Can You Use Eyebrow Pencil As Eyeliner? (How-To Guide)

Eyeliners define and highlight the eyelid, whereas eyebrow pencils define and highlight the brow. But can you use an eyebrow pencil for eyeliner? 

Can You Use Eyebrow Pencil As Eyeliner

Yes, you can use an eyebrow pencil as eyeliner. Make sure your brow pencil is sharp. It will make it much easier to apply your eyebrow pencil to your eyelid if the pencil is sharp. 

How To Use Eyebrow Pencil as Eye Liner 

Have you found yourself in a bind? Maybe you have realized you bought an eyebrow liner pencil, not an eyeliner pencil. Are you doomed to naked eyes? Nope. 

You can use an eyebrow pencil as an eyeliner, and here is how:

  1. First, sharpen your eyebrow pencil. A pointed pencil will help apply your line more accurately.
  2. Soften your brow pencil. Use a hairdryer or run it over an open flame to soften it up. This will make it smoother and easier to apply.
  3. Take your now softened brow pencil and apply it like your regular eyeliner, remembering to start toward the outside of your eyelid at the bottom along your lash line with the eyebrow pencil starting about halfway across your eyelid. 
  4. Stop a few millimeters past your upper eyelid. Following the shape of your eyelid, try to maintain the line as straight as possible.

What’s The Difference Between an Eyeliner Pencil and an Eyebrow Pencil?

What's The Difference Between an Eyeliner Pencil and an Eyebrow Pencil

They look so very similar. They are both pencils, so what is the difference between the two?  

Eyebrow Pencils 

An eyebrow pencil helps shape your brows to fill in gaps to make them appear thicker than they are.

You can use the pencil to draw precise lines to ensure that your brows are in the perfect shape.

Compared to eyeliner pencils, eyebrow pencils are also:

  • Firm and waxy 
  • Offer a matte or powder finish.
  • Eyebrow pencils are not as pigmented as eyeliner pencils, allowing easier application control to create a natural look.
  • Eyebrow pencils can also have an eyebrow brush on the other end.

Eyeliner Pencils

Eyeliner pencils are designed for the eyes to make them stand out. 

Compared to eyebrow pencils, eyeliner pencils tend to be: 

  • Softer and creamier than eyebrow pencils.
  • Have a shiny finish.

Types of Eyebrow Pencils

Traditional Eyebrow Pencil

The staple piece in every woman’s makeup kit, the eyebrow pencil sharpens just like a pencil. 

Used for filling and refining the brows, this pencil-style eyebrow pencil fills in brows with the same hair-like precision as a pencil, allowing for smooth precision.

Gel Eyebrow Pencils

Looking more like a mascara wand, the gel eyebrow pencil helps hold and define your brow hairs, keeping them in place. 

The gel brow pencil works well for those with thicker brows who have pesky brow hairs that like to wander.

Eyebrow Pens/Markers

Also called eyebrow pencils, they don’t need sharpening. Eyebrow pens are used just like an eyebrow pencil.

They are a bit creamier though they help define and create dramatic brow looks that last long. 

Due to that longevity, if you make a mistake, it can be hard to remove unless you have some vitamin E oil.

Eyebrow Powder

More like eyeshadow than an eyebrow pencil, this style of eyebrow liner is meant to fill in sparse areas and works well for those with light-colored brows, helping create the illusion of fuller brows by adding shading underneath the hair.

Pomade Eyebrow Liner

Like the gel eyebrow pencil, the pomade eyebrow liner is a liquid-like material used for definition, texture, and hold. 

Applied like mascara, you comb it through your brows. Use a little or a lot to get your desired look.

Will Eyeliners Work For Eyebrows?

Eyeliner pencils can work great for eyebrows and opt as a great solution if you are out of your eyebrow pencil/pen. 

This works only as long as your eyeliner matches your eyebrows. 

If you have brown eyebrows and use grey eyeliner on your eyes, then it might not work so well. Either way, eyeliner can work for eyebrows. 

All you do is brush your brows using your eyebrow brush or an old clean mascara wand. Next, fill your brows with your eyeliner pencil going upwards in feathery strokes.

Another way is by using your eyeliner pencil to shape your brow, then fill in using mascara or eyeshadow. 

However, eyeliner pencils have more pigment, so use them lightly; otherwise, they may appear thick and dark.

Can You Use an Eyebrow Pencil As Lip Liner? 

Can You Use an Eyebrow Pencil As Lip Liner

According to the latest trend, you can. The brow pencil lip-liner craze is currently popular, with people utilizing their eyebrow pencil to select their “ideal lip hue. 

You line your lips with your eyebrow pencil, fill in the middle with your favorite cream blush, then blend it all for a delicate finish. 

While using your brow pencil as a lip liner may save you money, most makeup artists on this new hack say this trend can be effective, especially for those with natural dark lip tones, hinting that this trick may not work with everyone. 

It has also been discovered that eyebrow pens, which are creamier, are most effective when doing this trick as eyebrow pencils will tend to be harder, tugging on your lips.

Can You Use an Eyeliner Pencil as a Lipliner?

You wouldn’t think it, but yes, you can. While lip liners have been limited to the classic tones of nude, pink, and red, eyeliners come in a wide range of colors. 

Thus, if you want to try out more experimental lip hues, using a colorful eyeliner as a lip liner is a great way to go. 

Furthermore, many eyeliners contain a waterproof component, which extends the life of the lip color. 

But because eyeliners can dry out your lips, you should nourish and moisturize your lips before applying them. 

Can Eyebrow Pencils Be Bad For Your Eyes?

There is no indication that using eyebrow pencils is eyeliner is bad for your eyes. They seem to be safe. 

However, one might be a bit worried about going from brow to eye for sanitary reasons. 

Bacteria can be found in all our makeup, including eyebrow pencils, which can be hazardous to our eyes. 

That is why you should toss out your old makeup around every three months.