How to draw arrows on the eyes – makeup artists' secret techniques

If most women do not have any special problems with the implementation of the main part of the make-up – applying a primer, foundation, powder, blush, lipstick, then drawing arrows usually causes difficulties. The best way to use it, how to achieve perfect evenness and symmetry of lines – this is one of the main beauty questions with which women turn to professional makeup artists. Therefore, the journalists decided to study this topic, interviewed the make-up masters in order to find out how novice fashionistas can learn to draw neat and beautiful arrows that make their eyes so attractive and charming. You can read the results of our mini-investigation in this material.

Basic principles of graphic make-up of the century

If you are just learning how to perform this type of graphic make-up, such as arrows, check out the basic principles that should be followed:

1. Make sure that the arrows are the same on both eyes, that is, symmetrical. If you see that one of them is thicker (narrower), shorter (longer) the other, or 'looks' a little in the wrong direction, it is better to erase the make-up and perform it again.

2. Decide what tip the arrows will have. It is important to understand how the lines will be combined with your eye shape, their anatomical features. For example, if you have narrow Asian-style eyes, a long, straight arrow will make your eyes appear narrower. And if you have large, round eyes, an arrow with a straight tip will help make them a little smaller.

3. In most cases, the arrow on the upper eyelid consists of three parts – base, middle, tip. Make sure that at the base, that is, closer to the inner corner of the eye, the arrow is thinner than in the middle. The tip, whether straight or not, should always be pointed.

4. If you have close-set eyes, make-up techniques that involve drawing arrows starting at the inner corner of the eyelid will not work for you. To visually increase the distance between the eyes, begin to apply strokes, stepping back about 5 millimeters. Some makeup artists recommend applying eyeliner or pencil starting in the middle of the upper eyelid. If, on the contrary, your eyes are too wide apart, then you need to act in the opposite way. That is, draw arrows starting from the inner corner of the eyelid without any indents.

5. Since the arrows, especially those drawn carefully and beautifully, accentuate the eyes and the area around them, the eyebrows should also look perfect. They should have a clear shape without single hairs sticking out of the border.

6. You need to draw arrows on an open eye, so you can objectively assess in the process of work what the final result will be.

7. You cannot draw arrows with a hand that is suspended. In order for the strokes to be even and neat, the elbow of the working hand should rest against the table surface.

8. Draw the eyeliner arrows before using your face primer, foundation, concealer, or concealer. As you stroke, your palm will be in contact with the skin under your eyes and on your cheeks. Therefore, there is a risk of smearing cosmetics on the face and ruining the make-up.

9. If you drew arrows, but they do not seem even and neat enough to you, do not rush to wash off the make-up. You may be able to tweak the details with a cotton swab soaked in micellar water or some other makeup remover.

Necessary cosmetics and accessories

Before learning to draw arrows, you need to understand what you may need for this and what you cannot do without.

Cosmetics that can be used to draw straight arrows:

Eyeshadow is that cosmetic product that helps to get even arrows with a minimum of effort on your part:

1. Advantages – the lines drawn with shadows are smooth, but soft, slightly blurred, which gives the image a natural look; while drawing lines, it is easy to make adjustments without having to completely wash off the makeup.

2. Disadvantages – shadows can begin to crumble a few hours after you made a make-up; it is difficult to achieve significant color saturation of the arrow.

Eyeliner, felt-tip eyeliner is the most popular and relatively easy-to-use tool that beginners can use:

1. Advantages – you can draw straight lines and shade them or leave them clear; you can easily adjust the result; with a pencil, you can draw lines of different widths, including very wide and bold arrows (if using a kayal pencil).

2. Disadvantages – the pencil needs to be sharpened periodically; some representatives of this type of cosmetics often break leads; a pencil can injure the skin of the eyelids if sharpened sharply; the pencil may have unworthy color saturation.

An eyeliner with a liquid consistency, including a gel, is ideal for drawing even, clear, convincing arrows:

1. Advantages – eyeliner lines are smooth and graphic; eyeliner is convenient to use, it fits very well on the skin of the eyelids.

2. Disadvantages – it is quite difficult to use eyeliner for beginners, this is the most difficult material, training is required; eyeliner can smudge during the day, and it can be difficult to correct it outside the home.

