There’s a moody movement happening in makeup to counteract the clean girl aesthetic. Things are getting darker, grungier and if the “witchy liner” that we keep seeing is anything to go by, it’s getting a whole lot more mysterious, too.
Of course, as soon as the days get darker, our mind and mood shifts accordingly, but the witchy vibe has been bubbling and brewing for some time with #witchtok forming its own sub-cult on TikTok. A massive coven of followers have been bewitched by what the witch stands for: power, independence, defiance, intuition. Now? It’s spilling over into our beauty routines as another outlet to explore a different side of ourselves.
The best part is you can lean is as much as you want – so even if you’re not yet smudging sage, you can start with your eyeliner.
Which brings us back to witchy liner.
What is witchy liner?
We’ve seen eyes getting played up with sharper, slicker, extended, more exaggerated liner. There’s no exact formula to witchy liner, it simply sees us experiment with a regular cat eye to create something more experimental, intentional or expressive. Jet black framing is a given, but while it’s a strong look, there’s something delicate and mystical about it, too.
One of our favourite renditions comes from top celebrity makeup artist, Harold James, who told us “to create this exaggerated liner, I was inspired by women who are openly embracing the darker side of their femininity.” And that in a nutshell is exactly what witchy liner is all about. His creation sees a sharp but smudged thorny liner angled up and elongated toward the end of the eyebrow, then ensnared in a haze of deep purple sparkle across the crease. It’s pretty, it’s quietly powerful and it’s spell-binding.
How to create a witchy liner?
As for how to create it, go wherever the wind takes you. But, Harold has some pro tips to help…
- Prep your eyelids with an eyeshadow primer or concealer.
- Choose a pencil or gel eyeliner for precision and control. [Harold loves the Diorshow On Stage 24 Hour Stylo Yeux in Black.]
- Start by drawing a thin line along your upper lash line, from the inner corner to the outer corner.
- Use a smudging brush or a cotton swab to gently smudge and diffuse the eyeliner, creating a softer, smoky effect.
- Extend the line beyond the outer corner of your eye, angling it upwards towards the end of your eyebrow to create a wing.
- Connect the wing to the upper lash line ,filling in the triangle shape with the smudged eyeliner.
- Optionally, you can apply a bit of smudged eyeliner along your lower lash line for a more intense look.
- Finish by creating a crease with your desired colour. I used a purple iridescent eyeshadow for more dimension.
How to wear witchy liner?
There’s endless ways to wear it but we’ve rounded up 13 of our favourites below…
For more from GLAMOUR’s Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk
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