My 13 yo asked me this morning how you use eye makeup to make your eyes look bigger. That seemed a perfect opportunity to post on the subject. She knew enough to ask because we have talked about it in general terms.
Remember makeup is all about illusion.
For the most part, people would like their eyes to look bigger or more open. They certainly don’t want to make their eyes look smaller. The exception is someone whose eyes protrude.
People should know you have makeup on, but not separate it from you — i.e. if it is too makeupy looking, that is all they see, whereas if it is done right, they see you, only better.
The theory
Wherever you have a dark line, it gives the optical illusion that your eye ends there, so if you have smaller eyes, you need to be careful in placement of liner and where you use the darker shade in the crease area.
Applying shadow to your crease area
Apply this shadow higher, rather than lower. The lower you apply it, the more it closes your eye — remember the crease shadow is usually darker and dark optically is the ending space.
If you tilt your head backward, you will see the shadow or depth of your bone structure better, and it will appear higher than if you just look straight in the mirror. Push the color into this space.
Use this color also to dry or wet line above or over any other lining you do.
Link the color from the lid or crease to the lower eye
This gives the illusion of optically enlarging the eyes.
For that reason, before it was widely done, I’ve always carried my shadow color under my eye, to link the upper eye with the lower lid.
Drop the lower line, if this looks right with your eyes and/or extend it outward
This depends on the bone structure. I tend to have Asian looking eyelids, so this works for me.
For years I dropped the lower line, parallel to the floor, under the outer corner of my eye when I did my liner. But now as I am older, when I do that, it tends to drag my eye downward. I have to be careful to slant this line upward, if I use this technique.
Extend the upper line if you extend the lower.
Or, conversely, if you extend the upper line, extend the lower.
When you do this, you also have to extend the brow to make it look optically correct. Use a pencil from the corner of your nose out past the shadow and liner (the optical illusion of where your eye ends) to the spot where you will now end your brow. Be sure to keep the inner and outer corner of your brow at the same level.
If you examine makeup in magazine models, you will see that the MUA use this technique often.
Make your eyes look happy
This is mostly for an older eye that tends to look mad or sad, if not done right.
To counteract any downwardness, raise the outer edge of your upper line a bit. Don’t make it look like a wing. What looked good the first time around, won’t look right the second time around, if you have lived long enough to wing your eyeliner once before.
If you have a tight bone structure, unless you are going for a look (a la Amy Winehouse) you’re better off not to cross the bone at the outer edge of your eye.
If you lift the upper line, experiment with filling in the line to the lashes with pencil or powder close to the liner color (or not filling in) to see which works better for your eye. Experiment with color and with black or brown.
What about the waterline?
It has been rare for me to do the waterline, because it closes my eye to that line. The exception was that I loved a dark line around a young Asian woman working in the mall, so I copy her technique sometimes. I think it looks better on a younger eye.
My recent MAC makeover worked because the colors were perfect on me, blackgraph and earthline, and I use them a lot. It works better with darker shadows. I use colored liners with lighter colors.
For me, for an older eye, I think it works better with a pencil than with gel liner. I’ve given my black and brown-black gel liners to my 13 yo.
What about tight lining?
This tends to open the eye more. And it would work very well if water lining irritates your eye.
What is tight lining?
Tight lining is lining as close to the lash line as possible, but not in the water line. It moves the line outward a bit.
The effect is the same as lining at the waterline but it opens the eye more.
How is it done?
Lower line:
Line right on top of the top edge of the lash, at the lower edge of the water line. To do this, pull the lower lid down a bit to get access. Work above the lash line, not from underneath, unless working from underneath works for you. If working from the top, keep the line to the outer half of the waterline if any gets on it.
Upper line:
Invert or flip the eyelid up a little (it’s almost inside out at the bottom of this top lid) with one hand, while closing your eye. Line at the lower edge of lashline with pencil or gel liner at the outer edge of the waterline. This works better than working from the top.
If you choose to work from the top: lift your eyelid up a bit, then apply either pencil or liquid or gel liner from the top of the lash, close to the lashline, then lower your eyelid.
Applying mascara
Upper and lower:
I saw a video applying mascara using a business card to mask your skin, but that didn’t work for me at all, my lashes are too short. Or I wasn’t coordinated.
Lower lashes
Use a mascara made for lower lashes because the brush is easier. Or just let the amount of mascara from the upper be enough, as you blink your eye.
Let me know if you try any of these techniques, if you aren’t doing them already.
Enjoy!
Karin
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