by Lorelai George

Created on: May 16, 2008   Last Updated: August 07, 2009

Since the beginning of the 21st century, people have began to experiment with makeup more than ever. You can now get eyeliner in every color of the rainbow, but the question is, what to do with it?

For starters, there's the obvious smoky eye effect, which suits everyone as long as it is applied and combined with the right eyeshadow. (For a tutorial look it up on Google, there's bound to be thousands.) If the smoky eye is too daring for you, there are also more subtle versions, or you could do the same effect in a different color, such as substituting the black pencil for a gray.

White eyeliner is also good for brightening up tired or puffy eyes as it makes the whites of your eyes appear brighter when applied on the bottom inner rim of your eye. A twist on this look is applying black to the top inner rim, and white to the bottom, however it is more difficult to apply eyeliner to the top.

If white isn't your color, you can also put black on the bottom rim of your eye, as was the fashion a few years ago, but this look can be quite harsh on some people.

If you're going out to a party, mixing different colors (complimentary or clashing) can also be an interesting idea. Green with pink, blue with purple, orange and yellow, the list is endless. You could create a fire-like look in your eyes, blending yellow, orange and red outwards towards your eye (you can use eyeliner to fill in your whole eye), or emphasize the crease in your eye by drawing it in eyeliner.

Another way to brighten up eyes is to apply white or silver eyeliner to the inner corner of your eye. This looks good on its own, or mixed with other colors, such as outlining the rest of your eye in green.

Another way to experiment with eyeliner is to use colors that compliment your eyes - green for green eyes, blue for blue eyes, etc. This will really make your eyes stand out, as will the opposite technique - using the opposite colors to your eyes.

One thing to avoid with eyeliner (especially when attempting the smoky eye look), is panda eyes. This is when the same amount of pressure is applied all around when applying the eyeliner, rather than making it heavier towards the outer corners. If the same pressure is applied all the way around, it is NOT a good look. Unless you're a racoon.

Basic techniques with eyeliner involve just outlining your eyes or tracing the inner rims, but much more can be done with the humble eyeliner. Some Kohl eyeliners, can be wet and end up looking much like eyeshadow, and many eyeliners can be smudged without water to make them look like shadows, or sometimes to give a more subtle effect.

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