Article Summary: ade Thirlwall pop art eyeliner is pushing celebrity eye makeup beyond the traditional graphic wing. Adam Burrell's illustrated lash effect joins a wider move toward elongated, architectural shapes. Here is how pop-art liner differs from classic graphic eyeliner, why the look matters now and how to make it wearable.
Eyeliner is moving beyond the perfect wing. On August 8, Jade Thirlwall emerged as one of the clearest celebrity examples of a more illusionistic direction, where black liner no longer defines the eye—it creates shapes that resemble lashes, shadows, and drawn-on extensions.
Answer Block: Jade Thirlwall’s pop art eyeliner is helping move graphic liner into a more exaggerated pop-art phase. Makeup artist Adam Burrell used black liner to create the illusion of multidimensional lashes, while other current beauty looks stretch eyeliner outward and upward into deliberately sculptural, architectural shapes.
| Eyeliner style | Placement | Line structure | Products needed | Difficulty | Current 2026 example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphic eyeliner | Lash line, outer corner, crease or negative space | Sharp wings, floating lines or geometric blocks | Liquid or gel liner, fine brush | Medium | Doja Cat’s sharp 2026 Met Gala wing |
| Pop-art eyeliner | Upper and lower eye with drawn extensions beyond natural lashes | Repeated strokes that imitate lashes or illustrated features | Deep black liquid liner, precision brush | High | Jade Thirlwall by Adam Burrell |
| Architectural eyeliner | Extends outward, upward or across the eye socket | Elongated, fanned, sculptural shapes | Gel or liquid liner, micro brush, cotton swabs | High | Ceyda Göçer’s exaggerated liner |
What is pop-art eyeliner?
Pop-art eyeliner uses makeup as illustration rather than simple definition. Instead of following the lash line and finishing with one wing, the artist draws additional strokes, extensions, or shapes that intentionally look graphic and artificial.
That is what separates the current pop art eyeliner trend from the classic cat eye. The goal is not to make liner disappear into the face. Instead, the line itself becomes the visual subject.
In Jade Thirlwall’s case, that means turning black pigment into the illusion of extra lashes. The result sits somewhere between traditional eye makeup, editorial drawing and stage makeup.
Vogue’s August 8 beauty report identified precisely drawn, elongated and fanned-out eyeliner as one of the week’s strongest beauty directions. It singled out Thirlwall’s look for creating a multidimensional lash effect and described Ceyda Göçer’s work as another example of the architectural shift.
Vogue’s August 8 Beauty Marks report
The distinction matters because Runway has already covered graphic liner moving from runway to real life. The new development is narrower.
Graphic liner established the technique. Now, celebrity beauty is pushing that technique toward illusion.
Why this looks different from a normal graphic wing
Traditional graphic liner usually emphasizes geometry. A line can float above the crease, double beneath a wing, or create negative space around the eyelid.
Pop-art liner does something more theatrical. Instead of simply changing where the line sits, it changes what the line represents.
One stroke may imitate an eyelash. Another can exaggerate the outer corner. Several marks can make a flat eye look almost animated.
That makes multidimensional eyeliner a useful way to describe the effect. The makeup can appear to sit above the eye rather than directly on it.
It also photographs exceptionally well.
Fine black strokes retain their definition in close-up photography, social video and flash-lit beauty images. Consequently, the technique has the visual clarity that often helps a beauty look move quickly across social platforms.
Key Takeaways
- Vogue identified sculpted, architectural eyeliner as a leading celebrity-beauty direction on August 8, 2026.
- Adam Burrell created Jade Thirlwall’s pop-art eye by using liner to simulate multiple dimensional lash shapes.
- Ceyda Göçer’s current look pairs oversized eyeliner with extremely narrow brows, pushing the same idea toward full facial architecture.
How did Jade Thirlwall create her eyeliner look?
The defining feature of Jade Thirlwall’s pop art eyeliner is repetition. Rather than relying on one continuous wing, the look uses separate dark strokes around the eye to create the visual impression of lashes extending beyond their natural position.
Vogue credits makeup artist Adam Burrell with the look. The finished makeup also includes a strongly lined gradient lip, creating another deliberately illustrated element instead of keeping the rest of the face completely neutral.
For people searching for Adam Burrell Jade Thirlwall, the important detail is therefore not simply that Burrell used black eyeliner. It is how he changed its function.
The liner becomes a drawing tool.
That makes the technique closer to beauty illustration than an ordinary smoky eye. It also explains why the look feels fresh even though graphic eyeliner itself has been visible on runways for years.
The false-lash illusion changes the eye shape.
A conventional false lash adds actual fibers above the eye. A fake lash eyeliner look creates some of the same visual rhythm with pigment alone.
