Makeup For Small Eyes

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Eye Makeup Tips For Small Eyes

Throughout history, women not born with naturally large eyes and long dark lashes, have used makeup to improve the appearance and perceived size of their eyes. Just take a look at Cleopatra, there’s no maybe about it, she was definitely rocking some Maybelline! So, if you weren’t blessed with the giant peepers of a Disney princess, try these amazing makeup tips and tricks that cleverly make your eyes look much bigger than they really are!

1White Pencil Liner

Put away your favorite black or brown pencil liner and get yourself a white one instead. Applying more makeup to your eye may seem like a great way to draw focus to them and therefore make them appear larger but a darker liner is not the way to do it. By applying a white or nude colored liner to the waterline of your eye makes the sclera (the white part of your eye) look like it extends further down than it actually does, causing your eye to look bigger. A darker liner, though dramatic and striking, creates a cut off point that highlights where your eye stops causing them to look even smaller. Just think of how we use nude or light colored heels to make our legs look longer, wearing a black heel draws the eye to where your legs stop, same with a black liner!

2Curl Your Lashes

Extending your natural lashes is a great way to make your eyes look bigger. Longer looking lashes make your eyes look more open, therefore larger. Before you grab your curlers and clamp them straight down on your lashes, however, make sure you have done the following. Ensure your lashes are clean and dry before you start, damp lashes straight from the shower won’t hold a curl and mascara remnants from the day before are a friend to no-one. Once they are clean and dry, go ahead and tilt your head back slightly, lightly clamping the curler towards the base of your lashes but not right on the lid. Clamping too close to the lash line with be painful and cause your lashes to weaken. Draw the curlers forward ever so slightly before you clamp down. Hold for around 15 seconds, release the curler, then hold for another 15 seconds to avoid any breakage. Once you have your lashes nicely curled, slick on your favorite black mascara and you’re done!

3Cat Eye Liner

Defining your upper lid with a gorgeous Audrey Hepburn style flick draws attention to your lashes and makes your upper lash line look much longer and thicker giving the impression of bigger eyes. Use a liquid liner and with your eye closed, draw along the lash line. Create a flick following up from where your lower lash line would flick to if it continued upwards. This technique follows the natural shape of your eye and enhances it rather than creating a false “drawn on” effect. Finish by curling your lashes and applying mascara.

4Lengthening Mascara

When it comes to mascara, selecting one with excellent lengthening qualities can work wonders when you’re trying to exaggerate the size of your eyes. Similar to the effect of false lashes, drawing your lashes upwards automatically enhances your eye size. It makes the areas surrounding the eye itself appear larger, therefore projecting a wider, more open appearance.

5Neutral/ Reflective Eyeshadow

Although it’s tempting to go for a smokey makeup look if you have eyes that are naturally on the smaller side you may want to steer away from this trend. Dark colors will ultimately make your eyes look smaller, similar to the way we wear black to make ourselves appear slimmer. Using lighter, more neutral shades is a much better way of making your eyes look bigger as it creates no stopping points around the eye. Therefore it makes the edges of the eye appear as if they extend out further than they naturally do.

6Corner Highlight

Just between your tear ducts and where the brow bone starts, reach for your highlighter and use it to lighten this area. The shadow caused by the top of our nose and the brow bone can make the eyes look smaller and hidden. Highlighting this area will instantly open up the eye by eliminating the shadow.

7Highlight on the Brow Bone

Once again, using your highlighter, highlighting above your eyelid on the brow bone eliminates any shadow that may be making your eye look smaller. It also creates a reflective appearance that with aid your eye in looking a lot brighter and therefore larger and more open.

8Conceal Dark Circles

Dark circles around the eyes aren’t good for anybody. Whether you have large or small eyes, dark circles will steal away from the brightness of the eye and make them look dull and tired. If we want our eyes to look brighter and more reflective we’re going to need to conceal those circles! Try a concealer with a yellow base color. Yellow is great for concealing dark circles as it naturally balances out the darker, brown pigment. If you have redness around the eyes however, try a concealer with a light green base.

