One of the most popular requests and/or complaints I get from my friends and clients is:
“How do I get my tiny eyes to look bigger?”
Luckily there are some optical illusion tips everyone can use to make their peepers more prominent. Country music singing sensation Taylor Swift is a perfect example of someone who uses makeup to her advantage because she has naturally squinty little eyes.
Here are some eye opening makeup techniques:
1. Add a soft wash of color from lash line to brow bone- pale pink or ivory on light skin or a dark taupe for darker skin tones. Try Stila’s eyeshadow trio in Champagne Glow ($28). This trio will be useful for this step and trick #6 to follow. There’s a color in this trio for everyone!
2. Line only the upper lash line with a medium brown colored pencil. Remember- the darker the liner or even shadow, the more it recedes or closes in. So if your goal to make your eyes appear more open, lighter colors in general are the way to go. Smudge that liner with a matching shadow on top of it to soften up the line so as not to draw attention to the actual line…more attention on your eye!
3. Curl your lashes with an eyelash curler. I swear atleast 50% of the women I work with look at me in horror when I go after their lashes with a curler, but once I’m finished, they look at me like I’m a genius! This is THE best way to open up your eyes- point blank.
4. Line your lower inner eyelid with a white or flesh colored pencil. My go-to product for this sensitive eye area is Stila’s Kajal pencil in “topaz” ($18)- it’s the perfect nude shade and consistency to brighten your inner eye. This gives the illusion of the whites of your eye being a bit whiter and increasing their overall space.
5. Coat your lashes with mascara. If you have short but many lashes, pick a mascara that lengthens like Maybelline Lash Stiletto ($9). If you have long skinny lashes that need fattening, try Max Factor 2000 Calorie Extreme Lash Plumper ($10). Do 2 layers for top lashes and just one layer on bottom ones, focusing mainly on the outer corner lashes.
6. Put a dab of highlighter in the tear duct area near your nose. Choose a light colored shimmer powder to place just along your little tear duct to immediately brighten up your entire eye area. Refer back up to #1 step and use the lightest color in the Stila trio. Check out Taylor’s pic on the right and you can really see her shimmer shining!
Voila!!! Your peepers are showing!!
