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If you’re blessed with monolid eyes, then we’re placing you in the same heavenly realms as K-pop idols like ITZY’s Yeji, Red Velvet’s Seulgi, and TWICE’s Dahyun – stars who really know how to flaunt their iconically hooded eyes.

These Korean celebs effortlessly switch between boasting a powerful cat-eyed glare to a soft, puppy-dog gaze, simply by swapping a casual upward-flick out for an elongated line.

Thankfully, wearing versatile makeup styles isn’t just reserved for these K-pop stars, because anyone else with monolid eyes can do it too – if only they know how.

To help you out, we share three popular ways of drawing eyeliner on monolids, including step-by-step tips from Korean YouTuber Minsco 민스코 and the best eyeliners to get for monolid eyes!

How to draw monolid eyeliner: cat-shaped

The fierce flick of a cat-shaped eyeliner can elongate the eyes and give a bold little pop to your overall look, but nailing it on monolid eyes can take a little bit of practice.

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Seulgi from Red Velvet wearing cat-shaped eyeliner on her monolids. Photo source: @hi_sseulgi/Instagram

Korean YouTuber, Minsco 민스코, shows us how to create a cat-shaped eyeliner by starting with an eyeshadow base. She sweeps the lightest shade of eyeshadow across her entire upper eyelid and then uses a darker shade to contour the outer corners and inner corners of the eye.

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Photo source: Easy Beauty Hacks#18: 3 ways to draw eyelines for mono-lids + Tip on how to never ruin it | Minsco/YouTube

She explains that the outer corners of your eyeshadow should be filled in an upwards shape towards your temples to match your cat-eye winged liner. She also uses the darker shade to fill in the outer parts of the lower lash line – from the centre of the iris to the tip of the wing – to achieve greater definition.

For a more dynamic eyeshadow style, she also used a final darker shade to create deeper contours too.

After you’re done with the eyeshadow, you can start drawing your eyeliner wing by placing the brush tip of your liquid liner at the outer corner of your eye and, then, extending it upwards following the natural shape of your lower lash line.

monolid eyeliner - tutorial

Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

Minsco 민스코 completes the perfect cat-eyed wing by connecting the crisp tip of the wing to just above the outer edge of her iris. She colours the wing in, and she’s done!

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Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

If you’re struggling to nail a sharp wing flick, Minsco 민스코 ’s tip is to lighten the pressure when you’re drawing eyeliner on your monolid eyes.

The harder your press on the eyeliner brush, the blunter your lines get; on the other hand, using a light hand can help you to achieve precise lines, which is just what you need for a killer cat-eye wing.

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Tightline the inner sections of the upper lash line. Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

From where you left off with the eyeliner wing, tightline the inner sections of your upper lash line by placing the eyeliner brush at a 45-degree angle and using short, light strokes.

Finally, Minsco 민스코 recommends that – should you want to flaunt a fierce straight wing instead of a gentle upward-curving flick – you use brown eyeshadow to connect the tip of the wing to the outer part of your iris in a straight line.

How to draw monolid eyeliner: puppy eye

Unlike a cat-shaped eyeliner that features a crisp upward flick, puppy eyeliner is characterised by a downward curve at the outer edge of the eye. Lending to an innocent gaze, puppy eyeliner is especially flattering on monolid eyes or eyes that are hooded and deep-set, such as Yeji’s from the K-pop girl group ITZY.

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Photo source: @yeji.ltzy/Instagram

Even so, it can be tricky drawing puppy eyeliner on monolid eyes because extending the eyeliner a little too much can result in droopy, tired-looking eyes instead of a wide-eyed, innocent gaze.

It’s no wonder that Minsco 민스코 begins her tutorial by warning against extending the “wing” of your eyeliner lower than the inner corner of the eye. Instead, you should make sure that your eyeliner “wing” is aligned with the height of the eye’s inner corner.

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Make sure the eyeliner wing is aligned with the inner corner of the eye. Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

First, sweep the upper eyelid with a light base shade, just as you would when drawing a cat-shaped eyeliner.

Then, use a pencil eyeliner to trace your upper lash line, starting from the centre of your iris and along the outer edge of your eye, making sure that the eyeliner doesn’t end lower than the height of your eye’s inner corner. You should also make sure that this line is parallel to the inner lower lash line.

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Your eyeliner should be parallel to the inner lower lash line. Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

To create a softer and more natural look, Minsco 민스코 uses a darker shade of eyeshadow to blend out the eyeliner as well as connect the underside of the “wing” to the lower lash line. Using this darker eyeshadow shade, she fills in the lower lash line all the way to the centre of the eye.

To create a more obvious wing, she also uses a liquid eyeliner to draw over the pencil line.

