The eyeliner trend first appeared on catwalks during SS12 fashion month and by the time AW11 rolled around it was everywhere. One of the biggest trends for summer, how you dress your eyes has moved on from the innocent, babydoll look of full, fluttery lashed doe eyes in favour of a heavy dose of toughness.
"But wait!" you might say. "Eyeliner is always around, it's a staple, how can it be a trend?!" The difference is that in this instance, the eyeliner (and more importantly, what you can do with it) is the focus. The shape, thickness and placement of the line (or swirl, or flick) has to be attention grabbing and statement making - no smudging either, this is about precision.
Apart from this, anything goes! Don't worry if you're thinking there's no way you can sport the dramatic look: thankfully this is a trend with many variations.
'Graphic eyeliner' was the version we saw at most shows and included everything from bold, squared off lines to styles that were half make up, half magic like Erdem's floating flicks and Gareth Pugh's 3D white plastic lines created by Alex Box. The graphic eyeliner trend is the most concentrated form of tough-girl, like we saw backstage at Danielle Scutt's SS12 show, where 'council estate chic' was created with a warpaint-like block under one eye.
Disjointed, flowing eyeliner like ancient script was another favourite: a great way to give a classic black eyeliner a complete twist, by applying it in curved lines around the eye instead of on the lashline as normal. Topshop have a great tutorial for this one here if you want to check it out. You need to have a steady hand, a creative flair and a good eyeliner for this trend - Topshop's Felt Pen Eyeliner (£6.50) is perfect for great usability and excellent precision, which is key with this look.
If you want to retain a bit of femininity with the trend, try a-not-so-classic flick: give the classic French flick a twist by elongating it towards the end of the eyebrow, like at Jonathan Saunders, or creating a double flick at the outer corner. Try a double-ended flick too, tapering the line past the inner corner of your eye towards your nose like at LAMB. If you haven't got a steady hand, try Eye Rock's Designer Liner (£7): a collection of eyeliner transfers completely take the difficulty out of the equation and could become your secret weapon.
Flicks and cats eyes always look best paired with pretty lashes: for a beautiful accompaniment to a cats eye, Eylure's Individual False Eyelashes (£5.35) are perfect, with three different lengths so you can create a brilliant flared lash just at the corners. As for mascara, Bobbi Brown's Intensifying Long-Wear mascara (£18) delivers a beautiful fanned finish, but it's the lasting time of this that has really impressed me - it lasts from morning to night without flaking crumbling away.
For a work friendly version of the look, just expand your basic line, making it thick, bold and chunky with a squared-off end: Maybelline's Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner (£7.99) is excellent for this kind of style.
Related: How to do the Under The Sea trend