In addition to cosmetics, which is required directly in order to draw arrows, you will need other decorative tools. For example, an eyelid primer, whose task is to prolong the 'life' of the make-up, to provide a base on which the cosmetics lay down easily and evenly. And even if you just want to draw arrows and do not plan to use other cosmetics, still buy beige eyeshadows and use them initially after applying the primer. The arrow will look much sharper and smoother if drawn on an eyelid covered in beige shadows that even out the skin tone.

What accessories might you need to draw perfectly straight arrows? If shadows are used, then you need to buy a special narrow flat synthetic brush with a beveled tip. It is due to the different lengths of the pile that the desired effect is achieved – the line is clear and smooth. Also, at the initial stage, when you are just learning how to draw arrows, you will need cotton swabs to adjust the lines, a ruler so as not to 'by eye' measure the distance of indents when making make-up. And if you like soft lines and are going to shade the arrows, do not forget about the small applicator. Some pencils are sold with this applicator included.

In our article you will find descriptions of ways to draw perfect straight arrows using a stencil, a teaspoon, a flat object, for example, a plastic card. If you like the methods, you will need to have these tools on hand.

How to draw the simplest arrows with a pencil

This method of drawing arrows is perfect for beginners. All you need is an eyeliner and a mirror. The eyelids should be prepared for make-up and covered with shadows. Dotted arrow drawing technique:

1. Decide where the arrow will begin and end, put small dots in the appropriate places with a pencil.

2. Starting from the inner corner of the eye, step back a couple of millimeters from the first point and draw a dotted line 2-3 millimeters long right at the border of eyelash growth.

3. A few millimeters after the first stroke, draw the second. Act in this way until you reach the extreme point at the outer corner of the eye.

4. You should have a kind of dashed line indicating the future arrow. It remains only to connect the strokes together with a pencil.

5. You can keep the arrow clear or blend it slightly with the applicator.

Classic arrow in retro style

This type of make-up is suitable for both evening and daily wear. Only in the latter case, besides the arrows, there should be no other accents on the face. That is, it is not recommended to use lipstick of a saturated color, because such eye makeup already makes the image bright.

Eye makeup technique:

1. Prepare the lids with a base and eyeshadow.

2. Take liquid eyeliner with a thin brush and draw a line at the outer corner of the eye, 'looking' at the tip of the eyebrow. This stroke should be slightly curved in the middle.

3. Look at the iris of the eye – it is round and surrounded by the white of the eye. Place a dot on the eyelid, which should be above the place where the iris ends and the protein begins. From this point, begin to draw a second line, which with its outer end should connect to the upper tip of the first stroke. You now have a shape that resembles a small curved chili pepper. Paint over this shape and you have a graceful arrow tip.

4. Now you need to draw a stroke in a different direction – from the middle of the eyelid to the inner corner of the eye. Putting all the strokes together, you will see the end result – a nice and straight arrow in a retro style.

Experts note that this technique of graphic eye make-up for beginners is one of the most difficult. With insufficient experience, the hand may tremble, and the lines will come out twisting, uneven. Therefore, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with a way to draw almost the same arrow in a retro style using an auxiliary element – a teaspoon.

How to Draw Perfect, Straight Retro Arrows – Using a Teaspoon

An ordinary teaspoon has a straight handle and a curved 'scoop' side surface. Therefore, this item will help you complete all the elements as accurately and smoothly as possible. Makeup technique:

1. Prepare the lids by applying primer and eyeshadow.

2. Take a teaspoon, preferably with a flat handle. Place the pen on your face so that it touches the outer corner of your eye and 'looks' towards the tip of your eyebrow. You can adjust the angle of inclination of the handle – if it is located almost horizontally, the arrow will turn out to be straight, and if you turn it at a sharper angle, the tip of the arrow will be defiantly raised up.

3. Using the handle of a spoon as a ruler, draw a small, straight line a few millimeters long across the skin. You can use both eyeliner and pencil.

4. Position the convex part of the spoon (convex upward) over the eyelid so that you can draw a second, but curved, near a straight line. It turns out that the 'scoop' of the spoon should be in an almost horizontal position relative to the eyelid.

5. Thus, we get two lines – straight and curved, which, connecting and resting on the eyelid, form a triangle with a sharp tip, looking towards the temple. If you paint over this triangle, you get the tip of the arrow. You can stop at this or continue to draw an arrow along the line of eyelash growth until the middle of the eyelid or to the inner corner of the eye.