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Trace over with a liquid eyeliner. Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

She uses an even darker eyeshadow, in a chocolate brown hue, to fill in the underside of the eye once more, before using glitter eyeshadow to accentuate her aegyo sal and dot the centre of her upper eyelids.

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The final look. Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

How to draw monolid eyeliner: natural

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TWICE’s Dahyun. Photo source: dahyun__twice/Instagram

The easiest way to draw on monolids, according to Minsco 민스코, is the natural eyeliner. For this eyeliner, the wing extends from the outermost corner of the eye in a straight line towards the temple, which helps to elongate and accentuate the eyes naturally.

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Sweep eyeshadow past the outermost corner of your eye. Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

She begins by sweeping the lightest base shade over her eyelids, as usual, but this time she uses a darker brown shade to contour past the outermost corner of the eyes, which broadens their shape.

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Extend the wing outwards in a straight line. Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

To draw the eyeliner wing, she places the pencil eyeliner at the outermost corner of the eye and extends it outwards in a straight line. Then, she connects the tip of the wing to the centre of the iris and colours it in.

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Blend out the pencil eyeliner using a dark brown eyeshadow. Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

You could complete your makeup look here, or you could make your eyeliner appear even more natural by blending the pencil line out using an eyeshadow brush. Minsco 민스코 also sweeps dark brown eyeshadow across the underside of the wing and connects it to the centre of the lower lash line.

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Use a liquid eyeliner to trace the wing. Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

Just like she did for the cat-shaped and puppy eyeliner, she traces over using liquid eyeliner and joins the tip of the eyeliner wing to just above the outer corner of the iris.

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The final look. Photo source: Minsco/YouTube

Monolid eyeliner: Best pencil eyeliners

KVD Beauty Tattoo Pencil Liner Waterproof Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner

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Although black is typically the first colour that comes to mind when it comes to eyeliner, there’s a lot that a soft brown or warm grey can do for your monolid eyes too.

KVD Beauty Tattoo Pencil Liner Waterproof Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner comes in a range of colours ranging from Blue Ashes, Diox Purple, and Madder Red, to classic Black, of course.

Not forgetting, this pencil eyeliner glides easily onto the lids and dries fast so that it stays smudge-proof throughout the day. Yes, that’s zero smudging despite the friction that it’ll have to endure from your hooded monolid eyes.

KVD Beauty Tattoo Pencil Liner Waterproof Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner retails for S$35 on Sephora.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Resist Color Pencil Eyeliner

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Make Up For Ever’s highly-pigmented pencil glides like silk, which means that even beginners can trace a smooth line onto their monolid eyes with absolute ease.

Since the Aqua Resist Color Pencil Eyeliner doesn’t dry down too quickly, you’ll have the chance to blend out the pencil eyeliner for a soft and natural look. We don’t even have to mention that this eyeliner has mega smudge and water-resistant powers that are perfect for monolid eyes, duh.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Resist Color Pencil Eyeliner retails for S$36 on Sephora.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner

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An eyeliner that goes on smooth and is long-lasting, the Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner is also one that doesn’t require you to sharpen it after every few uses. Every time you open the lid, the eyeliner is sharp and ready to be used, thanks to the retractable pencil’s unique design.

Reviewers say that the eyeliner is so soft and smooth that it makes waterlining much more of a breeze. Best snag this one to perfect a cat-shaped eyeliner on your monolid eyes!

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner retails for S$38 on Sephora.

Monolid eyeliner: Best liquid eyeliners

Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real Xtreme Precision Liquid Eyeliner

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Nailing a crisp tip for our eyeliner wing is enough to make us feel super about facing the day. Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real Xtreme Precision Liquid Eyeliner features a tapered brush tip that’s 0.1mm fine so that you can create a sharp flick with ease. We’ve got no other words but “oh, so fine”!

Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real Xtreme Precision Liquid Eyeliner retails for S$42 on Sephora.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Eyeliner

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The Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Eyeliner boasts a true matte black formula that stays stubbornly on the eyelids throughout the day, which means no smudging or bleeding even on monolid eyes.

The eyeliner’s soft felt precision tip is also flexible enough to let you switch between super slim and goth-worthy thick lines, so you’re sure to find what you’re looking for with this purple tube!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Eyeliner retails for S$35 on Sephora.

KissMe Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eye Liner Black

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Japanese brand KissMe’s Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eye Liner Black is a worthy budget-friendly option for those looking for a smudge-proof product to draw on their monolid eyes. Reviewers say that the eyeliner draws easily on the eyelids and doesn’t bleed all day!

KissMe Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eye Liner Black retails for S$15 instead of S$25 on Shopee.

Featured image credit: @hi_sseulgi, @yeji.ltzy/Instagram

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