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My new favorite eyeliner trend has been 12 years in the making. Back in 2009, Solange's go-to makeup look featured winged liner, in silver, yellow, orange, or even teal, spanning from the outer corner of one eye to the other, going across the bridge of her nose along the way.
For years, New York City-based beauty creator Vanessa Funes (aka cutcreaser on Instagram) had photos of the innovative look saved and finally tried it out for herself earlier this year. She later dubbed it uni-liner.
"The name is derived from unibrow," Funes tells Allure. "The liner goes across the nose bridge like how a unibrow goes all the way across the brow area, so it just made sense to call it uni-liner."
Of course, many people have tried out Solange's liner look over the past 12 years. However, we're experimenting with eye makeup now more than ever due to the fact that half of our faces are often covered the masks. Uni-liner just perfectly fits 2021's makeup vibe.
Vanessa Funes’ debut uni-liner look
After seeing Funes' stunning take on Solange's uni-liner, many other makeup artists and beauty creators followed suit and revisited Solange's iconic futuristic flicks. Los Angeles-based makeup artist Jacinda Pender, in particular, took the general concept and turned uni-liner into a mesmerizing exploration of color.
Known to many as adultsdrinks, thanks to Instagram, Pender freestyled swirls, dots, and swoops that came together as a technicolor wave across their eyes. "My hands were on go mode and I just allowed them to do their job," they tell Allure. "It's sort of nostalgic in a way and reminds me of childhood when we would just go crazy with colors without a care in the world. Uni-liner is about artistic freedom and expression." And Pender is inspiring many to do just that with their creations.
Jacinda Pender’s first uni-liner look
If you're ready to try out uni-liner, too, you'll need to stock up on a couple of key tools. First and foremost: ultra-thin brushes. Funes is obviously a fan of the brushes she created in collaboration with indie beauty brand By Melolops, while Pender prefers paintbrushes from a craft store. "I find them to be a lot more flexible and smaller than makeup brushes," they explain. Personally, I suggest the Moda Fine Liner brush.
For the vibrant, high-octane colors, Funes is a noted fan of water-activated liners because they are the perfect opaque, painterly consistency for seamless, high-impact uni-liner. She also has her own as part of her collection with By Melolops. The paints from Glisten Cosmetics and Glam Vice Cosmetics are also good options, Funes adds. Pender, on the other hand, reaches for Mehron's Paradise Makeup Palette, which they call "an absolute staple in [their] life."
Pender’s Powerpuff Girls-inspired uni-liner
If you don't want to mess with a separate brush and liner, try Freck Beauty's Lid Lick or the Best of Beauty-winning UZ Eye Opening Liners.
UZ Eye Opening Liner
From there, Funes says you can go as simple as Solange or as avant-garde as Pender. For the sleek, minimalist aesthetic, start off by painting on classic winged liner. Then, connect the lines from your inner corners along the bridge of your nose. It's as easy as that.
For Pender's abstract approach, they don't have any specific science. They don't plan out their look beforehand or sketch anything out onto their skin. Instead, Pender just lets their imagination take the wheel, just as you should. "There are no rules to how to achieve the look," they say. "Uniliner is about self-expression and whatever that looks like to you, I say go for it."
And as Funes says, "I think it looks amazing on everyone." I second that.
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