Louise McSharry: Bright coloured eyeliners look great and are more fun

Irish Independent

26-06-2025

For me, this openness to colour absolutely extends to my face, frequently through a bright shade of eyeliner.
Coloured eyeliner is an easy way to elevate your look, or simply make it feel a little more exciting. It's a little less scary than a full lid of colour, although I enjoy that too, and easier to maintain than a bright lip.
There are lots of approaches, depending on how bold you want your look to be. Applying a hint of colour to the waterline (the inside of your lash line) adds a hint of colour without entirely taking over. Dark blue, bronze or plum will look the most natural and bring out the tones in brown, blue and hazel eyes, but I prefer something a little more vivid. Turquoise, lilac and emerald green all look great and are a little more fun.
Makeup Forever's Aqua Resist Colour Pencils (€22.60 via cultbeauty.com) are great for this as they are intensely waterproof and won't budge, although the shade range is limited. Barry M Hi Vis Bold Waterproof Eyeliner (€7.49 via asos.com) is a decent alternative and comes in a bright and bold shade range.
Of course, you can also add a pop of colour with eyeliner in the traditional location, just above the lash line. I know applying liner here can be tricky, but the beauty of bright colours is that they don't need to be exact. You can smudge it out, and you'll still be left with the joy of whichever shade you choose. For this, the liners mentioned above are good options, although you need to smudge quickly before they set.
If you prefer to work at a slower pace, a kohl liner like Elf's Smoky Kohl Eyeliner (€4 via elfcosmetics.com). These smudge easily, and while the shade range is somewhat limited, there are still a couple of excellent brights available. I particularly love Limelight, which looks incredible on darker skin tones.
If you're a boss when it comes to a sharp line, that looks great too. If you're going for precision, NYX Vivid Brights Liquid Liners (€10.49 via boots.ie) are excellent. They stay where you put them and last really well, plus the colour range spans the entire rainbow.
If an eye pencil feels too finicky and intimidating, an eye crayon can also deliver a gorgeous pop of colour to the eye. Kiko Milano's Long Lasting Eyeshadow Stick (€9.99 via kikocosmetics.com) comes in 28 shades and is generally excellent. It stays where you put it for hours, so you can focus on enjoying yourself rather than worrying about your face. I like to apply this along the waterline and lower lash line, including the lashes in one clean sweep. This will deliver high-impact colour, and undoubtedly catch people's attention.
Buying Irish
Seaweed baths are a 300-year-old tradition, which I avoided until recently. As far as I was concerned, brief encounters with seaweed on the beach were enough for me. Then, my friend started talking about his obsession with taking Voya seaweed baths at home, and I simply had to know what he was talking about. Voya has been creating seaweed-based products in the west of Ireland since 2006, and its Lazy Days Detoxifying Seaweed Bath (€29 via voya.ie) allows you to create a spa treatment in your home. Honestly, I'm a total convert now. Aside from the experience feeling luxurious and relaxing, my skin has never been so soft.
Something old…
Korean skincare brand Dr Jart has been a big name in the beauty industry for many years now, and I am absolutely among its fans. I particularly like the Cicapair range, which works to neutralise the kind of redness lots of fair Irish people experience in spades. If I had to choose a favourite product, it would be Cicapair Tiger Grass Colour Correcting Treatment, which is a thick cream which appears green in a little jar, but warms to a skin tone upon application. The colour is not universal — I don't think this product will work for everyone. However, I have found it to be effective on most white skin tones. A little goes a long way, but when carefully applied, it beautifully neutralises redness and leaves the skin looking even and healthy. I like to wear it on its own for no-make-up days, but it also sits well under foundation. Simply wait for it to dry down before you apply.
... Something new
You'd be hard pushed to find a make-up artist who doesn't have, or hasn't at one stage had, Embryolisse's Lait-Créme Concentré in their kit. This rich moisturiser beautifully hydrates the skin and prepares it for make-up. Now, the brand has launched Embryolisse Soin SOS de Peau (€24 via embryolisse.fr), which it calls a 'soothing anti-redness corrector'. Fragrance-free and formulated with sensitive skin in mind, this cream will soothe the skin as well as neutralise redness via its green tint (green is opposite red on the colour wheel, meaning it balances the colour out). The gentle formulation and tone make it ideal for those with rosacea or other aggravating skin conditions. You can use this as a moisturiser, under make-up or as a targeted spot treatment, making it a super handy product to have in your arsenal.