How to do sixties eye makeup.

Most tutorials for sixties eye makeup focus on the winged liner and call it done. But the real mod eye has three distinct elements: pale matte shadow that extends past the natural eye shape, graphic black liner that's thick but not feline, and lower lashes drawn on with surgical precision. Miss any one of these and you get Halloween costume, not <em>Barbarella</em>.

This routine takes the guesswork out of proportions. You'll map out the shadow placement first, then build the liner in sections, then add the lower lashes one by one.

  1. Map the shadow boundaries first.. Close your eyes and use a pale eyeshadow brush to pat white or very pale blue powder from your lashline to just above your natural crease. The key is going wider than your actual eye shape. Extend the shadow from the inner corner to a point that's directly above the outer edge of your eyebrow. This creates the mod eye's distinctive rounded, doll-like proportions.
  2. Set the shadow boundary with liner.. Using a black gel or cream eyeliner on a small angled brush, trace the upper edge of your shadow area. This line should follow the curve you just created, not your natural eye socket. It acts as a border that keeps the sixties look crisp and graphic rather than blended.
  3. Build the upper lashline.. Draw a thick line along your upper lashes, starting thin at the inner corner and gradually thickening toward the outer corner. The line should be about three millimeters thick at its widest point. Unlike winged liner, this stops exactly at the outer corner of your eye—no extension or flick upward.
  4. Add the lower lashline.. Line the lower lashes with the same black liner, keeping it thin and close to the waterline. This grounds the look and prevents the pale upper shadow from looking unfinished. The lower line should connect visually with the upper line at the outer corner, creating an almond shape.
  5. Draw individual lower lashes.. Using a very thin liner brush or felt-tip liner, draw individual spiky lashes below your lower lashline. Space them about two millimeters apart and make them different lengths—some short, some reaching almost to your under-eye area. This is what makes the look unmistakably sixties rather than just heavy liner.
Miss any one element and you get Halloween costume, not Barbarella.