Graphic Liner: How to Take the Bold Eye Look From Runway to Real Way

Tips on how to achieve a statement-looking eye look

In the realm of all things style, there's a fine line between couture and costume. Case met point when we tried replicating the bold graphic eye looks from the latest crop of runway shows. Let's just say E! HQ started to look a lot like Comic-Con.

The truth is colorful or graphic eye looks are a tad unrealistic. Artistic and beautiful, the precise lines and shapes are a little severe for a grocery store run. There are, after all, only a few celebs—Emma Stone, Zoë Kravitz and Sophia Bush included—that dare attempt the trend with winning results.

Thankfully, E! Style Collective's Tina Turnbow, makeup artist to stars like Laura Prepon and Keri Russell, explained how to translate the trend into an eye-catching look that doesn't overwhelm.

Concentrate on one area of the eye: Notice how the Aloha star wore electric-blue liner from the mid to outer ends of her eye. It complements rather than overcomes. "I also love smudging a bold color around the inner rim of the eye," said Tina. "It reflects right up into the eye, making it look brighter, and sometimes travels down and diffuses out."

Keep it minimal everywhere else: "The best thing you can do is keep your makeup minimal with a cheek stain or sheer lip color," Tina advised. "Play up the brow. Extend the brow so it frames the eye with the color accent. Let the liner be the star of the show."

Open up: To get those almost-perfect symmetrical lines, the makeup maven reminded us to simply keep an eye on what you're doing. When you keep opening and closing your eyes to apply liner, it changes the eye shape, she noted. Instead, "look down into a mirror below. Your eye is relaxed, and it gives you the lid to work with," she added.

Get precise lines all day long: When prepping your lids, "don't use eye creams on which the liner can slide around," she advised. You want to be as grease-free as possible. Liquid or long-wear pencils should last, but for an added step, "powder your eyelid with translucent powder to set it," said Tina.

Consider your skin tone: "Orange is trendy but not always flattering," Tina remarked about the latest runway It color. "With deeper skin tones, you want to consider hair color, outfit color and skin tone," she added. If orange doesn't look good, try hot purple, fuchsia or teal. "I love a good makeup trend, but you got to make it work for you."