Modified classic arrow

If you have already learned how to draw a classic arrow, and it comes out straight for you, try adding another stroke that will instantly transform your appearance. This method will help out in a situation when you need to perform an evening or holiday make-up, and there is no time to master new techniques.

Sequencing:

1. Prepare your eyelids in the standard way using primer and beige eyeshadow. It is not worth using colored shadows, they will make the image heavier and can make the appearance vulgar, too theatrical.

2. Take white eyeliner and draw a continuous line from the inner corner of the eye to the outer corner. The line should be wide enough – 2 millimeters at the base, 3-4 millimeters at the outer corner. The tip should not bend up or towards the temple, but down. The length of the tip, which gradually sharpens, is 7-10 millimeters. Instead of white eyeliner, you can use a cosmetic product of any other color – the brighter this arrow is, the more festive the image will be.

3. On top of the white line, draw a retro arrow, as thin as possible at the base and with a voluminous triangle tip pointing upwards.

4. As a result, you should get a spectacular two-color eye make-up, in which the black and white (colored) arrows seem to overlap and intertwine with each other.

Simple arrow with smoky ice effect

If you don't have a lot of experience in eye makeup, but you want to look mysteriously attractive, test this technique, it does not require much skill in drawing clear and even arrows:

1. Use a black, dark brown, lead pencil (for daytime makeup), or a colored cosmetic (if planning on going to a party). The pencil should be soft, ideally kayal. Paint over the space between the eyelashes on the upper eyelid, and then draw a narrow arrow that begins and ends clearly at the corners of the eye.

2. With the same pencil, draw an arrow on the lower eyelid, running the lead not over the skin, but over the mucous membrane.

3. Connect both lines in an oval to match the shape of the eye.

4. Use an applicator or a cotton swab to blend the pigments. Even if you did not quite straight lines, after shading, no one will see it.

5. To complete the smokey ice-style make-up with arrows, shadows that match the color of the used pencil will help you. They can be applied over the lines and stretched (feathering to the sides and slightly up).

Experts point out that this technique may not be suitable for those with narrow or small eyes. But even if you have such a feature of appearance, no one bothers you to experiment and evaluate the result yourself.

Perfectly straight arrow in a minimalist style

If you don't have any special artistic skills, but you want to transform your appearance and at the same time look restrained, modest, you can learn how to draw arrows in a minimalist style. It's not difficult at all, the sequence of actions is as follows:

1. Apply primer and any nude eyeshadow to the lids.

2. Take a black or brown pencil (any other tool will do), rest your elbow on the surface of the table, slightly pull the outer tip of the eyelid towards the temple.

3. Draw a small stroke that begins at the very end of the eyelid and ends after 3-4 millimeters.

It is almost impossible to make the mistake of drawing such a short arrow, so this method is ideal for beginners.

Smooth arrow drawn with shadows

Arrows made with shadows are a great eye makeup tool for beginners. It is pleasant to work with a brush and in case of careless movement you can easily correct the result.

How to draw arrows with a brush and shadows:

1. Apply a primer and base shade, for example, light brown, to the eyelids. The pigment covers the entire surface of the movable eyelid up to the fold.

2. Take the applicator, put on shadows of a darker shade, which will then be used to draw arrows. Apply pigment along the lash line on the upper and lower eyelids. On the top, you also need to draw the space between the eyelashes. Additionally, treat the eyelid fold itself with a cosmetic product.

3. Take a flat, beveled synthetic bristle brush. Collect some dark shadows on it, if necessary, remove the excess by hitting the edge of the jar with a brush. Attach the beveled end to the lash line and draw a line that starts at the inner corner and ends at the outer corner of the eye. To make this stroke wider, you can apply makeup in two layers.

4. Again, type shadows on the brush and draw the tip of the arrow of the required length and width.

5. Since the shadows allow you to draw rather blurry, as if shaded strokes, you don't have to worry about the evenness of the arrows, they should turn out to be quite accurate.

6. If you want the arrows to be more pronounced and confident, soak the brush in water before applying dark shadows to it. At the end of the procedure, be sure to fix the result with a special spray to fix the make-up.

