Home Tips & Trends Makeup Your Guide to the Hottest Eyeliner Trends


Your Guide to the Hottest Eyeliner Trends

Eyeliner inspo for when you're bored with basic.

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If the eyes are the windows to the soul, is it any wonder that so many of us like to decorate those windows with a nice set of lacy or velvet curtains. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m referring to good ol’ eyeshadow and especially eyeliner.

If you’re interested in dressing up your “windows”, take a look at some of these funky eyeliner trends below.  Ready to ditch the basic black line? Read on.

Floating Liner

Don’t be scared, this liner is easier than it looks. Referred to as a “floating” liner as it floats above the upper lid line. To create this visually appealing look, take a liner brush or an eyebrow brush and create a curving line that follows your natural eyeshape. If you’re worried about creating a perfect shape, trace over the ideal line with a light-colored eyeshadow first, then trace over with a liquid liner or a water activated eyeliner.

Polka Dot Liner

This is definitely not a makeup style for people with trypophobia (fear of holes or spots) or those who are looking for a easy, breezy eyeliner trick. It is for the beauty lovers who aren’t afraid of coloring outside of the lines and to put in a bit of “elbow grease” into their makeup. Where you would simply draw out a solid liner along your upper lid and slightly outwards for a look like a cat-eye liner, take the time to trace your line with a series of little dots instead. Or in this case below…flowers!

4-Dot White Eyeliner

Another more TikTok-viral way of incorporating dots into your eyeliner is with four dots and a white liquid or gel eyeliner, like the about-face Line Artist Longwear Gel Eyeliner ($13). Apply one dot at the inner and outer corner of your eyes, the midde of your lower lid line, and a dot just below the middle of your brow. This look is theorized to hypnotize admirers of your liner.

@aysha_harun the simplest look, but the one I get THE MOST compliments on 😍 #makeuptutorial #whiteliner #fyp ♬ original sound - AMPCLIPS⚡️

Puppy Liner

We’ve all heard of a cat-eye, but what about a puppy eyeliner-style? A cat-eye liner is draw up and out to help mimic a feline eye shape. While this look is a classic eye makeup style, especially for pin-up or old-Hollywood looks, it isn’t the easiest to achieve.

For one thing you need to have a very steady hand or a great deal of patience carving out the sharp line with concealer and a makeup brush. For another, eye shapes, much like snowflakes, greatly vary by the person. For instance, I have hooded eyes (a bit of extra skin around the upper lid that causes the area to be slightly less visible when open) and the tail of my brow is close to the outer corner of my eye, so a lot less area to extend the cat-eye out. A cat-eye isn’t impossible for hooded eyelids or various other eye shapes, but it can be trickier. This is where puppy liner comes in.

Puppy liner is a makeup style where you draw out your eyeliner from the inner corner and extend the line out but slightly downwards.

While this look has been seen all over TikTok, it was originally seen more often worn by K-Pop idols. Similar to how many Americans compare body types to objects or fruits (hourglass, pear, apple, etc.), in South Korea, it’s not uncommon to hear about your face being described to look like a “cat”, a “dog”, a “fox”, and so on. So people who have eyelids that tend to droop downward and have rounder facial features are often described to have a cute and friendly “puppyish” appearance. While anyone can rock a puppy-style eyeliner, this is a liner style that works really well for hooded and mono-lid eye types.

@killsokerr Reply to @g3org1a.s i love big droopy puppy dog eyes! lemme know if u have Qs! #puppydogeyes #puppydogeyeliner #puppyeyeliner #hoodedeyes ♬ Frog - Wurli

Transparent Liner

Don’t let the name scare you, this liner technique is a lot easier than it may sound. There are a few different ways to go about creating a “transparent” or “invisible” eyeliner style. One of the most common paths to go about it is to have a semi-smokey eye, then use your regular concealer and a pointed eyeshadow brush, like an eyeliner or brow brush, to carve out a “liner” where a more opaque color would go. Not only is this look a great way to go about “soft glam”, but you won’t have to buy any extra products to try it out.

Doll Eyeliner

Doll eyeliner does what the name implies, mimics the wide-eye look of a doll. To get the “doll” liner effect, you need to grab an eyeliner pencil, in white if you are on the fairer side and in a off-white or light beige if you have a deeper skin tone, and draw in your bottom water liner and extend slightly outwards. To emphasize the “dolly” effect, you can add a lightly-colored glitter in the inner corner and half of the bottom eyeline to both give your eyes a wider appearance and add a cutesy effect to the look.

author avatar
Nicole Kirichanskaya
Nicole Kirichanskaya is a born-and-raised Brooklynite with a passion for fashion, feminism, and the fanciful. Her love of beauty stems from when she was taught the importance of a good manicure at an early age from her Ukrainian babushka. She has written for a number of publications including Global Glam Magazine, CEW, Footwear News, and more.