I have a lot of trouble with flinching too. I try to keep one eye open and hold the other eyelid in place with my other hand, but then I lose my depth perception and that makes it interesting! Plus I'm so near-sighted that when I take my glasses off I have to get really close to the mirror and then the pencil doesn't fit at a very good angle.

But I'm figuring it out! And I think eyeliner is a good choice to start with too.

I suspect you look better than you think you do, if only because everyone tells me I look better than I think I do!