(Click for bigger image.)

I was flipping through Taiwan makeup artist Gu Xiao Wei’s (古小偉) makeup book 電眼彩妝書 and I saw this neat trick that I thought would be cool sharing.

Don’t look down on a cotton swab! Other than removing makeup and imperfections when doing your makeup, cotton swabs can also be used to apply eyeliner. It’s a technique that can never go wrong. If you are not familiar with the usage of your eyeliner pencil or liquid liner, a cotton swab can let you easily apply liner!

Step 1: Use your fingers to squeeze the tip flat.
Step 2: Put some eyeline on your flattened cotton swab.
Step 3: Hold the swab on your eyelid and draw the line. If the color is pale, do it a few times.
Step 4: Turn your cotton swab to the side to finish drawing the end of your liner.

Good idea: If you want your eyes to appear rounder, you can fill the middle part of your liner thicker. If you want your eyes to appear captivating, you can extend your eyeliner a little beyond your eyes. Should you put on eyeshadow or eyeliner first? There’s actually no definite answer. (However, the results will be different each way.) Applying eyeliner and then eyeshadow will give you a softer, pretty look. Applying eyeshadow and then eyeliner will give you more of a bold, captivating look.

(Credits: countryboy1949@flickr)

Blah, I hate this freezing weather. When is spring coming?!