Straight straight arrow with a plastic card

All you need to draw the perfect straight arrow is a plastic card. Or a small piece of a plastic ruler 2-3 centimeters long that fits well in your hand. You can cut such a piece on purpose and use it constantly. To draw an arrow, proceed as follows:

1. Apply base under the eyeshadow and shadows of the desired shade to the eyelid

2. Draw a semicircular arrow that starts at the inner corner of the eye or the middle of the eyelid. Draw along the lash line. This stroke should end where the upper and lower eyelids converge.

3. Attach a map or ruler to the skin of the face under the eye – this plane will be the basis for drawing an even, straight tip of the arrow. Adjust the length yourself, but make sure that the tip is no longer than the eyebrow.

By experimenting with the angle of the map, you can draw straight or upward-facing arrows.

Perfectly straight arrow with tape

Makeup artists shared this unusual way of drawing arrows for centuries with the journalists of our publication, who still remember how they themselves began to comprehend the secrets of make-up. It turns out that in order to get a nice straight arrow, you can use masking (paper) tape. Its advantage is that it can be easily removed from the skin, the main thing is not to press it hard during the gluing process. Using tape allows you to free your other hand, making it easier for you to apply cosmetics. The technique for drawing arrows is as follows:

1. Apply a moisturizing nourishing cream to the skin under the eyes for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the residue with a cotton pad or paper towel.

2. Apply base and eyeshadow to upper eyelid.

3. Take a roll of masking tape, the narrowest one you can find on sale (1-2 centimeters), tear off a piece 4-5 centimeters long.

4. Decide on the angle of inclination of the future arrow and stick the adhesive tape on the skin so that it touches the outer corner of the eye. Try to keep the tape from sticking to your lower lashes, as removing it from the hairs can be quite annoying.

5. Take your eyeliner and start drawing the tip of the arrow along the top edge of the glued strip of duct tape, which will act as a limiter for the pigment. Work especially carefully with the top edge, as the bottom will be flat anyway due to the fact that excess paint gets on the tape and will be removed along with it.

6. While the end of the arrow dries up, draw its middle part and base by running the eyeliner brush or the tip of the pencil along the lash line.

7. When the art process is over, carefully remove the tape from the skin, being careful not to harm it in any way. The tape should stick out well from the skin, since you previously used the cream. As a result, you have an arrow with a perfectly flat bottom edge.

Perfect straight stencil arrow

A stencil is a small piece of thick film or laminated cardboard with an arrow shape cut out inside. On sale you can find, and quite inexpensively, whole sets of stencils that allow you to change the shape of the arrows depending on your mood. There are also disposable stencils, which are glued to the skin of the eyelids during the make-up procedure, so that arrows can be drawn even with shadows, using one or 2-3 shades.

Using a stencil is a quick enough way to draw arrows. But you need to get used to it after training for several days.

It is not difficult to draw clear lines on the eyelids:

1. Select the type of stencil by attaching it to the eyelid and estimating how much this arrow shape suits you.

2. Apply a primer, eyeshadow on the eyelid.

3. Apply the stencil to the skin, press firmly, making sure that the skin of the eyelid does not wrinkle under the film.

4. While holding the stencil with one hand, take a liquid eyeliner or a bold kayal pencil with the other, paint over the free space cut out in the stencil.

5. Wait a couple of seconds, giving the makeup time to set and dry, remove the stencil.

The main challenge with this method is to determine how carefully to paint over the space cut out in the stencil. If you overdo it with makeup, it can spread and the arrow will not be perfectly straight. If not enough pigments are applied, the edges of the arrow may come out indistinct.

How to make a stencil yourself to draw arrows

To make your own perfect arrow stencil, you will need a piece of thin but dense, well-bendable cardboard, preferably wax-coated. And also nail scissors (better – a stationery knife) and a pencil.

Imagine an arrow shape that you would like to learn how to draw. Sketch the cardboard so that the bottom edge of the arrow shape lines up with the bottom edge of the cardboard. That is, the shape of the picture should not be solid. Now you can attach the card to the eyelid and see what the future arrow will look like. You can only make adjustments in the direction of increasing the shape, length of the arrow, cutting out a little more cardboard. And if you overdo it, and the stencil needs to be reduced, you will have to start over, on another piece of thick paper. Having made two symmetrical stencils, you can start drawing arrows.