Eyeliner for older eyes

[Sunshineandgrapefruit]

I am almost 50 and my current eyeliners look too dark and/ or sparkly or just too much. I only wear it on special occasions but the photos are increasingly weird looking! I could stop but I don't have loads of lashes and my eyes look better when they 'pop'. Any brand recommendations for mature eyes? I currently have stila and Victoria Beckham. I do like VB but a lot of her colours are sparkly and I think I need matt. I have blue eyes and ( dyed) blonde hair. VB tells me I need brown eyeliner. I think I may need grey.

I use eyeshadow as an eyeliner. I used to wet it to paint it on but now I just use it in powder form, a slightly smudgy look put on with a tight, short bristled brush so it's still neat enough. Would that work for you?

m in my 40s.
I’ve been using Laura Mercier eyeshadow sticks as a liner for a while.

Some are matte. They stay put all day and don’t look like a harsh line. I press a coloured powder into them to liven things up.

I need real staying power because I have oily lids.

Currently, I’m using cobblestone which is a matte grey.

Not sure I am expert enough to try eyeshadow! Sounds technical. I will look at Laura Mercier.

You could try eyelash enhancing tattoo. It’s very subtle. It puts little dots in between your lashes to make them look fuller

I highly recommend the Rare Beauty eyeliner, I use the brown one. I was sceptical as I’m not a fan of celebrity brands but it is great.

It's much easier than applying eyeliner!! And much less harsh while still allowing you to build up drama or keep it softer for daytime. I use a little narrow sponge applicator on a stick, & apply it along my upper & lower eyelids as normal. Then I dampen it very very slightly before using it to apply the shadow in a sweep along my top lashes, so that the colour intensifies next to them. It's also very easy to blend outwards. I don't "line" my bottom lashes this way though as it closes up the eye. My favourite shade for this is Mac's Satin Taupe - it's a slightly shimmery greyish-brown shade.

If you apply eyeliner under or inside your eyes, I would drop that as it is generally hard to pull off & will add to any "piggy" effect.

I also do it with an eyeshadow stick sometimes - using it as a base layer then adding it next to my upper lashes in a line, as the colour intensifies that way. A cheaper alternative to Laura Mercier is Elf No Budge Shadow Stick. I really like Magnetic Pull, another shimmery taupe that's quite similar in colour to the Mac eyeshadow.

Urban Decay.

Totally agree with avoiding liner under eyes or on the waterline. Generally it’s super aging. However a light (as in whiteish) liner on the lower waterline can open your eye and I sometimes fine with that a brown or grey liner on the upper waterline can work. But dark liner on the lower part of the eye is so aging on most women over 40 and I don’t know why so many do it.

I think (as with a lot of things!) we just stick with what might have suited us once, but don't take the time to revisit our clothes, hair colour/style, make-up etc every so often.

I don't pay much attention to the Royals, but Kate Middleton (& her mother & sister) all encircle their eyes with eyeliner, & IMO it would look much better if they didn't.

Yes, their eyeshadows & shadow sticks are great. I do think that if the OP isn't confident about changing how she does her eye make-up, that shadow sticks are a great - & easily applied - half-way house between eyeshadow & eyeliner.

I love Satin Taupe by Mac too @EleanorMc67 - I also have a taupe eye pencil.
One thing I do find is that lip pencils make good eye pencils as they come in much softer more natural browns, you get a far bigger range of colours

You won’t like this, but I’d stop, I wore eyeliner all my life and got to the stage you were at, and tried so many, kept going back and forward as I felt my eyes looked bare without it,

now I haven’t used it for ages, I use Lancôme hypnose mascara and good make up, ie Victoria Beckham the drops, some natural blush, a little of her highlighter, and a mauve lipstick ie Charlotte tilbury pillow talk in medium, which is like my lips, but better, and the effect is glowy and healthy, and much more youthful

it just takes time to adjust, but I’d say the common advice of it being ageing is correct,

How long do the drops last? ( Off topic!). I like the look of them but could only afford to get them once a year!

I may try the eyeshadow trick. It's not pleasant when things change. I was looking back at pictures from 10 years ago and I am a different person 😭

How does it look if you just tightline (pencil underneath your upper lashes)? It gives definition without looking made up.

The trouble is, eyes seem to get smaller with age and without some kind of emphasis, they are lost in the face. Many older women overdo it with harsh, dark eyeliner. I use a very soft one but over the day it gets smudgy, so I do think there is a need for a “kind” eyeliner for us oldies!

I’m 44 and stopped a couple of years ago. I was an eyeliner fiend but it wasn’t doing anything for me anymore.

To be fair, Your eyes don’t actually ger smaller it’s more the skin round them changes, and pupils shrink which can give an illusion of smaller.

i honestly don’t think eyeliner will correct that. It would make it look worse, that’s why it’s ageing.

i think for those of us used to wearing it, it just takes a lot of getting used to without it. You feel sort of bare. It took me a couple of years to break the habit, and I tried every variation in that time.

but once you get used to it, you can see it’s a lot fresher and less ageing. I’d not go back now. And in my group of female friends, honestly the ones still clinging on to it , as lovely as fhey are, it is very dating.

I may try and give it up its hard though!

It really is, I’m totally with you on that.

I wear grey eyeliner @Sunshineandgrapefruit and I have blonde hair and blue/green/grey eyes. I have also discovered some really lovely Greige shades. I have been enjoying a Japanese brand called Canmake. They have twist up gel eyeliners in lots of muted shades. They’re cheap and can be ordered online. The pencils are soft and super fine. They last nicely in the waterline too.

I tried Laura mercier which is good but still too dark. I know I should try and drop it but my eye lashes aren't massive so I worry it will just look crap. I may experiment with eyeshadow. Looked at Canmake but they have a p65 warning on them so will avoid. The universe may be telling me to step away from the liner 😆

Step away, just use a decent black mascara. I use Lancôme hypnose and my eye lashes are non existent.

this is mine with just mascara, take a close up pic of both, with and without and you will see what others see.