How do you feel about applying eyeliner to the inner rims of the eyes? I see it in magazines all the time, and I've noticed some of my friends doing it, but is it safe?

It does seem kind of unsafe, doesn't it! Needless to say, I've flipped quite a few eyelids in my day and applied pencil liner to both the upper and lower inner rims with nary a negative result, but then again, I am a professional. I am very careful, and I am very clean!

I asked Douglas R. Lazzaro, MD, Chief of Ophthalmology at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, for his opinion on the safety of this makeup technique, and while I was at it I asked him where the makeup goes as it dissipates. I was relieved when he told me that in most cases it merely spills over onto what's called the tear film (the film of moisture covering the eye) and exits through the tear ducts.

As for safety, Dr. Lazzaro says he has seen patients with particles of makeup incorporated into the surface of the eyelid skin, causing a slight discoloration. He says although this poses no serious medical risk, it's certainly not an ideal situation.