Graphic eyeliner is a bold yet simple way to elevate any beauty look. From floating lines to the beloved cat eye, there are countless of options to choose from if you’re wanting to step up your eye-makeup game. But one that’s currently flooding everyone’s For You Pages that has me — a known makeup minimalist — super intrigued is the fishtail-eyeliner look.
Aptly named, fishtail eyeliner is a double-winged liner that mirrors itself on the top and bottom lash lines. “The eye acts as the body of the fish, while the ends mimic a traditional goldfish tail,” celebrity makeup artist Neil Scibelli says. While it may sound complicated, he assures that it’s simple enough for even a makeup novice to do. (Plus, you can customize it, and there are so many variations of the look).
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Neil Scibelli is a celebrity makeup artist.
You’ll first want to get the right products. Scibelli suggests a long-wear liquid liner to minimize bleeding or smudging, and you should opt for a felt-tip liner so you have more control when drawing those precise lines. I decided to stick to one color, a classic black, and grabbed the Kaja Wink Stamp Eyeliner Pen ($29).
Starting from the inner corner, I drew a straight line along my upper lash line. As I reached the outer corner, Scibelli instructed me to flick the liner upward to create a wing. Then, from the top point of the wing, I drew a line down to thicken the wing and create a triangle, which he says will act as the top fishtail line.
Then it was time to line the bottom lash line. Scibelli says I can basically repeat the same steps I did for the top, starting from the inner corner and lining the lash line outward. I opted to start at the center of the bottom lash line — I personally felt it was too much to completely line the bottom — but instead of flicking the liner upward, I turned it downward to create a “mirror effect” of the wing on the top. Then I thickened it by connecting that point back up to the corner of the lower lash line to get that triangular shape. Et voilà — my fishtail liner look was complete.
The best part about this trend is you can do it however you like. You can make the triangle shapes thick or thin. You can mix bold colors or stick with classic black. If you make any mistakes, don’t worry; it’s an easy fix. Scibelli says you can use a pointed Q-tip dipped in micellar water (he likes Garnier’s SkinActive Micellar All-in-One Cleansing Water ($12) to clean up any smudged lines.
This took less than five minutes to achieve, and I only grabbed my micellar water once. The results are a super-cute eye look that’s anything but basic. You’ll catch me wearing this look into the fall.
Audrey Noble is a beauty writer who covers breaking news, writes celebrity profiles, and does deep-dive features about the ways race, gender, sexuality, and other forms of identity impact society via the beauty industry. Previously, she was the beauty reporter at Allure and has held editorial positions at Vanity Fair and Refinery29. Audrey’s work can also be seen in PS, Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, Bustle, InStyle, WWD, and more.
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