Can I Use Watercolor Paint as Eyeliner?

In an era where trends dictate so much of our actions and interests, the last thing you want is to fall back on the latest hype. Watercolor makeup is one such beauty trend that has kept thousands of makeup artists and socialites busy showing their creative side to the world.

But the question stays, is it safe to use on our skin? And one of the most common questions we get is Can I Use Watercolor Paint as Eyeliner?

Yes, you can technically, but you shouldn’t. You must understand, watercolor paint is not made to be applied on our skins, and even the nontoxic ones can cause irritation to sensitive skins. So, it is not recommended to use for the purpose of eye makeup.

Is It Safe to Use Watercolor Paints on Your Skin?

Watercolor most often isn’t toxic, but that doesn’t make it entirely safe to put on as face makeup or liner. Before we get to the why of it, you should know what watercolor paint is essentially made of.

Watercolor paint is made from a mix of binder and color pigment. The color pigments are mixed with gum Arabic binder to create what we know as watercolors. Different color pigments are used to make a palette of paint. We then use it to make beautiful watercolor paintings. 

Watercolor Paints and Toxicity

Now that you know what they are made of, it will be easier to understand whether they are toxic or non-toxic. The pigment used to make the paint can be of various types. From soft to heavy metals and safe to unsafe, the pigments have varying degrees, which in turn depend on the brand, product, and type of color you’re buying.

Certain colors like orange or yellow have more toxins than other colors. So, you definitely should not use them as a liner.

The paint is safe for the skin and doesn’t have toxic materials in most cases. However, paints like acrylic paint and watercolor paint are made for arts and crafts and not for use on the skin.

On top of that, the sensitivity of a person’s skin can also determine how the color will affect them. To sum it up, even if the paints are non-toxic, they can still affect the person.

Using Watercolor Eye Makeup

Now that you understand that safety depends on the paint variety, you can decide to use it if you’re confident your skin won’t be affected. One of the art supplies used as watercolor eyeliner is the watercolor pencil.

Many artists are now using these eyeliner pencil replacements to make their eyes more vibrant over the lashes. Compared to a liner, these color pencils are more affordable and likely available at your nearest art store or Walmart.

Also, one of the main reasons for using this is that the pencils are less liquid than other paints, making them very accurate as a liner. You can use them to do your eye makeup and eye shadow color without a brush.

However, while this eyeliner pencil can help draw a perfect lash line, it is not water resistant at all as they do not have any oil. While that makes them easily washable, it also brings the concern of the liquid entering your eyes easily. Hence, we never recommend using watercolor eyeliner pencils.

It can cause irritation to your eye and can further harm you if the pencil has some toxic pigment. You might have to spend more on one eyeliner pencil than on an entire box of color pencils, but it is still the safer choice.

Nonetheless, if you still use it, be very careful when removing it from your eyes. Instead of splashing water directly, you can use a wet brush or wet q tip to wipe off the paint near your eyes gently.

Watercolor Makeup for Face Painting

Furthermore, all the shades of watercolor are exactly what the artists need to brush up the skin with sensational makeovers.

Compared to using pencils as eyeshadow color, the use of paints on skin or face is much more harmful. It is still debatable whether the skin can absorb the harmful content of the paint or not.

But most watercolor brands make their paints safe enough for painting, not for eyeshadow shades. Although many of these artists are using children’s paint which is much safer to use on skin, you should stop using it at the first sign of irritation.

Using Watercolors as Eyeliner; a Trend or a Misconception?

One thing is certain; we love the dreamy watercolor paint effect. But the question is, is the desired effect only possible through watercolor paint, or is that a misconception?

Let’s face it; watercolor isn’t really helpful as eye makeup since it washes away at the first sign of water. And if you’re using low quality paint, they can also crack and chip away after drying.

But there are waterproof liners and eye shadow which have oil that prevents water from washing it off easily. Oil is the key ingredient in resisting water and is safe and used widely in makeup items.

With the right makeup skills and a proper kit, you can get your desired watercolor effect with ease. There are many makeup artists who show what you need and how to get the desired watercolor look on your eyes. You will need a soft blush, mascara, brushes, an eye shadow, and of course, some primers, and you’re good to go.

So, if what you’re looking for is the dreamy look of watercolors, you don’t need to depend on watercolor paints; there are tools to give you the same effect without harming your eyes. There are many tutorials to get a watercolor effect, just like the below from Teeez Cosmetics

Final Words

We will stress one last time that if you’re set on using watercolor paint as eyeliner or makeup, make sure you’re using children’s ones. The children’s paints are modified to have the least toxic and harmful pigments, as kids can swallow the paint unknowingly. And, if what you are trying is to test different type of materials for body painting, no matter what type, avoid those that have antimony trioxide, cadmium, and lead carbonate, as the bare minimum.