How to Extend the Life of an Eyeliner Pencil
Eyeliner pencils are great options for lots of amazing eye makeup looks, and scoring them so affordably feels almost as good as perfecting your style. Even though you’re able to buy these pencil eyeliners at a fraction of the cost their high-end counterparts, you can trim the costs even further by finding ways to extend their lives and get the most use from them.
How Can I Get the Most Out of the Eyeliner Pencil I’m Wearing?
A great first step to extending the life of an eyeliner pencil is applying it in a way that encourages long lasting wear. If you aren’t having to reapply them multiple times throughout the day, the product will last longer. Not only do you save time during the day, but you also save a little cash by not having to buy them as frequently—it’s a win-win!
One of the best ways to extend the wear time of any eye makeup is investing in a good eye makeup primer. Primers serve as a base on which all of your eye makeup is applied. Without a primer, eye makeup is likely to smudge or fade away during the day, requiring touch-ups. Eyeliner pencils are notorious for smudging easily—this allows them more styling versatility, but can also lead to a need for reapplications throughout the day. Primers help hold the product in place for longer wear.
How Should I Store My Eyeliner Pencils?
Most eyeliner pencils come with a protective cap to place over their points—this protects the product cased within the wooden body from splintering or breaking. Besides remembering to keep up with the cap, there are other precautions you can take when storing your eyeliner pencils to keep them in top shape.
Many makeup users choose product storage that is aesthetically pleasing, but there are other reasons to choose a storage product besides its attractiveness. For example, eyeliner pencils have delicate tips. Also, depending on the brand you purchase, you may notice that eyeliner pencils have colorful bands around them to indicate what shade they are. Storing them upright in a cup can allow easy access, low impact to the tips, and visibility between individual shades.
For taking makeup on the go, keeping eyeliner pencils safe in the depths of a backpack or purse can be a challenge—like regular writing pencils, eyeliner pencils can be easily damaged if jostled around too much in a bag with other, heavier items. To prevent cracking or breaking, eyeliner pencils should travel in a separate makeup compartment, ideally with some sort of structured protection around them.
Eyeliner pencils should also be stored away from extreme temperatures. For example, if they are stored in a place that is too hot, the product can become too soft in the wooden barrel and melt. In extreme cold temperatures, they can become brittle and broken.
How Can I Restore an Eyeliner Pencil if It Seems Dried or Unusable?
Inevitably, eyeliner pencil mishaps can happen. It’s no fun to realize, halfway through your makeup routine, that your eyeliner pencil appears to have dried out since its last use.
A dry eyeliner pencil will tug at the skin along your eyelashes, causing an uneven, dashed line to run along your eyelid rather than a smooth, straight one. The tugging along your eyelids’ delicate skin can also cause irritation and itchiness. Luckily, it is simple to restore a dried eyeliner pencil and make it usable again.
One method to correct dryness is to roll the pencil between your palms for a minute or two to “warm it up,” which softens the product inside the wooden barrel. Once you finish rolling the pencil, resharpen the end with an eyeliner pencil sharpener.
If the product is extremely dried, a warmer method may need to be used. To heat up and soften the eyeliner pencil’s tip faster, hold the tip of the pencil over a small flame, such as a lighter or lit candle. Only hold the tip over the flame for a few seconds--it will not take long for this method to warm the product. Once you remove it from the flame, give the tip of the eyeliner a few seconds to cool before attempting to apply it. You may also want to attempt sharpening it to achieve a more precise tip after heating the product over a flame.
Resources — Shape, Stylecaster
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