I’ve spent years staring into bathroom mirrors, holding my breath like I’m defusing a bomb, all for the sake of a symmetrical flick. It's funny, really. We call it the cat eye look eyeliner, but if you look at an actual cat, their eyes don't have a 45-degree sharp-as-a-scalpel wing made of liquid carbon. It’s a vibe. It’s a mood. And honestly? It’s probably the most frustrating part of a morning routine if you don't know the geometry of your own face.
The truth is that most tutorials lie. They show someone with a massive amount of lid space and a perfectly flat orbital bone drawing a single line and—poof—glamour. For the rest of us with hooded eyes, shaky hands, or asymmetrical brows, it feels like a setup.
The Geometry of the Flick
You’ve probably heard that you should follow your lower lash line's natural curve. That’s solid advice, mostly. But if you have hooded eyes, following that line directly into the fold of your skin creates what we call the "droopy wing." It’s not cute. Instead, you have to look straight ahead. Stop squinting. Stop pulling your eyelid taut with your finger—that's the biggest mistake people make because when you let go, the skin bounces back and your straight line becomes a lightning bolt.
Makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes often talks about the "batwing" technique for hooded lids. You basically draw the wing over the fold while your eye is open. When you close your eye, there’s a little notch in the liner that looks like a bat's wing, but when your eye is open and looking at someone, it looks like a perfect, straight cat eye look eyeliner. It’s an optical illusion. Pure sorcery.
Tools are everything (and nothing)
Some people swear by felt-tip pens. Others want a potted gel and a bent brush. If you're struggling, the tool might actually be the problem. Felt tips are great for precision but they dry out fast and can tug on crepey skin. Gel is more forgiving because it stays wet longer, giving you time to smudge or correct.
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- Liquid Pens: Great for the "Stila Stay All Day" crowd.
- Gel Pots: Think MAC Pro Longwear or Inglot 77. This is what the pros use when they need it to stay through a hurricane.
- Eyeshadow: If you're a beginner, start here. Use a dark brown or black shadow on an angled brush. It's softer, easier to clean up, and way less intimidating than a permanent-looking ink.
Why Your Symmetry Is Always Off
Your face isn't symmetrical. Your left eye is likely a different shape than your right. Maybe one sits slightly higher or has a different fold pattern. Trying to make your eyeliner identical is a recipe for madness. They are sisters, not twins. If you try to match them perfectly, you’ll end up with wings that reach your ears because you keep adding "just a little more" to each side to balance them out. We’ve all been there.
Real experts, like Lisa Eldridge, suggest starting with your "bad" eye first. We all have one. For me, it’s the left. If you get the difficult side looking decent, matching the "good" side to it is significantly easier than the other way around.
The Tape Trick: A Necessary Evil?
People love the Scotch tape hack. You stick a piece of tape from your outer corner to your temple and use it as a ruler. It works, sure. But be careful. The skin around your eyes is incredibly thin—about 0.5mm thick. Ripping tape off that area every day is a one-way ticket to premature wrinkles and irritation. If you must use tape, stick it to the back of your hand a few times first to lose some of the tackiness. Or, better yet, use a post-it note.
Common Cat Eye Look Eyeliner Blunders
Most people start from the inner corner and work out. Don't do that. Start at the outer corner where the wing goes. That's the focal point. If you run out of steam or ink by the time you get to the inner corner, it doesn't matter as much. A thick inner line can actually make your eyes look smaller and closer together, which is usually the opposite of what a cat eye is supposed to do.
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Another thing? The "connecting" line. People draw the wing and then realize they have no idea how to attach it to the rest of the eye. You want to bring the line from the tip of the wing back toward the middle of your pupil, not the corner. This creates a triangle. Fill that triangle in.
Real World Examples of Iconic Wings
Think back to Amy Winehouse. Her wing was massive, thick, and unapologetic. It wasn't about "lifting" the eye; it was a subcultural statement. Then you have the 1950s Audrey Hepburn look—very thin, very delicate, mostly just a slight "flick" at the very end to elongate the lashes. Pat McGrath, arguably the most influential makeup artist in the world right now, often uses "wing" shapes that aren't even connected to the lash line for high-fashion shoots. The point is, there is no one "right" way to do a cat eye look eyeliner.
Maintaining the Look All Day
The tragedy of the perfect wing is seeing it smeared across your brow bone by 2 PM. This happens because of oils on your eyelids. Even if you don't have "oily skin," your lids produce sebum.
- Use a primer. Urban Decay Primer Potion is a classic for a reason.
- Set your liner. If you use a pencil or gel, pat a tiny bit of matching eyeshadow on top. It acts like a setting powder for your face.
- Clean up with a pointed Q-tip. Not the round ones—get the ones meant for makeup. Dip it in micellar water, not oil-based remover. Oil-based remover will leave a residue that makes your next attempt slide right off.
Is the Cat Eye Still "In"?
Trends cycle fast. We went through a phase where "Fox Eyes" were the thing, which involved a much more horizontal, elongated wing and liner in the inner tear duct. But the classic cat eye look eyeliner is like a white button-down shirt. It doesn't really go out of style; it just gets reinterpreted. Right now, we’re seeing a shift toward "blurred" wings—using a pencil and smudging it out with a brush for a smoky, lived-in look rather than the sharp "Instagram" brow-era line.
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Actionable Steps for Your Next Attempt
Stop practicing when you're actually getting ready to go out. That’s the highest stakes possible and you'll probably mess up. Practice at night right before you wash your face. There’s no pressure. If it looks bad, you were about to wash it off anyway.
Map it out with dots. Put a dot where you want the wing to end on both sides. Check them in the mirror. If the dots are level, proceed. If not, wipe a dot and move it. Connecting the dots is much easier than freehanding a 2-inch stroke.
Invest in a good mirror. If you’re leaning over a bathroom sink trying to see into a mirror that’s three feet away, you’ve already lost. Use a handheld or a tabletop mirror so you can get close and, more importantly, look down into it. Looking down stretches the lid slightly without you having to use your fingers, giving you a smoother canvas for the cat eye look eyeliner.
Finally, keep a concealer brush nearby. A tiny bit of high-coverage concealer on a flat brush can "carve" out a messy wing and make it look professional. It’s the ultimate "fake it till you make it" move in the beauty world. Use a shade that matches your foundation exactly so you don't end up with a bright white halo around your eyes.