Awesome tip: Customize your gel eyeliner!

Hey you gorgeous gals! Know what I think is one of the hottest things to wear on your lids these days? A vibrantly-dark-but-shimmery smokey eye. (I also think hyphens are hot, obvs.) And what easier way to achieve this than with some lusciously pigmented gel eye liners in various yummy shades? Just sweep it on, blend in a bit of shadow, and Bob's yer (expertly made-up) uncle.

But of course, some of us (ahem) don't actually have a real income with which to buy a plethora of gel liners, and even if we did would rather avoid the accusatory gaze of certain significant others for buying yet ANOTHER cosmetic item (hey buddy, me and the shiny pretty things are a package deal, capiche?).

However! Because I'm so smart that I decided to go to graduate school and will never get out(HA!), I stumbled across a trick the other day:

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... equals TEH AWESOME! Seriously. Just dig out a teeeny tiny clump of your black (or grey, or brown, whatevs) gel liner with your slanted liner brush, and put it on the back of your hand. Then, take another brush and pick up a good amount of a shimmery loose eyeshadow (like a MAC pigment, or loose mineral shadow). Tap the shadow brush so that the powder falls over the liner that's on your hand, then use your slanted brush to blend blend blend. Soon, you will have a smear of custom-created gel liner that you can use to add quick and easy drama to your eyes! So awesome.

The best part is that you can use whatever colour strikes your fancy. I'm thinking that it's probably most effective to use a light iridescent shade, since the dark liner will deepen the colour considerably. But hey, go nuts and experiment. I'm thinking glitter (cosmetic-grade, of course) would be hot too.

And, let's face it, this is the only way I'll ever come close to finishing that jar of liner. Or an eyeshadow, for that matter.

What do you think, bellas? Cool trick? Old news?