Graphic Eyeliner

What makes it Editorial Graphic

How to do Editorial Graphic makeup

1. 1

   Build a matte-radiant base

   Start with an evenly prepped surface and let your prep settle before applying foundation. Work a matte-radiant base outward from the center of your face in thin layers, adding coverage only where you need more evenness.

2. 2

   Sculpt with subtle warmth

   Blend a small amount of warm contour beneath your cheekbones, keeping the placement close to the natural hollow. Diffuse the edges until the shape is visible but no stripe remains; the sculpting should stay quieter than the liner.

3. 3

   Define and feather your brows

   Brush brow hairs upward at the front and outward through the tails. Fill sparse areas with fine, hairlike strokes, then refine the outline without turning the front of each brow into a solid square.

4. 4

   Soften bronze-copper across the lids

   Apply warm bronze-copper shadow across your lids and blend its upper edge with a light touch. Keep the color softly diffused rather than carving out a hard crease, so the black wing supplies the eye's sharp geometry.

5. 5

   Map your graphic eyeliner

   Look straight ahead with your eyes relaxed and mark where each extended flick will end, aiming up and outward. Sketch the lower edge from the outer corner toward that point, then connect the tip back toward the upper lash line to create a long, angular wing.

6. 6

   Fill and sharpen the wings

   Fill the outlined shape with opaque black liner and connect it closely to the upper lash line, leaving no gaps. Refine the perimeter with a fine liner brush, keeping the point narrow and the edges crisp. Compare both wings with your eyes open before adding more length or thickness.

7. 7

   Curl and build your lashes

   Curl your lashes before applying mascara, then build fullness from the roots toward the tips. Separate any clumps so your lashes look lifted and full without obscuring the wing's clean outline.

8. 8

   Outline a matte rose-nude lip

   Trace your natural lip border with a neutral rose-nude liner, carefully defining the Cupid's bow and corners. Fill with a matching matte rose-nude color, keeping the edges sharp and the surface even.

9. 9

   Check the balance

   Step back and check that the black wings are the first thing you notice. If needed, press a little powder onto unwanted shine while leaving the rest of the base alone, preserving its matte-radiant finish rather than making it chalky.

The shades to use

Base

Choose a skin-matched base with a matte-radiant finish: controlled shine without a lifeless, heavily powdered effect. Build coverage selectively instead of treating full opacity as a requirement.

Cheeks

Keep the cheek palette focused on subtle warm contour, choosing a depth that creates gentle definition on your skin. Strong blush color or a gleaming highlight is not the focus of this look.

Eyes

Use warm bronze-copper shadow with softly blended edges and opaque black graphic liner. Full, curled lashes complete the eye without softening the wing's precise shape.

Lips

Choose a neutral rose-nude liner and matching matte lip color, adjusting the depth to your coloring. Keep the border sharply defined rather than blurred or glossy.

Who Editorial Graphic suits

This look is especially flattering if you have neutral undertones, which can balance the warm bronze-copper lids with the stark black liner and neutral rose-nude lip. The app recommends it for Bright Winter: the crisp definition and bold contrast suit that season's clear, high-impact coloring, though the warm shadow may take more balancing if your coloring is strongly cool. If you have softer, lower-contrast features, the extreme wing will read as a deliberate statement rather than an understated enhancement. It is a strong choice for fashion-led evenings, creative events and portraits where you want your eye makeup to lead.

Make it work for you

• Hooded eyes: Map the wing with your eyes open and place its visible tip beyond the outer fold. Adjust the connecting edge around the fold so the wing reads as a clean upward-and-outward shape when you look straight ahead.
• Deep skin: Choose a bronze-copper shadow that remains visibly warm against your skin and a warm contour deep enough to define without looking ashy. Use a deeper neutral rose-nude lip rather than a pale beige-pink that could look chalky.
• Cool undertones: Keep your base true to your undertone and concentrate the warm bronze-copper shadow on the lids rather than spreading it broadly. Keep the contour subtle and the rose-nude lip neutral, not orange-leaning.
• Textured or mature lids: Build the liner with short, connected strokes while your eyelid is relaxed rather than pulling the skin taut. Use thin complexion layers and powder selectively to retain the matte-radiant finish.
• Glasses wearers: Check your endpoint with your glasses on before filling the wing. Adjust its angle so the extended flick remains visible within or beyond the frame rather than disappearing directly behind its edge.

Common mistakes

• ✕

  A blunt or rounded wing. Sketch the tip first and connect back toward the lash line, preserving a narrow point instead of repeatedly thickening the outer end.

• ✕

  Mapping only with closed eyes. Check the wing with your eyes open and relaxed so its architectural shape works with your natural lid folds.

• ✕

  Hard-edged shadow. Diffuse the bronze-copper shadow's edges and reserve the crisp geometry for the black liner.

• ✕

  Heavy sculpting and powder. Blend the warm contour until its edges disappear and powder only where needed so the complexion supports, rather than competes with, the eyes.

Editorial Graphic vs Old Hollywood

Editorial Graphic and Old Hollywood both use dramatic, precise black wings, but they place the emphasis differently. Editorial Graphic makes the extreme architectural flick the hero, while Old Hollywood balances an elongated classic wing with thick false lashes and sharply defined cherry-red lips.