One Editor Tries 3 TikTok Eyeliner Hacks in Hopes of Achieving the Perfect Wing

I spend way too much time on TikTok, which means I’m suceptible to the crazy, viral beauty hacks that I always feel a pang of desire to try. After tape-contouring and setting my lipstick with blush, I’ve learned that some TikTok hacks work better than others and some just simply aren’t worth the effort. However, one area where I’m a bit more optimistic is with winged eyeliner hacks. 

Needing multiple attempts to achieve a decent wing is something many deal with so someone has to crack the code to a better method for achieving winged eyeliner, right? On BeautyTok there’s no shortage of viral eyeliner hacks, all of which seem to promise perfect, sharp feline flicks in seconds —my amateur eyeliner skills and I couldn’t resist. So, I decided to put them to the test. 

Check out my experience with three viral eyeliner hacks, including winged eyeliner with floss, winged eyeliner with tape and winged eyeliner with dots. Find out which viral winged eyeliner hacks actually work and which ones I’d recommend everyone skip.

How to Make Winged Eyeliner Easier?

If you search “winged eyeliner hack” on TikTok, thousands of videos promising easy and quick eyeliner instantly pop up. Winged eyeliner tends to be a universal makeup struggle but things like practice, a steady hand, tape and an eyeliner stencil can make the process easier.  Even knowing how to create the right type of winged eyeliner for your eye shape can make the task move much smoother. 

In an experiment to see how I can make my quest for winged eyeliner a bit easier to achieve, check out my experience with three viral TikTok eyeliner hacks.

How to Do Winged Eyeliner With Floss

When I first saw this on TikTok, the application was quick and this hack offered up the perfect winged eyeliner. Basically, you take the pointed edge of a flossing pick, paint it with eyeliner and stamp it onto your lid to create a wing. As optimistic as I am about finding the perfect winged eyeliner hack, this one just isn’t it. The first red flag should have been taking something sharp like a flossing pick and voluntarily placing it near your eyeball. 

I used the bottom, pointed end of a flossing pick (yes, the kind for your teeth), painted it with liquid eyeliner and stamped it onto the outer corner of my lid. In three tries, I only poked myself in the eye once and got one semi-decent wing that I later had to fix with micellar water and cotton swabs. The first attempt was such a fail that I had to remove the eyeliner and start over again.

My biggest issue with this hack is that the stars seemingly have to align for it to work (if Mercury is in retrograde just throw the hack away). The flossing pick has to be the perfect shape for a wing, you have to be able to rotate it correctly so you can create a wing on both eyes and this hack only has a chance of success if you get the perfect placement. 

As for the one wing I got to look semi-decent with the floss, it only looked good from afar. When I examined my makeup up close, the wing was patchy and the apex was curved because of the flossing pick’s shape.

Needless to say, I do not recommend this hack. You’re better off using a stencil to create your winged eyeliner.  The L’Oréal Paris Infallible Flash Cat Eye Waterproof Brush Tip Liquid Eyeliner includes a stencil so you can easily trace the shape of a sharp, precise wing.

How to Do Winged Eyeliner With Tape

If you struggle with winged eyeliner, especially with getting both sides even, this is a great hack. Take a two-inch long piece of tape and place it on the lower lash line, flesh against the outer corner of your at a slightly upward angle. Then place another two-inch piece of tape on your lid, perpendicular to the tape on your lower lash line. 

The goal is to create the perfect, triangle sliver of skin between the two pieces of tape that you’ll fill in with eyeliner to create the perfect cat eye. In hindsight, I recommend doing this eyeliner hack before doing the rest of your makeup. If not, the tape will definitely remove your foundation and disrupt your eyebrow makeup — I experienced that the first time I tried it. 

Once the tape is in place, fill in the sliver of skin with powder eyeshadow or liquid eyeliner. I used the L’Oréal Paris Grip Precision Felt Waterproof Eyeliner, and since the tape created the perfect wing shape, I didn’t waste any effort trying to be precise with my application.

When I removed the tape, I was shocked in the best way — the tape really helped to create the perfect wing. Not only was the wing sharp, but the placement was everything I would hope for. While I wouldn’t do this hack every day because the tape is uncomfortable and adds an extra step, if I was doing my makeup for a special occasion, I would do this hack without question.

How to Do Winged Eyeliner With Dots

This method for winged eyeliner is the most practical of the three and doesn’t require you to completely alter your routine to make it work. With the tip of your liquid eyeliner (we recommend the aforementioned L’Oréal Paris Grip Precision Felt Waterproof Eyeliner) use dots to map out the placement of your wing so that when it’s time to draw it, you already have an outline of the shape to follow. 

I struggle with keeping my wings even and symmetrical so this is a good hack for that because you can align the dots on each eye to match before drawing on your eyeliner. After creating the dots and drawing my eyeliner, I did need to use a cotton swab and micellar water to perfect the wing, but I did it on the first try.

This hack does not equal perfect eyeliner unless you already have a steady hand and impressive liquid liner skills. I definitely don’t have that but this hack did make my winged eyeliner attempt a little easier and quicker than if I were to just do it freehand. I liked having the shape to follow and I would definitely use this hack next time I want to wear a feline flick.

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Photo Design: Sarah Duvivier