Certain beauty looks are worthy of their iconic status: Elizabeth Taylor’s graphic eyeliner when playing Cleopatra in the 60s, Kate Moss’ no make-up, make-up look throughout the 90s and Cara Delevingne’s bushy brows in the early 2000s. So, in the era of maximalist beauty brands like Depixym, minimalist beauty brands, such as Glossier and everything in between – where does the spotlight land in 2020?

Perfected, crisp, winged eyeliner. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but it’s one of the basic skills most beauty obsessives and novices alike want to master. 

In addition to her sleek high pony tail, Ariana Grande’s winged eyeliner has earned a spot as one of the more recognisable looks of the past few years.

Stylist quizzed the make-up artist behind her beauty looks and KVD Vegan Beauty Cat Eye Ambassador, Daniel Chinchilla to find out how to recreate the perfect winged eyeliner at home.

1. Arm yourself with the right tools

“People will want to create cat eyes and not have the right tool for it, and so they get discouraged,” he says. The product he reaches for is the KVD Vegan Beauty Tattoo Liner, £18. “You can get a lot of precision because it tapers to become a really thin tip and it mimics a make-up brush so it’s easier to use.”

2. Cheat your way to perfect symmetry

“It’s about catering eyeliner to the eye and accentuating the eyes,” he says. “I’ve always used tape or a business card to try and match them up to each other. And it’s also important to start small and build them up the line as you go, because if you go make it thick right off the bat, it’s usually going to be a little off.” Placement is also key. “Keep it close to your lash line and make it thicker as you go outwards.” 

3. Focus smoke to the lash line

“I like to keep the focus closer to the lash line, because to me, that gives you a more natural eye,” says Chinchilla. “I like to smoke the lash line with some eyeshadow and will usually use more warmer, bronze tones. If you want to keep it on the cooler side, I’d use grey eyeshadow.” 

4. Know your eye shape

Your eye shape is a huge factor in how your liner will turn out. “If you have hooded eyes, you do need to go heavier on the eyeliner towards the ends and make it a little bit thicker, because we need the extra lift. For a more mature eye, I create a more even liner, with a smaller flick.” To make things easier, Daniel has created eyeliner tutorials according to your eyeshape to follow along to.

5. Use small strokes

“We see a lot of videos where they’re doing eyeliner in one stroke and to me that’s very unrealistic for most people. I will always start at the end, and create small strokes going inwards,” he explains. “A real benefit is that you won’t mess up and have to use make-up remover to take it off and start all over again.”

6. Opt for brown eyeliner

“I would recommend going in with a brown shade. You still get that definition, but you do get that warmer, forgiving brown. Graduate to a black later, because you may find that brown is enough for everyday.”

Images: Getty images.