How to Sharpen an Eyeliner Pencil

Co-authored by Erica Coates

Last Updated: March 8, 2022 Approved

Dull eyeliner can give you smudgy, inexact lines when you apply it. Sharpening your eyeliner pencil regularly will help you get the best use out of your makeup.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Freezing Your Eyeliner and Cleaning Your Sharpener

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Putting your eyeliner in the freezer before you sharpen it will prevent it from crumbling when you try to sharpen it. It should come out of the freezer harder than it was before. If you have a thicker eyeliner pencil, you may need to leave it in for a longer period of time (ten or fifteen minutes, or however long it takes to harden).
The alcohol is a disinfectant that will kill bacteria that live in your eyeliner pencil sharpener. These bacteria can be harmful to your eyes, so it is good to sanitize your sharpener before and after you use it.^{[1]
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Research source} Open the eyeliner pencil sharpener.

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Stick the wet swab inside the sharpener. Gently swab. Using a new swab, clean the blades inside the compartment of the sharpener.^{[2]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Sharpening Your Eyeliner

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It should feel harder than when you put it in. If it still feels soft or crumbly, put it back in the freezer for another five minutes.
^{[3]
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Expert Source

Erica Coates
Professional Makeup Artist

Expert Interview. 25 February 2022.} Put it all the way into the sharpener, but do not force it. ^{[4]
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Research source} Do not press extremely hard or force the pencil in. The pencil should slide easily into the hole.
Turn the pencil in the sharpener a couple times (at least one full rotation). Sharpen your eyeliner over a trash can so that the shavings fall into the trash can.
4
Pull the eyeliner out of the eyeliner sharpener. If you are happy with the sharpness of the tip, stop sharpening. If it still looks dull, keep sharpening. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with the sharpness of the pencil.
- Eyeliner pencils do not need to be extremely sharp. They are, after all, going to be touching your skin!
5
Improvise if you don't have a sharpener. In a pinch, you can also sharpen eyeliner with a knife, such as an X-acto knife or a pen knife. Hold the pencil in your non-dominant hand, and the knife in your dominant hand. Point the pencil downward. Hold the knife perpendicular to the pencil, with the tip an inch or so from the point of the pencil. With the thumb of your non-dominant hand, push the knife to the end of the pencil (to the tip). The shavings should come off in thin strips. Repeat this process all the way around the circumference of the pencil. Repeat until sharp.^{[5]
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- While you can improvise and even use a regular pencil sharpener, it definitely won't give the desired effect.^{[6]
  X
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  Erica Coates
  Professional Makeup Artist
  
  Expert Interview. 25 February 2022.}

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Testing Your Eyeliner

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Draw a small line of eyeliner on the back of your hand. Make sure that you are happy with the line it makes. If it’s too thick, sharpen your pencil more. If it’s too thin, draw on your hand or a on piece of paper until the tip becomes more blunt. You should have a small but rounded tip.^{[7]
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Sharpen in smaller increments to get just the right tip. Make sure that there are no sharp edges on the tip. It will be touching your eye. When you are finished, try testing the eyeliner on the back of your hand again, and then on your eye.
Open the sharpener. Throw away the shavings into a garbage can. Dip a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol, and, again, clean the blades and the inner compartment of the eyeliner sharpener. Put the sharpener back together.^{[8]
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Question

What can I use to sharpen my eyeliner?

Erica Coates
Professional Makeup Artist
Erica Coates is a Professional Makeup Artist and the Owner of Erica Nicole Beauty based in the Washington D.C. metro area. With more than 14 years of experience, she specializes in creating and personalizing makeup looks and skin prep for makeup. Erica received her cosmetology training from the Bennett Career Institute.

Erica Coates

Professional Makeup Artist

Expert Answer

I definitely recommend a sharpener geared towards eyeliners, specifically — the kind that has two holes. These are great because they give the sharpest effect with the pencils.

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How do you sharpen a gel eyeliner pencil? I tried a sharpener, and it tore my gel up.

Gwack

Community Answer

Roll the eyeliner up a little bit, and rub the sides in a circle around on your hand so that the tip of it will get sharper. The heat from your hand will sharpen the pencil.

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How can I check if the eyeliner pencil is a quality one?

Community Answer

Search it up online and see if it has good reviews.

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Tips

Only use a sharpener that is specifically made for eyeliner pencils.^{[9]
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Erica Coates
Professional Makeup Artist

Expert Interview. 25 February 2022.}

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Testing the eyeliner out on your hand also warms it up, making it easier to apply to your eyes.^{[10]
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Warnings

Be careful when cleaning the sharpener. The blades that sharpen pencils are really sharp.

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Be careful when testing out the eyeliner. A freshly sharpened eyeliner pencil can also be sharp.

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