At the European premiere of Practical Magic 2, Maisie Williams went for a softer yet still-anything- but-inconspicuous interpretation of red eyeliner. Rather than a hard, graphic line, her makeup artist smudged burgundy tones under the lower lashes. Then there’s Zendaya, who, in addition to dabbling in the gateway shade of rust at the Rome premiere of The Drama, wore a true-red pencil all around her eyes at a photo call for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
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Even though all three wore red eyeliner in different ways, the looks all have one thing in common: It’s freakin’ red eyeliner, man. Like, can we, the beauty-loving citizenry with non-celebrity jobs and lifestyles, really make this work on any other day than Halloween?
Makeup artist Karol Rodriguez says yes. “I have always been a huge, huge fan of red,” they say. “It’s one of those power colors.” Rodriguez sees red eyeliner as a way of taking the impact of a classic red lip and moving it somewhere much less expected. Depending on the application, they say, it can look bold and grungy, editorial, or feminine.
For those of us who want to try red eyeliner in a way that won’t spark concern among coworkers over a burgeoning pestilence, Rodriguez has one very practical rule: “Keep it on the top lid.” Most of us already have some redness or pinkness along the lower waterline, and as devastatingly cool as Rihanna looks, adding bright red there can make you look less like you’re sitting front row at Paris Fashion Week and more like you’ve been staring at your laptop for 14 consecutive hours. Rodriguez suggests the Sephora Collection 12 Hour Colorful Contour Pencil Eyeliner in Aloha for a pencil option, and Colourpop BFF Liquid Liner in Try Me for a felt-tip liquid liner pick.
