How to Make Eyes Look Bigger with Makeup
Experimenting with eye makeup is a great way to make your eyes pop, but it can take some trial and error to find the right products and techniques that complement your eye shape. And, if you have smaller eyes, the wrong products and techniques can overwhelm the eye – and detract from your natural beauty.
So, how can you circumnavigate this to learn how to make your eyes look bigger with makeup – rather than smaller?
In this guide, we’ve put together our favourite makeup strategies that flatter smaller eye shapes and offer a brightening, widening effect. From strategic eyeliner placement to achieving long, voluminous lashes, read on for our top seven tips on how to make eyes look bigger with careful makeup artistry and technique.
1. Brighten the under-eyes with concealer
Shadows have a ‘shrinking’ effect on the eye, so the first step in learning how to make eyes look bigger with makeup is to cover dark circles under eyes. This will help your eyes appear brighter and more awake – and therefore larger. You can do this by colour-correcting and concealing.
How to apply: Using the pink Instant Eraser Colour Correcting Concealer, apply three small dots under the eye in the shape of an upside-down triangle. Lightly blend with the tip of your finger. Next, apply the Instant Age Rewind® Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer. Use the applicator to gently blend and buff the product into the skin. Then, use your finger to lightly tap in any remaining product for a seamless finish.
2. Use eyeshadow to enhance your eye crease
While eyeliner is going to do a lot of the heavy lifting to make your eyes look bigger, you can also enlist the help of your eyeshadow palette to enlarge the appearance of your eye crease.
This is a classic trick if you have hooded eyes, because you’re essentially using shadows to give the illusion of a higher crease. If you have monolid eyes, you can also use eyeshadow to create an outline of a crease.
How to apply: On a tapered fluffy brush, take a transition shade from the Eyestudio® Nudes of New York 16 Pan Eyeshadow Palette and apply just above where your natural crease sits. This is going to help ‘lift’ the eye and ensure your eyeshadow is still visible when the eye is open. Then, take a shimmery eyeshadow on the tip of your finger and lightly press onto your inner eye corner and the centre of your lid. Light-reflecting eyeshadows can make eyes appear larger.
3. Open up eyes with a white or nude eyeliner
Where thick black lines on the lower lash line can engulf the eye, white or nude eyeliner has the opposite effect: accentuating the whites of your eyes and makes them appear larger.
How to apply: Using the Tattoo Liner Sharpenable Gel Pencil, line your bottom waterline – the strip of skin between the lashes and the eyeball. This is going to help open up the eye, making it look both wider and brighter.
4. Lift and widen with eyeliner
When learning how to make your eyes bigger with makeup, eyeliner is your not-so-secret weapon. Eyeliner can drastically alter the shape and size of your eye – the key is in the placement. As a general rule, avoid thick, heavy lines, and keep in mind that lining both your upper and lower lash lines will make your eyelids look smaller. For thin, crisp, precise lines, you can rely on the Eyestudio® Hyper Easy Liquid Eyeliner, Eye Makeup.
How to apply: A small wing in the outer corner of your eye can help widen the eye. If you want to create a more rounded, doe-eyed shape, you can apply eyeliner along your upper lash line, making the liner slightly thicker in the centre.
If you want to ‘lift’ hooded eyes, you can bring your wing slightly higher – using your open eye as a guide. For an elongated effect, you can follow the three-fourths rule: applying eyeliner to the outer three fourths of your eyelid to draw attention to the outer corner.
5. Curl lashes and apply lengthening mascara
Curled, lengthened lashes make eyes appear brighter and larger. So for this next tip, you’ll need your trusty eyelash curler and a lengthening mascara – like the Lash Sensational® Sky High Mascara Washable Lengthening Mascara.
How to apply: Once you’ve curled your top lashes, you can apply the Lash Sensational® Sky High Mascara Primer for visibly enhanced length and volume. Then, apply your mascara to your top and bottom lashes, wiggling the wand from root to tip in a zig-zag motion. This is a great technique for how to make eyes look bigger with mascara since it ensures that every lash is evenly coated without clumping.
6. Highlight the inner corners and brow bone
Playing with light and dark is a tried-and-true method for how to make eyes look bigger with makeup. Much like white eyeliner on your bottom waterline or lash line, a touch of highlighter in the corner of the eye will help reflect light and subtly enlarge the area. Meanwhile, highlighting the brow bone creates a lifted eye contour.
How to apply: Take the Lifter Stix™ Multi-Use Face Stick Foundation in the lightest shade (05) and apply to the brow bone and inner eye corner (the tear duct). If you’re seeking even more luminosity, you can do this with a light, shimmery eyeshadow instead.
7. Shape and groom your brows
Well-defined brows help frame the eyes, while drawing focus to the eye itself. So, when mastering how to make your eyes look bigger, consider the shape and set of your brows – as dense, flat brows can shrink the eyelid space. Instead, opt for shapely, fluffy brows.
How to apply: For hassle-free, natural-looking brows, softly brush through brows and fill in sparse areas using the Superfluff Brow Mousse. For an extra fluffed-up look, brush upwards and outwards.
Now that you’ve explored how to make eyes looker bigger with makeup, turn your attention to your pout with our tips on how to overline your lips.
