A close-up of a pop star applying sharp, dramatic black winged eyeliner with a liquid pen.
Music icons understand that cosmetics build a persona. Sabrina Carpenter’s signature baby doll blush and Ariana Grande’s high ponytail are instantly recognizable. Eyeliner holds that same transformative power.
The classic cat eye connects the top and bottom lash lines with a distinct flick, while a winged liner typically refers to a sharp swoop along the upper lashes that extends outward. From striking thickness to precise angles, the celebrities who take the classic cat eye to the next level prove that a basic makeup technique can become a permanent staple of their visual identity.
Amy Winehouse’s Fearless, Vintage Cat Eye
The late Amy Winehouse built a visual aesthetic deeply rooted in the 1950s and ’60s. Inspired by Brigitte Bardot and The Ronettes, she paired her towering beehive hair with heavy, upturned eyeliner.
She famously relied on Rimmel London’s Scandaleyes Exaggerate Liquid Liner. A partially used tube of the exact product belonging to Winehouse even sold for $1,625 at a 2023 auction.
Makeup artist Valli O’Reilly, who worked closely with the singer, praised the eyeliner on Lisa Eldridge’s YouTube channel. “The brush is amazing,” she noted. “It’s got the perfect amount of firmness, so it’s not too floppy [and] it’s not too long.”
To replicate the dramatic look, celebrity makeup artist Fiona Stiles offered a specific strategy to The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. She advised drawing fearlessly toward the tail of the eyebrows and applying heavy mascara to both lash lines for visual balance.
Adele’s Perfectly Contoured Wing
Adele is completely devoted to heavy liquid eyeliner. During a video appearance with Nikki Tutorials, she admitted her reliance on a sharp cat eye and a contoured lid to complete her signature look.
In 2016, makeup artist Michael Ashton broke down the singer’s application routine on Lisa Eldridge’s YouTube channel. He begins by contouring the eye crease with matte brown eyeshadow before switching to Bobbi Brown’s Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner.
Ashton applies the gel from the middle inner corner, working outward to build thickness. “What I like to do is to start right at the root of the lashes using a little bit more pressure on the brush,” he explained.
He drags the brush outward and upward at a 45-degree angle toward the temple, easing the pressure to create a soft flick. After sharpening the line, he finishes by applying mascara to the lower lashes with a fan brush.
Taylor Swift’s Timeless Lash-Line Swoop
Despite moving through entirely distinct style eras, Taylor Swift consistently returns to winged eyeliner and a red lip. The aesthetic draws direct inspiration from Marilyn Monroe, offering a timeless foundation for Swift’s evolving wardrobe.
Her application methods haven’t always been conventional. Swift confessed to Elle in 2019 that she occasionally used a Sharpie marker for eyeliner during her youth, strongly warning fans, “DO NOT DO IT.”
Today, her makeup bag is much safer. Swift used a Tom Ford Eye Defining Liquid Liner Pen in her 2020 Miss Americana documentary and later fronted a 2022 campaign for Pat McGrath’s Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner.
Swift shared her personal application geometry during a Keds promotional video, according to Glamour. She advised following the natural upward angle of the bottom lash line, keeping the product thin and tight against the lashes.
Megan Thee Stallion’s Snatched, Elongated Eye
Megan Thee Stallion commands attention with a hyper-sharp wing and bold shadow. The rapper favors a deeply elongated, snatched aesthetic.
In a YouTube tutorial, she explained her core makeup philosophy: “I just always like everything to go up in the sky around my eyes.”
After becoming a Revlon global brand ambassador in 2020, Megan told Allure she relies heavily on the ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen. She praised its durability, noting she can seamlessly transition from a high-energy stage performance straight to an afterparty without reapplying.
While she trusts makeup artists Priscilla Ono and Lauren Elise Child, Megan frequently handles her own cosmetics. She carves out a faux-cut crease and applies Revlon’s Colorstay Eyeliner in Brown to craft an upturned wing, repeating the shape on her waterline before transitioning to a black pencil for evening events.
Ariana Grande’s Evolving Flick
For the entirety of the 2010s, Ariana Grande rarely stepped out without a towering ponytail, thick black tightlining, and a short wing.
“Everyone has their own strategy, but I just kind of hope for the best,” she admitted to Refinery29, adding that she prefers liquid pens while her makeup artist, Daniel Chinchilla, opts for a traditional pot and brush.
As her style matured during the Eternal Sunshine era and Wicked press tour, Grande dropped the heavy black waterlines in favor of a clean, standalone sweep. In 2022, she demonstrated this updated technique on social media using the At the Borderline Eyeliner Marker from her own r.e.m. beauty line.
performing my “signature eyeliner technique” with @r.e.m. beauty for @selfridgesbeauty. please “duet” me asap.
Grande starts by drawing from the outer tip of the wing inward toward the lashline, sharpening the final point with her fingernail. She finishes by thinly tracing the rest of her upper lashes, proving that an iconic look doesn’t always require flawless technique.
