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Dior’s Cat Eye Is Perfect for People Who Are Bad at It

Photo: Vincent Lappartient for Christian Dior Parfums

The hardest part about a cat eye is all of it: The product selection, the angle placement, the cleanup, and the attempt to match your handiwork on the other eye. Fortunately for those who score below-average in lining eyes, Peter Philips, Creative Director at Dior Makeup, sent cat eyes decorated by doodles down Dior’s spring 2019 runway. It’s quite possibly the most accessible Fashion Week liner look to date as it graciously caters to the unsteady and overzealous hands that often ruin traditional winged liner looks.

The free-hand drawing of squiggles, zig-zags, and swipes around models’ eyes was inspired by the fluid movement of dance. But more specifically, it was inspired by the show’s choreographer, Sharon Eyal’s “unusual eye make-up,” as Philips describes it (Maria Grazia Chiuri on the other hand thought Eyal had face tattoos.) To create the look, Philips used DiorShow Kohl in Black to line models’ lower waterlines, intentionally spilling into the inner and outer corners and smudging the product for a lived-in, I’ve-been-dancing-in-this-makeup-all-day look. Then, on ten models, he used copious amounts of DiorShow Pro Liner Waterproof in Black and Anthracite to draw fun, bespoke shapes and patterns on the temples.

The final result was surprisingly dreamy for so much dark liner, but look a little closer and you’ll see this is part of a larger fashion month beauty trend: haphazard looks that are hard to mess up in real life. If there was ever a time to lean into having mediocre beauty skills in the name of self-expression, it’s spring 2019. So close that video tutorial on winged liner, (gently) peel that piece of Scotch tape from the corner of your eyes, embrace that wobbly hand, and start drawing on your face.

Photo: Vincent Lappartient for Christian Dior Parfums
Photo: Courtesy of the Retailer
Photo: Courtesy of the Retailer

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Dior’s Cat Eye Is Perfect for People Who Are Bad at It