Watercolor Eyes Makeup Tutorial

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Bright and bold makeup is so in right now! From graphic liner to editorial eyeshadows, you can't go wrong with a little experimentation. Need some inspo? This watercolor inspired eye look is perfect for flexing your creative muscles. As long as you have eye-safe pigments that can be mixed with water, you can make this one happen. Here's how I created the watercolor eyes look!

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A post shared by Lindsay (@ourwildbeauty)

Materials

This look only requires a few things. Here's what you'll need for your watercolor eyes:

• Eye-Safe Pigments: These can be water-activated liners (I used the ones from Glisten Cosmetics), face paints, eyeshadows. etc. If you can mix it with water to dilute and apply the color, you can make it work.
• Brush: I used an old watercolor brush I had laying around. This was great because it holds a lot of water and has a tapered tip for control. I'd highly recommend using a paint brush, if you have one.
• Tissues/Paper Towel: These are helpful for cleaning up mistakes and controlling the amount of water on your brush.
• Water Dish: We're painting! You'll need something to wet your pigments with and rinse your brush in.
• Makeup: This is optional of course, but will really take your look to the next level. I used a few products to bring it all together.

Getting Started

I'd like to preface this by saying I took a bunch of highly unflattering screenshots of my makeup process so I could show you the steps. I hope they help you understand how to recreate the look!

Prep your skin.

First I applied a blurring, glowy primer to clean skin. I knew I wouldn't be applying any complexion products once I was done, so I wanted something that would make my skin look good.

Next, to give my colorful pigments a good base, I applied a pale concealer all around my eyes.

Finally I applied a good amount of setting spray and pressed it in with a beauty sponge.

Prep your colors.

I found it helpful to plan out which colors I wanted where before I started. This way I didn't work myself into a corner and end up with clashing colors!

Now is also the time to play around with the consistency of your pigments. Try adding different amounts of water to see how opaque or bright the colors become.

Start painting!

Here's the fun part! Watercolor can be freeform, loose, and imperfect. Let your makeup reflect that.

I tried to keep the darker, more concentrated colors closest to my eye. I applied pigments here first, then dabbed and blended them out with a clean, wet brush.

Don't be afraid to put multiple layers of one color- that's what can give the really cool watercolor effect! It also looks better (in my opinion) if you layer different colors as well. Just be careful not to layer and blend too much, since that's what will make your colors muddy.

You can see in my pictures that I let colors overlap very slightly to eliminate any harsh lines while still keeping the integrity of the color. This is best achieved by putting one color down, then adding another right next to it before the first has dried. They'll do some mingling on their own!

Drip tip: I found that if I let the colors drip naturally, the lines were never as straight as I wanted them to be (see the blue drip above). I wiped off a few before I found the winning technique: trace where you want the drip to go with clean water, then drop some pigment in at the top. Drag the pigment up and down the stripe of water to get it just how you like it! Use a tissue to dab the bottom of the drop so it doesn't continue down your face.

The (dreaded) Other Eye

I decided to spare my mental health and not try to make my eye makeup symmetrical. If you have the patience and determination, definitely give it a try! I went in on the other side with a similar overall shape, but a different color scheme. I love that this let me use even more color.

Finish it off.

Now that your eyes are nice and watercolored, the hard part is over! Next you get to tie the whole look together with some finishing touches. Here's what I did:

• Mascara: No false lashes for me (I kind of hate them), so I broke out the lash curler and my best mascara.
• Pastel liner: A mint green liner in the waterline made the eyes look more finished.
• Brows: I used a clear brow gel and a brown pencil to fill in any sparse spots. Since the eyes are the focus of this look, I really wanted my brows to look clean and tidy.
• Blush: This helped bring some subtle color to the face, and I liked blending it into the eye pigments to make everything look cohesive.
• Lip gloss: No look is complete without a little something on the lips! I used a super neutral, nude shade to keep the focus on my eyes.

Listen to "Watercolor Eyes" by Lana del Ray.

Just kidding. But that song was the inspiration behind this look! And here are the finished watercolor eyes:

Are watercolor eyes appropriate for everyday wear?

Asking for a friend who is tempted to wear this to the grocery store.

I'm a bit obsessed with this look! I love how the colors stayed bright on the skin. They also blended beautifully- Glisten Cosmetics makes some incredible makeup.

The best part about these watercolor eyes? They look more complicated than they really are. The bright colors and abstract shapes give you tons of creative freedom. Give it a try if you want to spice up your insta or just try something new!

If you end up giving this a try, I'd love to see. Tag me on socials @ourwildbeauty or contact me here!

As always, thank you so much for reading. See you soon!

xoxo,

Lindsay