Guide
How to wear eyeliner with a tremor
Skip the thin liquid line. Use short strokes with a chunky pencil and smudge them, or press dark shadow along your lashes with a small flat brush.
Eyeliner is often the first step people give up. "I would love to add eyeliner to my 'less is more' makeup routine but I am rubbish at applying," a 68 year old with a shaky hand wrote on Mumsnet. In a survey of 2,864 people with essential tremor, more than 1 in 4 said their tremor affects putting on makeup. A liner that hides a wobble can bring it back.
Why liquid liner is so hard
A liquid line needs a steady hand right next to your eye, and it sets fast, so a slip has to be wiped off and started again. In our own ease guide, a winged liquid liner scores 28 out of 100 with no hand needs added. A smudged pencil line scores 67. Our scores are a guide, not a clinical measure.
Three easier ways
- Chunky pencil, short strokes. Draw a few short strokes along the lashes, then join them. Smudge with a fingertip or a cotton bud. "Tiny pencils are out. Liquid liners with big caps or fat pencils are in," says Anita Williams, who has MS.
- Shadow as liner. Press a dark eyeshadow along the lash line with a small flat brush. People on Mumsnet with a shaky hand recommend it, with the elbow resting on a table.
- Move your head, not your hand. Hold the pencil still with both hands and move your head a little. One blogger with a tremor does her lipstick this way too.
Steady your arm
Rest your elbow on a table and move from the elbow, not the wrist. Parkinson's UK suggests doing eye makeup first, while your hands are strongest.
What about stamps and mascara?
Liner stamps can help if your tremor is mild, but we found no testing with tremor, so try one on a quiet day. Mascara has no easy swap: it sits right at the lashes. Upper lashes only, a mascara shield, or a day without it are all fine choices.
This is makeup help, not medical advice
For anything about your condition or medicines, ask your care team. An occupational therapist can suggest grips and tools that suit your hands.
See the easy version on your own face
Blendolo scores a look for your hands, swaps the hard steps and shows both versions on your photo, with big step cards read aloud.