How to Make Your Eyes Look Brighter & Wider
February 20, 2008 by Shannon Nelson
Filed under Our Beauty Tips, beauty, fake it, makeup
Between Leo at Lancome and Chad at Three Custom Color Specialists, I picked up a few tips on how to make my eyes appear brighter and wider. Something I always noticed in pictures is that when I smile, my eyes seem to look a bit squinty and small.
1-Do not apply mascara to your bottom lashes. This only “closes” up your eyes.
2-Use a light colored shadow near the inner corner of your eye.
3-Use a flesh colored liner on the inner rim of your lower lid and also a small dab at the inner corner of your eye. Flesh colored works better than white because it looks more natural. (3C’s Light Clarifier is perfect! They also have one for darker skin tones!)
4-Apply a very thin line of eyeliner to the inner rim of the upper lid then widen it out mid-lid. This makes your eyes look more open.
5-Define your brows with a blended pencil and powder. It really brings attention to your eye and by doing it in conjunction with all of the above, your eyes will really pop.
Thanks Shannon for summarizing those great tips. I didn’t know that applying mascara to bottom lashes would make eyes look smaller. I had small and wide set eyes, so making them look bigger and wider was always a challenge.
I agree with all the tips, except for the white/flesh liner. I think it makes me look like a cyborg. ;( Everything else, though, sounds great.
If you apply the flesh colored liner to your waterline….would you need to apply a black liner underneath? Because I feel my eyes look unfinished if I don’t have black liner somewhere….
Pia- you are welcome. :)
Julie-if your skin is darker than my pale irish skin, then you’ll want the dark clarifier (it really is amazing!)
Quynh-yes I put the flesh colored on the inside rim and then on the outside use my normal liner and smudge it.
these tips are great and so are the product recommendations. I find that even when coating only your top lashes, your bottom lashes get a hint of color because the mascara is still wet. this is a good thing because it gives you a touch at the roots without being too much or too little.
I never apply mascara to bottom lashes and I’ve always thought it was kind of a “faux pas”. I am so glad to read that it actually helps your eyes look prettier!!
Any ideas for those of us who wear contact lenses? I can’t wear liner on my inner rims – I figured out not to wear mascara on my lower lashes – it really helps eyes look bigger…
1-Do not apply mascara to your bottom lashes. This only “closes†up your eyes.
See I never did this, but alot of beauty guides I’ve read says “sweep mascara across lower lashes” in alot of their looks so I started doing it.
See! I knew I was doing right all along.
Haha, sometimes you just gotta go with your own feelings! I think if you want the big doll eyes look, use mascara at the bottom. If you want the doe eyed look, no masacara.
Oooh thanks for the tip, Shannon! I’ll have to try that out soon.
I thought using liner on inner lids was a no no. That’s what I’ve always heard at least. I never apply mascara on bottom lashes unless I’m going for a really smoky eye.