1. Using your finger, blend an eye shadow base, such as Tarte Clean Slate 360 Creaseless Smoothing Eye Primer ($19; ulta.com), all over lids. It absorbs oils and fills wrinkles, creating a smoother surface for your pencil to skim over.
  2. Line your top lash line using a waterproof pencil with a gel-like consistency, such as Maybelline New York Eye Studio Master Drama Cream Pencil in Bold Brown ($8; drugstores). The formula glides easily but dries quickly, so it won’t feather. Pull your lid taut toward your temple and apply the liner inward from the outer corner, wiggling the tip into your lash line as you go (when you release the lid, there won’t be any gaps where the color jumped).
  3. Using a chubby eye pencil in a pale, shimmery hue, draw a line directly above the dark-brown liner (with this technique, you can skip shadow). This camouflages uneven texture or messy liner edges, and the shimmer reflects light to brighten areas that may be cast in shadow by heavy lids. Try E.L.F. Studio Waterproof Eyeliner Crayon in Champagne ($3; eyeslipsface.com).