“There are three of us in my relationship: my partner, my eyeliner and me”

One ​​of my closest friends growing up in the UK was May, an Egyptian girl who wore bell bottoms and scrunchies and lived in the same resort real estate than us. I was 12, she was 14; her parents were less strict than mine and so she had started wearing makeup. One afternoon, while out after school, she decided to “do myself again.” With Ace of Base playing from her stereo, she carefully applied eyeliner to my lids and kohl along my waterlines before curling my lashes with mascara. When I looked in the mirror, I was shocked; it was like I could finally see myself, like I had somehow come into focus.

It was the first of many series of bonding experiences with the women in my life and with eyeliner. : I later found myself reapplying it with friends in the dark toilets of seedy nightclubs in Beirut; making panicked phone calls while wiping his marks off my face on the 73 bus and layering him in solidarity with my sister as we rebelled against our conservative upbringing. The eyeliner was even there as I sat with my imposing grandmother, her hands shaking with age, but still steady enough to stencil her eyes.

I already knew, when I was a teenager, that kohl, the first iteration of eyeliner was much more than just makeup. It connected me not only to my friends and family, but also to my ancestors, and to a whole host of attractive non-Western women – including Queen Nefertiti herself. And as I will soon realize, this centuries-old beauty product is a way to access centuries-old traditions. It has touched countless cultures and communities around the world, in ways that go far beyond the aesthetic.

Eyeliner transcends borders and eras. It adorns the eyes of fashionistas from Paris and Bedouin men from the Arabian Peninsula. Members of the Taliban and Afghan Pashtuns line their eyelids to repel the sun, while Kathakali dancers in India and geisha performers in Japan use eyeliner to draw attention to their eyes.

Historically, flappers and vikings darkened their eyes with charcoal, flappers to channel a sensual gaze, vikings to protect vision during battle. Even the Prophet Muhammad is said to have worn some form of eyeliner for medical purposes. Traces of the cosmetic can also be found in the Old Testament, which mentions characters with "painted eyes", including Jezebel.

From Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren to Amy Winehouse and Adele. , many Western starlets have become synonymous with distinctive eyeliner styles. A disparate list of characters and contexts, indeed – such is the scope of this versatile object. Eyeliner can signify sensuality or assertiveness depending on the thickness of its swoosh. The flip angle of a wing can reveal whether the wearer is a millennial or a member of Generation Z, according to one TikTok user.

Although applications have varied, the aesthetic objective of eyeliner has always been the same. : to beautify, enhance or enlarge the eyes. The product can transfer...