Best Eyeliner: 15 Easy Looks & Styles for 2026

Finding the best eyeliner can completely change your eye makeup, whether you prefer a simple everyday style or a bold winged look. The right eyeliner can define your eyes, enhance their shape, and add the finishing touch to your makeup.

But choosing the right eyeliner is also important. Pencil, gel, liquid, and pen eyeliners can create different effects, and some are easier to use than others.

In this guide, we’ll explore different eyeliner looks and styles, different types of eyeliner, simple eyeliner hacks, and easy techniques you can try at home. Whether you’re a beginner or want to experiment with a new look, you’ll find simple ideas to help you choose the right eyeliner style.

So let’s start with our first topic

Types of Eyeliner

The eyes are the most expressive part of our faces, and eyeliner is the one to highlights them in a glamorous way. There are a variety of eyeliners available on the market. The Type of eyeliner depends on the look you want, your eye shape, and how comfortable you are with application. Pencil, gel, liquid, and pen eyeliners each have different strengths. If you’re new to eye makeup, our ultimate eye makeup guide for beginners covers the basic techniques and products you can start with. Let’s learn about them one by one:

1. Pencil liner:

The pencil liner is the most simple and commonly used liner that we all love to use. This type of eyeliner is usually creamy and smoothly glides on your lash line and waterline. It is the advanced version of Kajal. If you grew up using Kajal, welcome to a new and better edition of Kajal. You can sharpen the tip to make it look like a cat eye. It stays in the eyes for almost 3 hours.

2. Gel Liner:

This comes in a small pot and is a little challenging to apply, but once you are a master at working with it, you will be in love with it. Gel eyeliner is good for changing your look quickly, and it will not fade or smudge if you accidentally rub your eyes. Gel eyeliners need a very steady hand and some practice before you can start creating dramatic looks. Another thing to keep in mind with gel eyeliners is that they can dry out quickly, so remember to shut the lids tightly after every use.

3. Liquid liner: 

Liquid liner is one of the best on our list in terms of staying power. is best to create various looks like flicks of eyeliner, graphic eyeliner, cat eyes, etc. Like a gel liner, liquid liner too needs a very steady hand and needs to be careful when drawing your favorite strokes. It is smudge-proof as it dries so quickly, but not good for making smoky eyes. Most liquid eyeliners are available in either a matte or glossy effect, so choose one that complements your overall makeup look. 

4. Felt-Tip Pen

If you find liquid eyeliner tricky and difficult to draw your favorite strokes, then don’t worry, we are blessed with pen eyeliner by our cosmetic world. Pen eyeliner gives the feel of a liquid liner in the form of a pencil liner. It is absolutely the first love of all beginners. Felt tip eyeliners usually have a smear-proof and smudge-proof formula that makes for a flawless application. 

How do eyeliner flicks work? 

Makeup trends keep getting crazier and crazier with each passing day. We practice learning one, and then we see another come into the market, so here we learn how to create the most common and dramatic liner look. eyeliner flicks, aka winged liner, in a very simple way. If you’re still learning the basics, our guide on how to apply eyeliner step by step can help you practice before trying a winged look.

1. Start by applying from the middle of the eyelid right above your lashes with your liquid or pen liner. Make a soft stroke and don’t push too much.
2. If you are a beginner, then work in small, even lines until you reach the outer corner of your eye. Don’t worry about uneven lines; you can correct them afterward.
3. Draw a dot where your flick should end. You can make it as long or as short as you wish to, using a business card for the angled guideline.
4. Connect this dot with the line.
5. Draw a second line from the dot in a downward motion that connects to the first angled line. Keep in mind that the corner of your eye will resemble the outline of an eyeliner wing.
6. Fill in the gap between these two lines by using small, careful strokes until it’s completely colored.

Simple Eyeliner Hacks:

Eyeliner is a vital tool for enhancing your overall makeup look, but it can be frustrating at times, especially if you don’t know how to use it correctly. Let’s find some simple hacks that will make you a pro.

Easy Eyeliner Application Tips

1. If you have shaky hands when applying liner like me, then try it by curling your toes. Yes, you heard it right, it’s a makeup artist’s secret. It is a tried and tested hack.
2. Work on the small dot technique. This way you will get a guideline to make the perfect line.
3. Before applying liquid eyeliner, rub an apple pencil on the lid. This will give your liner guidance and strength for lasting.
4. If you have a pencil liner, then the trick is to make it wet. Using it will give you darker pigments and long-lasting effects.
5. If you want a smoky outer corner, then draw the line along the lash line as normal. Once you get to the outer corner, create an arch just above the socket like a rainbow shape, and then blend it to get a Smokey effect.

Eyeliner Fixes and Finishing Tips

1. If you talk about makeup flaws, then eyeliner becomes the first culprit. Use a sharp cotton stick for precise cleaning. Also, if you have difficulty making a straight line, make a rough line and sharpen it with cotton sticks.
2. Fill in your top lashes from the underside. This will make your eyelashes look fuller but won’t leave you looking too made-up. 
3. If your eyelids are oily or if you are getting ready for a summer wedding, then you will be worried about smudging. Applying the eyeliner after powder eyeshadows may help keep the liner in place.
4. Using an ashy brown liner works on all eye colors and shapes and is less harsh than black. 
5. Always start with where you are comfortable. Once you have set an example, go on to another one.

Trending Eyeliner Styles

It is always fun to switch your normal look to a glam look. Eyeliner is one of the makeup tools that will make it happen in no time. Whether it’s a normal look or a dramatic look, it is every woman’s favorite makeup essential, so keep reading to learn some trendy styles of eyeliners. Have fun, and try as many as you can.

1. Colored or Glitter Eyeliner: 

If you are bored of black eyeliner, add some colors and sparkle in your life. Sometimes you do not need to be dramatic to look different; just a color stroke does its magic. The hack is that if you don’t have a color liner, try a lip pencil on your eyelids. Match the color with your dress and flaunt it flawlessly.

2. Cat Eyeliner:

Time to wear your favorite look, Cat Eyeliner, but I find some women’s quite tricky. That’s OK, try and try to make the woman perfect. Using the dot technique will benefit you. It’s beautiful, not too much, not too little, just gives you a perfect romantic look. It is the best evergreen trend and is well-suited for just about any occasion, whether day or night.

3. Double Winged Eyeliner: 

If you think the winged liner is a dramatic look, then add one more wing to it to add more drama to it. We know it. Winged eyeliner is probably already your favorite. Just add one more line close to your lower lash and extend till the upper wing, and your next party style is ready. Oh, don’t forget to highlight the wings with a white pencil or eye shadow.

4. Two-toned Eyeliner: 

Black is all time favorite but we can apply colored liner also but about two colors on the eyes. Make a retro look like the 80s by applying the matching color of your dress on the upper lids and the apply black color on the lower lashes.

5. Smokey Liner: 

It’s a night out party and you want some sexy look so why not smudge your liner to create a sexy Smokey look. In this, you no need to be careful, the messier better. Just draw the line on the upper and lower lash line with a pencil and smudge it Walla is it simple?