Is it us, or is underliner everywhere? Where the noughties gave us hippie boho chicks, skater girls, and the remnants of ninteies grunge, the 2010s really cemented winged liner, sketched across upper lashes, as a core lewk when it comes to eye makeup. Meanwhile waterlines were relegated to a bit-part and often left nearly naked, or slightly defined with a subtle smoke of shadow.
Instagram content
That's not to say underliner was skipped entirely, some hardcore loyalists out there remained devoted to bottom liner throughout the decade and classic smokey eyes continued to incorporate the detail. But now? Underliner is finally starting to steal focus and lead makeup looks as the star of the show, thanks to the rise of the grunge makeup aesthetic, which leans on bratty, smudgy and unapologetically heavy liners grounding eye makeup looks and adding edge. It's pretty much the antithesis to the “clean girl” movement that divided the internet before it with barely-there makeup, a tap of lip balm and minimal mascara.
The grungey aesthetic has been building for a while now, but there's no denying that Jenna Ortega's Wednesday, and the looks she's served up in her press tour since, has helped to catapult the aesthetic on TikTok and sign it off as one of most popular beauty trends of 2023. So, if you want in, you could always dig your old kohl pencil out the back of the drawer (or Charlotte Tilbury, MAC, Urban Decay, NARS and NYX do some stunning options), and give your waterline the attention it deserves.
Here's 17 of our favourite ways to wear underliner…
Zoe Kravitz' smouldering underliner
Instagram content
Camila Morrone's smoking underliner
Instagram content
Jenna Ortega's midnight blue underliner
Instagram content
Lindsay Price's extra smoky eyes
Instagram content
Zoey Deutch's cool brown grunge underliner
Instagram content
Simone Ashley's smoky purple underliner
Instagram content
Kylie Jenner's slick dagger underliner
Instagram content
Jasmin Savoy Brown's cleopatra underliner
Instagram content
Eiza Gonzalez' slinky underliner
Instagram content
Madison Pettis' smoked underliner
Instagram content
Herieth Paul's bottom-heavy underliner
Instagram content
Isabela Merced's bottom wing underliner
Instagram content
Madison Bailey's emo underliner
Instagram content
Hailee Steinfeld's sliced underliner
Instagram content
Laura Harrier's snatched underliner
Instagram content
Nicola Peltz Beckham's skinny underliner
Instagram content
Kim Kardashian's throwback heavy underliner
Instagram content
For more from GLAMOUR's Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk

