Tool Tuesday: Eye and Lip Liner Sharpeners

This is a simple tool, but a very important one, on the vanity. It is the pencil sharpener...

Seems simple enough, doesn't it? They are quite affordable and if you use eyeliner and/or lip liner pencils, this is something you have to have.

Here are a couple of reasons why you need one, and you may not have thought about these. One is that the color/liner is made out of a waxy substance. There has to be enough binder in it to keep it held together but not so much that it dries out the product. I'm thinking right now you are remembering dealing with those two very incidents at your own vanity. Right?

One trick to eliminate this is to only sharpen your liners when you are ready to use them. That way you will shave off the dried out sections and expose the more fresh, pliable, workable liner.

Next, using a sharpener after you have used your liner helps keep it clean from nasty bugaboos and other germs that can come into contact with your eyes or lips. And keeping your sharpener clean is not only going to keep germs from taking up residency on it, but also help keep the little blades at their sharpest.

So, which do I suggest, sharpening before or after use? I do both, especially for my lip liner pencils. And I clean off the shaved parts from the sharpener with a bent paperclip, a tissue and creamy makeup remover.

And since these little tools are cheap (I got this one from Wet 'n Wild for 69 cents), it is easy to replace them on a regular basis. Sharpeners like the one in my photos, I replace 3 times a year. My specialty ones, for much larger, blush pencils, I replace as I find that size.

These are simple tips that will keep your sharpener in good shape and keep your face healthy too.