Gen Z has declared it ‘out’ - but can eyeliner ever really die?

It’s another day, and Gen Z has declared another trend “cringe” and “over”. 

This time it’s eyeliner, specifically the bold, upturned winged eyeliner many millennials are partial to, including stars like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. 

Many are partial to winged eyeliner, or cat eye, for its boldness and power, especially in an era all about empowerment and taking your life into your own hands. 

But youngsters say it is too reminiscent of this “girlboss” era, and that it instantly ages the wearer.

This debate has ebbed and flowed, but this time it seems it has been brought on by a 29-year-old influencer Ilinca Sipos asking her 22-year-old sister whether she thought anyone could tell that she was seven years older.

“Maybe it’s the cat eye?” the younger sister replied, to Sipos’ absolute shock.

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Commenters wanted to defend her, but they admitted her blunt upwards tick atop her lash line was a dead giveaway of her makeup style, and the era she learned it from. 

A generational divide

When the debate was brought to the nine.com.au team, many couldn’t help but agree. 

“I hate eyeliner, but only because I can NEVER do it right and it always looks too harsh with my features,” says Mikala, 24.

“Instead I use tape and eyeshadow to create a wing. It looks so good and it’s less harsh on my face than a thick black wing.

But that doesn’t mean this Gen Z has given up on eyeliner altogether. Mikala adds: “I love tightlining my eyes with an eyeliner pencil, it just ties the whole look together.”

Fellow Gen Z Chantelle, 26, agrees, saying, “I think our generation has gone more towards waterline eyeliner.”

“I never do winged eyeliner, but that’s more of a skill issue than a style choice. I personally think it looks good, but I also understand where the people saying it’s ‘giving millennial’ are coming from,” she added.

“I’m so glad the wing era is over. I have hooded and downturned eyes, so winged eyeliner never has and never will work on me,” says Maddi, 29. 

“It’s nice that we’re seeing different eyeshadow/makeup trends emerge that I can actually do.”

Generally, those on the older end of the ‘zillennial’ scale remain loyal to their beloved wing. 

“I used to do a winged all the time at uni, and then it became a bit passé. I then transitioned into the more minimal deadpan eyes, Billie-Eilish-brown-waterline eyeliner look, but now I’ve re-established my love for it,” Sienna, 28, shares.

“I think now the clean girl aesthetic is starting to lose its place (thank God), people are finding joy in maximalist eyeliner, eyeshadow, etc. But I also love like a chunky aesthetic in general, so I’m probably biased.”

“Millennial here – guilty as charged. I don’t leave the house without eyeliner, even though I’m not actually that good at it and can never do a proper wing,” says Kristine, 34. 

“I once forgot to put it on for work and someone asked me whether I was sick.”

“Eyeliner – winged eyeliner – is a must for me on most days,” says Natalie, 40.

“I get told frequently that I have the perfect eye shape for a bold wing and if I go without eyeliner I feel very under-made-up.

“The key is to knowing which eyeliner shape wing works best for your eye shape.

“I have also started wearing a softer smudged kajal liner on other days when a pen wing is not appropriate for my outfit.”

Kahla, 37, admits she has an emotional attachment to winged eyeliner, despite softening her approach to the look in recent years. 

“It was the first makeup look I was able to successfully manage … and helped me have a better relationship with my appearance after years of being very self-conscious,” she says.

“I think this is why generations of people get attached to fashions that then become ‘passé’.

“You find something that you really like to wear and it makes you feel good about yourself, and that is a potent feeling, and it stings when a bunch of youngens come along and tell you it’s uncool.”

The expert’s verdict

Aussie makeup artist Mia Connor – who specialises in eyeliner and has even created her own cosmetics line and product called “The Liner” – assures us eyeliner is here to stay. 

“Eyeliner has been around since 3100 BC, so it’s definitely not going anywhere!,” she tells nine.com.au. 

“Like fashion, there are so many styles to suit every eye, different colours, sizes and shapes. We’ve seen statement sharp liner to a more diffused smoky liner, to outer-corner barely-there liner. It really is so versatile, and an easy way to instantly lift the eyes without needing a Masters degree in blending eyeshadow,” she says.

Even with the onset of the “clean girl aesthetic” Gen Z prefers, Connor says there is still room for eyeliner to create a look tailored for each individual person.

“I love the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic, mostly because embracing a more natural approach to makeup has had a positive impact on women as a whole – to enhance their natural beauty, rather than completely reinventing themselves with heavier makeup because they might feel they ‘need’ to,” Connor says.

“It’s been a real confidence booster in terms of self-acceptance, in my opinion. 

“Adding a baby winged liner to fresh skin, curled lashes and a cute cream blush is the perfect final touch to ‘clean girl’ aesthetic, to elevate instead of detracting or going ‘too far’ with this beautiful, fresh style of makeup.” 

For those of us who don’t yet want to let go of the safety blanket of their winged eyeliner, there are ways to keep it as a part of your makeup routine without it seeming dated. 

Connor shared some great tips to get perfectly crisp eyeliner every time:

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• Do not tug and stretch the skin around the eye – this gives you an unrealistic shape of the eye and once you let go of holding your eye tight, the shape is completely different. 
• Finding your angle can be the hardest part. Remember this: if your eyes are hooded, wings go almost horizontally out from the eye rather than up. If you have space to angle up, liner should be an extension of your lower waterline. 
• Start with adding a baby wing to the outer corners only. Map out with eyeshadow first if you’re not ready to commit to the shape, then reinforce.
• Made a mistake? Try smoking your edges away with a dark shadow to hide them and soften the look.