gothic style star Jenna Ortega, smudged eyeliner has proved a formidable makeup trend emerging right in time for the turn of the season. While 'clean girl makeup' has rocked the beauty world with its explosion in popularity over the past year, the era of drama, emotion, and spectacle is here, courtesy of smudged eyeliner.
Since she burst onto the scene in 2017 with hits like "Coffee," "She Plays Bass," and "Glue Song," indie-pop singer Beabadoobee has captivated fans with catchy melodies, endlessly relatable lyrics, charismatic online presence, and her signature smudged eyeliner look. Over the years, the musician's classic eyeliner look has evolved, shifting from a heavy black waterlined look to a subtle smudged wing, but the traces of indie sleaze cool-girl energy have lingered.
While the clean girl makeup routines of style stars like Hailey Bieber have captivated some circles of the Internet, others have remained entranced by the effortless allure of Beabadoobee's signature look, prompting plenty of tutorials from beauty creators and influencers on how to recreate the style. Recently, the "Take A Bite" singer chimed in, putting an end to the speculation on how she achieves the smoky, sultry smudged eyeliner look, and the key is simpler than many believed.
The singer starts with a creamy eyeliner pencil in black, and lines her top and bottom waterline, stopping just before the inner corner of her eye. While lining the inner corner can be key in some looks, Beabadoobee shares that for her signature style, avoiding this area can help open up the eye and provide a more lively, awakened look. In the outer corner, be sure to apply extra product, and then simply run a finger or small brush through the area to bring the product up and outwards, creating a subtle, smoky wing.
"Honestly, the more mistakes the better," she says in the TikTok video. After all, nailing the indie sleaze-inspired look is all about creating an effortless, long-lasting smudged eyeliner look that survives late nights out and hot summer evenings.
