How to Turn Your Favorite Eye Shadow into Eyeliner

by Jill Russell

Published Apr 25, 2014

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Have you met Duraline? The little $9 miracle product from Inglot Cosmetics flies somewhat under the radar, but has amassed a rabid following among professional artists and eye makeup enthusiasts. And it’s no wonder—it can do many wonderful things, from reviving a dried-out gel liner or blush (just add a drop or two) to keeping glitter products firmly in place (our member Jessica C. puts it best in her five-star review: “I’m wearing glitter eyeliner—and it’s only on my lids!”).

Duraline can tackle such tasks because it’s translucent and waterless (it’s silicone-based, and also paraben-free). That formulation also makes it the best medium on earth for transforming any powder into an intense, easy-to-apply liquid. In the Beautylish studio, we’re constantly reaching for the product to create custom eye liners from our favorite shadows—and we wanted to show you how to do it!

There’s almost nothing to it

1: Pick your shadow. Any powder eye shadow (loose or pressed) you love will do.

2: Using the dropper, dispense a bit of Duraline onto the back of your hand.

3: Dip a clean, stiff-bristled eyeliner brush into your shadow.

4: Mix the two together on the back of your hand, and that’s it! Instant, long-lasting liquid liner, in any shade you want.

5: For extra staying power, you can dab a little Duraline over your finished liner or eye look to seal it all in place.

You can play around with the ratio of Duraline to shadow. Here, Los Angeles–based makeup artist Brande Bytheway did roughly 50/50, and she says your best bet is just experimenting with the products until you get the color and intensity you want. “The resulting opacity will vary depending on the shadow you’re using and how pigmented it is,” she says.

We suggest going with a shade that’s hard to find in liner form, like the silver we used here, Inglot Cosmetics AMC Pure Pigment Eye Shadow in 23. If you’re looking for ideas, and silver isn’t your thing, this particular product—a highly pigmented loose powder shadow—comes in 70 shades! Some of our other favorites for bold liner looks are 34 (a metallic pink), 47 (an iridescent indigo), and 29, a yellow-gold.

And one last tip! “The cool thing about making your own eyeliner is that you can vary the opacity and intensity of it. So you can do a really opaque line on the top lid, and then a sheerer version of that same shade on the bottom,” explains Brande. A genius idea for a genius product! We’d love to see your custom eyeliner looks, too! Share @beautylish #inglot #duraline.