Winged eyeliner is back for 2026, and Jessica Biel's 'micro flick' is the easiest way to embrace it

To subtly elevate your everyday makeup and achieve the appearance of fuller-looking lashes, Jessica Biel's micro-flick eyeliner is just the ticket - and we're mesmerised by how her makeup artist applies it...

While the best eyeliners are very much a timeless beauty buy, with winged, cat-eye, and smoky liner looks also falling into the same bracket, last year saw a shift towards more pared-back makeup. Many of us were opting for just a coat of the best mascara on our lashes, and calling it a day.

But now it seems the wing is making a subtle comeback for 2026, if the Critics' Choice Awards red carpet is anything to go by. Jessica Biel, for instance, opted for the chicest of flicks, which offered just the right amount of definition and easily complemented the rest of her natural and radiant base makeup.

The effect is subtle but impactful, ideal if you're keen to zhush up your routine this year - and we know the exact brand used to create it, as well as the surprisingly easy technique.

Why Jessica Biel's micro flick liner offers the perfect, new year tweak to your makeup

When a new year arrives, often so too does the desire to change up your routine a little. Whether that's with a brand new foundation, a signature long-lasting perfume or by introducing a fresh step to your everyday makeup. In terms of the latter, you don't have to go big and bold (unless you want to, of course); simply opting for a different blush shade or a quick swipe of eyeliner can be enough to subtly elevate and update your look. Jessica Biel has actually made a very strong case for the latter, having worn the tiniest of eyeliner flicks to the 2026 Critics' Choice Awards on January 4th.

Created by makeup artist Kara Yoshimoto Bua, the look paired a fresh, dewy base with a pop of rosy blush and a super subtle winged liner, or as we're calling it, a 'micro flick.' Why? Well, because the line quite literally flicks out just past the edge of her eye. It's so small, in fact, that it almost mimics an eyelash and, as a result, enhances Biel's lashes, creating a fuller, more fanned-out look, rather than a very sultry 'feline'-like cat eye.

It adds just enough oomph to make the look feel polished and red-carpet ready, without looking too done. Thus making it a great source of inspo if you're looking to embrace a bit of eyeliner this year. More so when you can replicate the exact technique used to create it, thanks to Bua sharing an Instagram Reel demonstrating it.

The entire look was created using Chanel makeup best-sellers, including Biel's micro flick, and as we can see from the video, instead of drawing the line outwards (from the centre of the eye out to the edge), Bua actually brings it inwards in one careful sweep, starting from Biel's outer corner before travelling up and along her lash line.

Of course, these things always look effortless when a pro does it. But the tiny size of this liner wing eminently increases your chances of achieving a neat flick shape, and opting for a fine felt-tip or flexible brush applicator will help you to replicate it with ease.

You can make your liner as thick or as soft as you like, though for a fresh, January look we'd recommend keeping it fairly subtle - like Biel's. Then, simply curl your lashes, apply a coat of your favourite volumising mascara, add a dab of blush to your cheeks, and you're good to go. Biel wears the Le Volume de Chanel Mascara in Brun, in case you're keen to replicate her eye look exactly.