The placement is critical.
Short strokes can sit beneath or beyond the natural lash line. Longer marks can extend outward from the eye. Meanwhile, varying the direction of those strokes gives the appearance of movement.
The technique works because the viewer initially reads the black marks as lashes. Only on closer inspection does the drawn structure become obvious.
That visual trick is what gives it its pop-art quality.
It is exaggerated but controlled.
For a wearable interpretation, fewer lines work better than copying an editorial image exactly. Start with the normal upper lash line. Then add two or three tapered strokes beyond the outer corner.
A fine liquid liner gives the sharpest finish. However, gel liner with a very small brush allows more time to correct the shape.
The lines should taper rather than end bluntly. Otherwise, the effect can look accidental rather than illustrated.
The rest of the face matters
The eye becomes more convincing when surrounding features do not compete with it.
Burrell’s gradient lip works because it repeats the drawn quality of the eye without duplicating its geometry. The face therefore feels intentionally stylized from more than one angle.
This is where Jade Thirlwall’s makeup differs from the minimal celebrity beauty looks that dominated much of the early clean-girl cycle.
Instead of attempting to look almost makeup-free, this approach makes artistry obvious.
That shift is increasingly important in 2026.
The face is becoming a canvas again.
Is graphic eyeliner trending again in 2026?
Yes, but calling the graphic liner trend in 2026 a simple comeback misses the more interesting change.
Graphic eyeliner never completely disappeared. What has changed is its scale and function.
Earlier versions often centered on a clean floating line or an extended wing. The newest examples increasingly use liner to alter the apparent architecture of the face.
Ceyda Göçer’s current beauty look makes that point particularly well. Vogue highlighted her combination of extremely narrow brows, oversized liner, dark lip definition, and precisely drawn eyes. The eye does not merely look larger. It becomes structurally different.
That is the core of architectural eyeliner 2026.
The makeup is built outward.
Doja Cat shows the graphic foundation.
Doja Cat offers a useful contrast because her May 2026 Met Gala makeup represents the graphic category without fully entering the pop-art illusion.
Her makeup artist Ivan Núñez created a razor-sharp wing and cut crease for the event. Marie Claire described the liner as a central part of the monochromatic beauty look.
Marie Claire’s report on Doja Cat’s 2026 Met Gala eyeliner.
That look relies on strong geometry. However, it still reads as eyeliner.
Thirlwall’s current look goes one step further because the liner begins impersonating another beauty element: eyelashes.
That difference explains the progression:
Graphic liner draws a shape. Architectural liner reshapes the eye. Pop-art liner can make the drawing look like something else entirely.
That is also why the category has room to grow without simply repeating past eyeliner cycles.
Why celebrity beauty is changing the trend
Runway makeup can establish a technique, but celebrity images change how people imagine wearing it.
A runway face often exists inside one collection and one creative brief. Celebrity makeup circulates separately across Instagram, entertainment coverage, beauty searches, and fan accounts.
As a result, celebrity eyeliner trends can turn an editorial technique into a recognizable personal look much faster.
Jade’s involvement is especially useful because the makeup still feels connected to pop performance. The effect can be theatrical without appearing disconnected from her public image.
Ceyda Göçer’s version goes further toward high-concept beauty. Meanwhile, Doja Cat provides a cleaner, more wearable bridge.
Together, they create a spectrum rather than one rigid trend.
Can you wear the trend without copying the full look?
Yes. The easiest approach is reducing the number of drawn lines.
Instead of creating several exaggerated lashes, draw one traditional wing. Then add one smaller stroke beneath it.
Alternatively, extend a short line from the lower outer corner while keeping the upper lid relatively clean.
The point is contrast.
Too many identical lines can flatten the effect. Different lengths and angles create the illusion of dimension.
Black remains the clearest choice because it produces the strongest graphic edge. However, deep burgundy, navy, or chocolate can soften the effect while preserving the architecture.
People who already wear winged eyeliner therefore do not need an entirely new makeup kit.
They need a finer point and a less literal idea of where eyeliner belongs.
The wider Runway Beauty Trends Hub tracks that shift across runway, celebrity and consumer beauty as techniques move from backstage experimentation into everyday looks.
For fall 2026, that migration is becoming especially visible around the eyes.
Jade Thirlwall’s pop art eyeliner does not signal the return of graphic liner. It signals graphic liner’s next stage.
The line is no longer simply framing the eye. It is becoming part lash, part illustration and part optical illusion.
That distinction will matter as fall beauty becomes more expressive. Watch for additional celebrities to move beyond the traditional wing and toward drawn lashes, floating extensions and asymmetrical structures.
For continuing celebrity beauty, makeup and trend coverage, follow Runway Magazine.
