Desi Diva

By Shweta Govindarajan

Beauty Q&A

The skinny on eyeliner plus banishing rough elbows

What is the difference between liquid, pencil and wet eyeliner? Is there a benefit to using one over the other?

The difference between the three is their form, and the key to figuring out which eyeliner to use depends on what kind of look you want to achieve. Liquid eyeliner is the best option for a sculpted and bold look – and it usually has the best staying power, says Sephora make-up artist Lorraine Yokota. Liquid liner can be edgy and really make your eyes pop, so if a subtle smudging is all you desire, this isn’t the eyeliner for you. Evening or formal events, where you’d rather not spend all your time worrying about whether your eyeliner is intact, are great occasions for liquid eyeliner.

Wet eyeliner, commonly known as cake eyeliner, is solid and usually comes in a little pot. To wet the liner, dip your brush in a drop or two of water, which you can usually collect in the pot’s lid, and moisten the cake with the brush. This is a great option for an artistic, softer look, and the line is likely crease-proof, according to Yokota. Check out Benefit’s Babe Cakes, which have great staying power. For an extra-fab application, use it with the Get Bent eyeliner brush, also by Benefit, angled to make your line smooth and error-free.

Pencil or kohl liner is a great standby and can give you sexy-chic bedroom eyes in minutes. But it’s slippery, prone to smudging and not for eyeliner novices. Since the kohl is often soft, it’s easier to glide along the rims of the eyes, but make sure to stop by a mirror throughout the day to avoid walking around with raccoon eyes.

My elbows are really rough. How do I soften them?

In the same way your face can get dry, the winter weather can do a number on your body. Dry hands and elbows are fairly typical during the season, and really rough, cracked elbows can come from not being properly hydrated with a moisturizer and exposure to the environment. One way to kiss scales goodbye is by applying moisturizer at least twice a day – after you shower (with warm, not hot water) and before you go to bed. You also might want to trade up your usual lotion for a heavier formula that will soothe extreme dryness. Drugstore brands are fine – try Vaseline Intensive Care’s Advanced Healing or Eucerin Plus Intensive Repair Crème and Lotion with Alpha Hydroxy. Exfoliating the area can also do wonders to banish flaky skin. Yokota recommends using a salt or sugar scrub once or twice a week to slough off dead skin as well as a dose of shea butter in the morning and at night.

Shweta Govindarajan is a congressional reporter who wouldn't mind teaching Capitol Hill a thing or two about undertones. In addition to feeding her Sephora addiction every chance she gets, Shweta writes about all things beauty for ABCDLady.

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