3 Ways to Make Eyeliner (2025)

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Reviewed byBarbie Ritzman

Last Updated: January 13, 2024

Things You Should Know

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   Buy some activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is available at drug stores and natural health stores. It's commonly used as a remedy for indigestion, so it usually comes in the form of capsules. This pure black, all-natural substance is perfect for creating homemade eyeliner.

   • This is not the same as the type of charcoal you burn to cook food on the grill. Look for a jar of capsules labeled "activated charcoal" in the vitamin section of the store.
   • If you can't find activated charcoal locally, it's available for purchase online. One bottle provides enough charcoal to make many year's worth of eyeliner.
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   Break a few capsules into a small container. You can use an old eye shadow or lip balm pot, a tiny tin, or any other container you have on hand. Break the activated charcoal capsules into the container.

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   Dip your eyeliner brush into the charcoal. You can use plain activated charcoal as eyeliner without mixing it with anything else. The charcoal will naturally mix with the oil on your skin to stay in place once you apply it. Dip your eyeliner brush into the container and apply eyeliner in your favorite style.

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   Experiment with different textures. If you like your eyeliner to have more of a paste or gel consistency, you can mix the activated charcoal with water or oil to make it a little damp. Start with just one or two drops, and keep mixing more in until your eyeliner reaches the consistency you want. Try mixing in one of the following ingredients:

   • Water
   • Jojoba oil
   • Almond oil
   • Coconut oil
   • Aloe vera gel

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   Gather supplies. This method is a great alternative if you don't have activated charcoal on hand. The soot from a burned almond creates a rich, black liner that looks just as good as store-bought liner. All you need are a few household supplies:

   • A raw almond that has not been roasted or salted
   • A pair of tweezers
   • A lighter
   • A small container or dish
   • Butter knife
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   Hold the almond in the tweezers and burn it. Use the tweezers to hold the almond steady (and protect your fingers from getting burned) and hold the lighter up to the almond. The almond will slowly burn and smoke. Keep going until about half of the almond has turned to soot. It should be black and smoky.<ref>

   • If the tweezers you're using are all-metal, they may heat up and burn you if you use the lighter for too much time. Put on a glove to protect your hand.
   • Try rotating the almond in a circle so it burns evenly on all sides.
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   Scrape the soot into the dish. All that nice black soot is what you need to create eyeliner. Use a butter knife to scrape it off the almond and into the dish. If you need more soot, keep burning the almond or start on another so you collect a good heap of it in the dish.

   • As you scrape, make sure not to scrape off chunks of unburned almond. You want the soot to have a fine, dusty texture, with no big pieces.
   • Examine the soot afterward and pick out any larger chunks.
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   Dip your eyeliner brush into the almond soot. You can use plain soot as eyeliner without mixing it with anything else. It will naturally mix with the oil on your skin to stay in place once you apply it. Dip your eyeliner brush into the container and apply eyeliner in your favorite style.

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   Experiment with different textures. If you like your eyeliner to have more of a paste or gel consistency, you can mix the soot with water or oil to make it a little damp. Start with just one or two drops, and keep mixing more in until your eyeliner reaches the consistency you want. Try mixing in one of the following ingredients:

   • Water
   • Jojoba oil
   • Almond oil
   • Coconut oil

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   Use cocoa to make brown eyeliner. Unsweetened cocoa powder makes a beautifully rich, dark brown eyeliner. Spoon a little into a small container. Mix the cocoa with a few drops of water, jojoba oil or almond oil until it has a gel-like consistency, then apply it with your eyeliner brush.

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   Try spirulina powder to make green eyeliner. Spirulina powder is made from dried and ground algae, so it has a beautiful dark green hue. Pour some spirulina powder into a dish, then apply plain or mix it with water or oil to create a gel effect.

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   Use beetroot powder for reddish hues. While you might not want to wear bright red eyeliner, adding beetroot powder to activated charcoal or cocoa will create a pretty reddish hue that looks great with warmer skin tones. Beetroot powder is available at most health food stores.

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   Buy mica powder to make colorful eyeliner. Mica powder comes in every color of the rainbow. It's a product used in all types of makeup, from eye shadow to lipstick. Do an online search for mica powder to find the color you like best. Use the powder the same way you'd use activated charcoal: mix it with water, aloe, or oil to create a gel you can instantly apply.

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   Convert old eye shadows into any color liner. Any eyeshadow can be converted into eyeliner. Take one of your old, cracked eyeshadows and dump it into a small container. Use a knife to break it up until it turns into a fine powder. Mix in a little water, aloe, or oil to create a gel, then apply the product with an eyeliner brush.

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