18 Times Celebrities Elevated the Basic Cat Eye and Made Us Want to Level Up Too

Few makeup looks have endured as many trends as the cat eye. Though we’re constantly managing a steady stream of new eyeliner and eyeshadow styles, mainly from bloggers and vloggers via social media, the flick at the end of the eye has somehow stood the test of time.

Perhaps its versatility is what makes it a longstanding favorite. After all, you’ll be hard pressed to find an outfit, hairstyles or other color product that clashes. And though plenty of us love to complain about how difficult it is to get both wings to actually match, there are a handful of helpful tools making the process nearly foolproof in 2018.

MORE: 35 Runway-Inspired Ways to Elevate Your Eyeliner Game

But still, though we’re thankful for its staying power, we’re equally intrigued when it comes to updating an elevating its signature appearance. And who better than celebrities armed with some of the world’s best makeup artists to serve us the inspo needed to level up and finally try something new.

Whether it’s a cat eye outlined in bold color, jewels at either corner or extended lines atop the inner corners, these A-list-approved styles are worthy or recreation.

MORE: 15 Celebrities Who Paired Minimalist Faces with Bold Eyeliner in 2018

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Andra Day

The singer proved that two colors are better than one when she lined her sharp cat eye with green on the upper and lower lash lines at the 2018 espnW Summit.

Photo by Venturelli/WireImage.

Bella Hadid

At the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, the top model elongated her eye shape by extending the cat eye into the inner corners.

Rich Fury/Getty Images for iHeartMedia.

Dua Lipa

For the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival, the singer paired spider-like lashes with a thick, forest green cat eye across her lids.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic.

Emily Ratajkowski

For the 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards, the model and actress brought out her brown eyes with a contrasting shade of green.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

Emma Watson

For the 2017 premiere of Beauty and the Beast, the British actress drew two lines on the corner of each lid to simplify application, but still maintain the same impact.

Earl Gibson III/Getty Images.

Emmy Rossum

The Shameless actress paired her red wardrobe with a cat eye in the same color for the 2018 Sports Humanitarian Awards.

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Kelly Clarkson

The singer accentuated her blue cat eye by lining the lower lash line in the same hue for the 2018 CMT Music Awards.

Karwai Tang/Karwai Tang/Getty Images.

Kim Kardashian

For the 2018 Met Gala, the media and beauty mogul amped up her black liner with a set of almond-colored contacts.

George Pimentel/Getty Images for TIFF.

Lady Gaga

For this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the A Star is Born actress (and singer) added a pop of color to her glowy glam with sparkly blue liner.

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Laverne Cox

The Orange is the New Black star pulled out all the stops for the 2017 Grammy Awards, incorporating different shades and even jewels into her look.

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Lily Collins

For the 2017 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, the actress remixed the classic look by donning small triangle outlines on both eyes.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Accessories Council.

Lupita Nyong’o

For the 2018 Annual Accessories Council ACE Awards, the Oscar winner created her cat eye using only jewels for the tail ends.

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Zoe Kravitz

We love how the actress outlined her lids instead of opting for a thicker cat eye at Saint Laurent’s Fall 2017 runway show.

Tara Ziemba/FilmMagic.

Lais Ribeiro

We love the sheer shade-in take of this classic style, as spotted on the Victoria’s Secret model at the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival.

Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.

Sofia Carson

For the L.A. premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the actress looked fiery and fierce in a cat eye outlined with red shadow.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images.

Rihanna

The singer, actress and beauty boss was all smiles in white liner at the Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring/Summer 2019 show.

Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.

Amandla Stenberg

A pop of yellow on the actress’ lids brought her head-to-toe look together at the 2018 CFDA Fashion Awards.

Frazer Harrison/FilmMagic.

Alicia Vikander

For the 2018 Met Gala, the Oscar winner extended her cat eye to the inner corners and opted for a slightly higher outline on the outsides to create a long, diagonal shape across the eyes.