It's no secret that I am truly terrible at applying eyeliner. I have spent many years trying different tips and tricks, and while they typically work in the short term, after a few weeks, my brain has a wonderful way of forgetting everything it learned, putting me back at square one. As a result, I simply steer clear of eyeliner.
But a few months ago, I mentioned to one of my makeup-artist colleagues that I really struggle to do winged liner. "Well, that's because you have down-turning eyes," she said. This isn't something I had ever known about myself, but now that I do know it, it's glaringly obvious. "If your eyes don't naturally slant upward, it's very difficult to get an eyeliner flick that doesn't look out of place," she added.
Finally, an answer to my problems. It's not that I'm worse at makeup than everybody else; it's just that my eye shape is different. I have, after all, watched plenty of YouTube tutorials on how to do liner on hooded eyes but never on down-turning eyes. By strange coincidence, that evening when I got home, I tapped on to Instagram to see a video of someone using something called Quickie Stickies—sticker stencils for winged eye liner. The results looked good. I figured if I'm never going to be able to do my winged liner freehand, I might as well give them a go.
A few days later, my Quickie Stickies arrived. They're from one of my go-to brands for makeup brushes, Kohl Kreatives, so I had high hopes. You see, Kohl Kreatives is a brand I truly respect. It champions a zero-waste, circular economy with its products as well as creating products truly designed for everyone—from those with visual disabilities to those with reduced motor function. Every element of design in Kohl Kreatives products champions accessibility and ease.
Beyond that, though, Kohl Kreatives products are good, and Quickie Stickies are no exception. You get 24 stickers in one pack with varying designs. Some wings are fine and short; others are thicker and wider. Of the 24 stencils, I would describe 12 as everyday and wearable (simple wings) and 12 as slightly more graphic (fishtail wings, hearts, stars, etc.). Personally, I would love to see a pack that contains 24 of the simple wings, as I'm not sure I'll get any use out of the more graphic shapes.
The concept is really simple. You choose your desired stencil, peel it off the rice-based backing paper (it's all biodegradable), position it on your eyelid and fill it in with an eye shadow or liner of your choice. At first, it took me a little while to line up the stencils evenly on both sides, but after a couple of minutes of trial and error, I got there.
To begin with, I tried filling in the stencil with a brown eye shadow (as I had seen on Instagram), and although I liked it, I didn't think the result was dramatic enough for me to warrant using them all the time. So instead, I dug out a creamy eye shadow pencil (Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour) in a bright colour—a shimmering brick red—and scribbled over the top. The result? Dreamy. In fact, I'm going to totally give up on trying to learn any sort of winged-liner technique at all. Even with my down-turning eyes, Quickie Stickies executed a totally perfect winged-liner look.
And while I wouldn't typically endorse a single-use product (they aren't good for the environment), I feel comfortable knowing that each pack of Quickie Stickies is particularly environmentally conscious. The inks, for example, are soy, the adhesives are made from seaweed (most adhesives aren't recyclable), and the whole thing is biodegradable. Oh, and did I mention that the proceeds from sales go towards Kohl Kares, the brand's charity that provides free workshops for a variety of communities, from transgender and cancer care support to supporting those with motor and visual disabilities?
Basically, if you can't do winged liner and wish that you could, just give Quickie Stickies a go.
Shop Kohl Kreatives Quickie Stickies
Containing 24 pairs of stickers, one pack has options for a simple wing or something more fun and graphic.
Made from recycled plastic, these eye brushes are some of the best in my collection.
There isn't a texture or formula out there that these brushes can't work with.
With a little bit of flexibility, these brushes make for the most comfortable and easiest makeup experience.
Shop Eyeliners
This highly pigmented liner pen makes super-sharp wings a total breeze.
If you like to smudge your liner out, go for a gel pencil like this one.
This fine-nibbed pen is quick-drying, making it great for preventing unwanted smears and smudges.
The tip of this liner has some gentle flexibility to it, making it super easy to apply liner in one fluid stroke.
This eyeliner is a makeup-artist favourite thanks to its jet-black finish and teeny-tiny nib for pin-like precision.
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