How to Ease Yourself Into Bright Makeup Trends With Colorful Eyeliner

Can we all take a moment to appreciate the way Euphoria has singlehandedly given us an excuse to get experimental and creative with makeup again?

The show has paved the way for bright makeup trends the last couple of years with all of the glitter, color, rhinestones, and graphic eyeliner looks seen on the show. Now, with the return of season two, the show has managed to inspire many of us to embrace glitz and glamour again during a time when many of our makeup routines have become obsolete due to years of working from home and mask-wearing.

However, if you’re a beginner to makeup or someone who gravitates for neutral tones, then wearing a glitter cut crease or a rhinestone winged eyeliner may feel a little too out of your comfort zone — let alone daunting to recreate. An easy way to get in on bright makeup trends, though, is by wearing colorful eyeliner. Rest assured you don’t need to create a crazy, graphic shape to get the full effect, either. Sometimes a subtle pop of color is all you need to take your makeup from simple to sensational.

If you need help getting started, we tapped professional makeup artists for their best makeup tips on incorporating colorful eyeliner into your routine without it feeling too overwhelming — as well as looks you can recreate at home.

Prime the Eyes

Before applying any color to your makeup, Ariana Frazier, a professional makeup artist, says priming your eyes is a must. “Priming or putting a base on the eyelid helps those colors to really pop,” she says.

Sara Wren, the Milk Makeup director of artistry, agrees and says it’s also helpful to prevent any creasing or smudging that might occur as your wear your liner throughout the day.

Choose an Eyeliner Color that Makes Your Eyes Pop

A pro tip from Jasmine Ferreira, the Lancôme director of makeup artistry education, is to choose a color that compliments your eyes. It’s all about creating contrast.

“For blue eyes, opt for gold, orange, and plum hues,” says Ferreira. “Green eyes should opt for purple, pink, and blues, and hazel eyes should opt for green and golds.” Typically all colors compliment brown eyes.

Stick to Your Go-To Eyeliner Application

We know it’s easy to feel like because you’re using a colorful eyeliner, you have to do something different or creative with it. However, Ferreria recommends starting small when adding pops of color and using your eyeliner as your normally would. “Use a colored eyeliner instead of a darker eyeliner to create traditional shapes like a classic cat eye, or apply it on the waterline or tightline.”

Opt for an Eyeliner Pencil Over Liquid

“For beginners using colored eyeliners, opt for a pencil, like Lancôme’s Drama Liqui-Pencil ($22, sephora.com) over a liquid liner because they are generally easier to control,” says Ferreira.

Wren also recommends sticking to eye products that are buildable in pigmentation, like the Milk Makeup Color Chalks ($18, sephora.com). “Sometimes too bright or too opaque of a product can be intimidating, but using something softer like a bright eyeshadow allows you to customize your look,” she says.

Choose an Eyeliner with a Different Finish

If your instincts are to avoid bright, neon hues, opt for an eyeliner with a metallic, shimmer, or sparkly finish, says Hector Espinal, Fenty Beauty global makeup artist. “A great way for beginners to incorporate colorful eyeliner into their makeup look is to start with a subtle shade or play with a different finish, like a shimmer, if you’re still really easing into those brighter shades,” he says. “I love using Fenty Beauty Flypencil Longwear Pencil Eyeliner ($23, sephora.com) for looks like this because there is such a wide range of shades and finishes.”

He recommends trying a shade like Chromewrecker, a light grey matte, or Bad Bride, a white with silver glitter because they offer a nice pop without being a drastic change from typical darker shades.

Make the Eyeliner the Focal Point

“Keep your colored liner the focal point, and the rest of your look simple,” says Ferreira. This will also help balance out your look, so it doesn’t feel overwhelming if you aren’t going for an all-over bright look.

Colorful Eyeliner Ideas to Try:

Swap out your black eyeliner for another color and create a winged eyeliner shape for a simple eye look that’s bound to turn heads.

Grabbing inspo directly from the show itself, try creating an accent cut crease using a bright eyeliner. Simply, follow the natural crease of your eyelid to get the look.

Lucy Hale shows us that using colorful eyeliner doesn’t have to be extravagant to make a statement.

If you are willing to play with some graphic shapes, something like zig-zags on your eyelids is playful and fun.

Keep things super subtle by adding tiny stripes of bright colored eyeliner on the inner and outer corner of your eyes to brighten up your go-to eyeliner look.

Another way to try colorful eyeliner is to apply it on your bottom water line and smudge it out for a smoky effect.