‘90s Tightlining is Officially Fall’s Hottest Makeup Trend — Here's How to Do It

Whether you look to the recent New York Fashion Week runways for your daily makeup inspiration or you curate your TikTok feed to find all the hottest beauty trends, it's clear that tightlining is making a serious comeback. Anything '90s adjacent is finding new life in the fashion and beauty realms, which is why the era's signature liner technique feels particularly noteworthy right now.

Not to be confused with waterlining, which is when you fill the entirety of the upper or lower eye rim, "Tightlining is pushing eyeliner in the area where your lashes meet your under eye water rim," says Jamie Greenberg, celebrity makeup artist and founder of Jamie Makeup. The goal is to add a barely perceptible hint of color to the base of your lashes, especially if those hairs are on the lighter side, in order to define the eyes and help them pop. Greenberg explains that the versatility of this makeup style is what makes it such an exceptional addition to your fall beauty routine: "You can wear it naturally or do a full smokey eye."

Minimalist makeup fans who want just a touch of extra eye definition will be especially smitten with tightlining for fall — the style is quintessential "your face but better" beauty. "We call it 'secret liner,'" says Greenberg, who reveals that she would often utilize the technique on male clients who didn't want to look like they were wearing any makeup. "The great thing about this technique is it looks good on everyone."

Eager to test the celebrity secret to bolder, more defined eyes? Here's what you need to know to tightline at home.

In order to not overfill your waterline with pigment, Greenberg suggests using a cream or gel pencil liner for this type of look. She turns to a small, dense, flat makeup brush, like the Laura Mercier Flat Eye Liner Brush ($28), to achieve the perfect eyeliner placement along the upper lash line. "Keep it slim and small so as not to fill your water rim," says the artist, who reaches for a pot gel liner like MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline in Blacktrack ($19), for long-lasting, highly pigmented color. An ultra-targeted, fine gel liner like the Revlon ColorStay Micro Hyper Precision Gel Eyeliner ($9) can also help to deposit a targeted amount of pigment between the upper lashes without overfilling the eye area.

Laura Mercier Flat Eye Liner Brush

From

$28

$28 at Laura Mercier

MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline in Blacktrack

From

$19

$19 at MAC Cosmetics

Revlon ColorStay Micro Hyper Precision Gel Eyeliner

From

$9

$9 at revlon.com

Although it's fairly easy to swipe a liner pencil on the upper waterline and call it a day, tightlining requires a bit more finesse to achieve that nearly imperceptible wash of '90s-style color. When you're ready to try the technique for yourself, Greenberg stresses that you keep the product as close to the lash line as possible. "Take your time really pushing the color into the area," she says, "If you're messy or too thick with it, it will transfer to the bottom eye."

Use gentle pressure to blend your brush or extra fine gel pencil in-between your lashes, working in sections rather than sweeping the product along the waterline. And if some color does wind up on your bottom lashes, take a clean cotton bud and wipe it away. Then go back in with your favorite mascara, wiggling the brush to the roots of your lashes to coat from base to tip, and voila — sensual, minimalist eye makeup that looks straight off the runway.