9False Lashes

False lashes are great for making your eyes appear larger as they create a wonderful fan effect around the eye that draws focus towards them and enhances the shape. However, we would really only suggest using them for occasions when you’re going out or have a special event to go to. Applying glue every day can be distressing for your lashes and you can easily end up pulling some out, not great for making the eyes appear bigger. Learn to make the most of your own lashes with lash curlers and lengthening mascaras rather than relying solely on false ones.

10Colour Liner Under The Waterline

For this one, you’ll want to look to the natural color of your iris (the colored part). Using the color as your starting point, select a crayon liner in the same or a similar shade. Next, apply this underneath the bottom lash line up until just before you reach the tear duct. Now, blend out the sides. We use a crayon liner as a liquid is much too harsh for this technique and a pencil liner can be too dry to apply evenly when you don’t have the added moisture from the waterline. The color you apply here will act as a continuation of your eye color and each will highlight the other. The wider space covered will make your eye appear bigger whilst beautifully enhancing your natural eye color.

11Shade Your Eyelid Crease

Using a darker colors is usually a mistake when applying makeup to smaller eyes, however, used in this particular way it’s a brilliant trick in making your eyes look bigger. Select an eyeshadow that is a couple of shades darker than your nude base color. Once your base color is applied, using a very fluffy brush, gently sweep the darker color into the crease of the very top of your eyelid just below the brow bone. If you apply a little pressure you can feel where it is. This won’t cover the lid or take away from the brightness of your eye, it will simply serve to highlight your lid and create dimensions that make the eye look more defined and prominent.

12Define Your Brows

Well groomed brows will really open up the eye by bringing attention to its presence like a good frame does for a picture. Overly tweezed, thin brows won’t act as much of a frame at all so invest in a good brow comb and pencil to make sure your brows are visible and well kept.

13Define The Middle Of The Lash Line

Applying liquid eyeliner to your upper lash line in the middle where it’s at it’s thickest will create a sense of height making your eyes look a lot wider. Once you have applied the liner, ensure that you blend out the sides or that the line appears to thin out merging with your natural lash line. Leaving the sides blunt will look harsh and like you forgot to apply the rest of your liner! Appointing the right shadows on and around your lids like this is a great way to promote your eyes as your key feature.

14Bottom Lash Mascara

We’ve talked a lot about curling our lashes, lash extensions and various ways to use them to open up the eye but we mustn’t forget about our lower lashes! Applying mascara all the way along the bottom lashes can have the opposite effect of making our eyes look bigger as it once again creates a firm line that accentuates where our eye stops. Instead of doing that, apply mascara on your lower lashes just towards the outside of the eye. This way it highlights your lashes on the outside making the eye appear larger but it doesn’t create a definitive line. Try using a specially designed mascara for your lower lashes, the brushes are a great deal smaller and therefore much easier to apply.

15Glittery Shadow

Reflective surfaces, much like a mirror, will always create the illusion that things are more spacious than they really are. With that in mind, try using a light colored, glitter shadow on your lids to create a mirror effect. The way it reflects the light will make your eyes shine and appear as a more prominent feature.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Hi! I’m in theatre so I am required to wear makeup, but I’m just not the type of person who really wears makeup (Nothing wrong with it, just not for me :). I’ve been trying to learn how to put everything on myself so I don’t have to ask for help all the time but the thing is my eyes just don’t like cooperating. For one thing, my eyes always flinch when something comes near it (I wear contacts every day and I flinch with them also but not so bad) and my eyelashes always get clumpy! My friends say that my eyes flinch because they’re just sensitive and just not used to it but I always wear contacts so you’d think that they would be so bad. And with my eyelashes, they say it’s because they’re already long and thick (which they are. They sometimes hit my glasses!) and I’ve been trying a couple techniques to try and make them not clumpy (wiping off access, wiggle the wand, combing, etc.) but they still get stuck together! Would it be better to go without mascara on stage since my eyelashes are already dark or is there something else I could do? Please let me know if you can think of anything! 🙂

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