Eyes that are bigger usually appear to make you look younger and awake.
All eye shapes are beautiful, don’t get me wrong! I have small almond shaped eyes myself and I don’t want to toot my own horn, but quite a few people have complimented me for them! Not all of us have big eyes. However, we can always create an illusion by using clever make-up techniques.
Here we will take you through some simple tips and tricks that helps make your eyes look bigger.
How To Make Small Eyes Look Bigger?
1. Praise Those Eyebrows
The brows make all the difference. Take a trip to the salon at frequent intervals, and keep the brows in good shape. Follow the natural shape of your eyes.
For those who want to keep their brows bold, bear in mind that you have to maximize the space you have so that it creates an illusion of bigger looking eyes. Bold, thick, and beautiful brows bring attention to the eyes. The difference between natural brows and over-tweezed arches is that the natural makes one look more innocent, while the latter makes you appear older.
Pro Tip: To get those full and expressive brows, brush them up with clear brow mascara.
2. Say Goodbye To Puffiness
The key to gorgeous eyes is by pampering them right, every day. The swollen skin around the eyes can make them look tiny. Here is how you can reduce puffiness around the eyes.
- Get enough sleep
- Wash your face with cold water often
- Place used cold teabags over the eyes as the tannins present in tea tighten the skin
- Reduce salt intake
- Exercise
3. Say No To Under Eye Dark Circles
Using a concealer to cover up the dark circles will not make your eyes look bigger, but at least, the dark circles will not draw attention to them when someone is looking at your eyes. So, this step is really important.
Color correct your blemishes and dark circles with an illuminating concealer. Ensure you use a shade slightly lighter than your foundation to lift and enhance your look. We recommend the light and creamy YSL Touche Eclat and smooth MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, which is also a great cover-up for spots.
4. Light Neutral Colored Eye Shadow
Use neutral and light eyeshadows. Follow the rule of contouring. Light colors for the areas that you want the light to reflect and darker shades for the areas you want to push back. Using light colors at the center of the eyelids brings them forward. Pick up some product on a brush, tap the excess off and gently apply at the center of the eyelids.
Pro Tip: The shadow can be shimmery or of matte finish; it doesn’t matter as long as it is light in color.
5. Tightline The Upper Water Line
This is the step that makes a lot of difference. Use a black liner to tightline the upper water line. This gives the appearance of fuller lashes and helps to open up the eyes. I like to use the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil by Urban Decay. The formula is amazing and it gives your eyelashes volume without doing much!
6. Lay Low With The Eyeliner
When using liner on the lower lashline, make sure to only apply it to the outer third. Use a smudger or a brush to soften it out. As for the eyelid, draw a line as close as you can to the lashes. You can create a tiny flick and gradually make it thicker at the end if you want to.
7. Curly, Fluttery Eyelashes
An eyelash curler is to women what a sports car is to men. For those big eyes, ensure that you fully cup the lashes in the curler closer to the roots. Our favorites are E.L.F. Studio Eyelash Curler and Sally Hansen La Cross Double Curl Eyelash Curler.
8. The Nude Effect
Most people think that the way to achieving big eyes is by loading up on black kohls or kajals. However, this is entirely the opposite. The dark black kajal actually makes the eyes appear smaller and boxed in. Considering the Indian skin-tone, a white eye pencil may not be the most flattering one to use. The trick here is to go nude on your lower lash line. Try Bourjois Khol and Contour Eyeliner Pencil- 08 Rose Fantaisiste, or MAC Chromagraphic Pencil.
9. O’ Holy Mascara
The magic wand for makeup, a good mascara can make your eyes look bigger and thicker in no time. We suggest Clinique’s High Impact Mascara, and Maybelline Great Lash Mascara for that oomph factor. For those battable lashes and added glam, try applying three to four coats on the outer corners of the eye to create doe shaped eyes.
10. Contour The Crease
Contouring the crease helps in creating the illusion of deeper set eyes, which in turn, make them appear larger. Use a matte brown shade from the outer corner to the crease and blend well. When you’re going for an intense makeup look, you can contour slightly above your actual crease. Cover from the Naked Basics 2 palette by Urban Decay is a good shade for contouring.
11. Shimmer In The Inner Corner
Use a highlighter or a shimmery light eyeshadow in the inner corner. This adds a little something extra to your makeup look, and also helps you look awake. You can choose two ways of applying this.
- You can blend it out and give it a very sheen look. This makes you look fresh in a very natural way.
- Perhaps you’re looking for something more. Then, in that case, don’t blend it out. Doing this makes your eyes sparkle and is an easy way to compensate when you haven’t done much eye makeup.
Some More Tips To Make Your Eyes Look Bigger
- Try and avoid dark colors like blacks and grays.
- However, you can use soft browns for the crease.
- Don’t overload on the eyeliner. This only makes the eyes look smaller.
- Full lashes help to open up the eyes more so use the mascara.
- You can also choose to apply false lashes.
- Use eye masks and gently massage the areas around the eyes to get rid of the puffiness and water retention.
- If you have red eyes or if they are irritated, use eye drops. The redness can actually make them look smaller, and it isn’t healthy to leave them looking so red!
Well, there you have it. 11 ways to make your eyes look brighter and bigger. I certainly know for a fact that this works. If I feel like I look exhausted (which I do on most days now of late), I follow these steps. Try it out and let us know how it turned out for you.