Eye Makeup Tips: Basic tips for applying eye make-up for maximum attraction

Eye make up has been around for a long time. Men and women alike have been known to accent the eyes using basic materials such as coal ash, minerals, berries and teas that stain and animal fat for adhesion. Cleopatra may not have been able to launch a thousand ships had it not been for her beautiful eyes and of course a few basic “make-up tricks.”

Perhaps you are someone who would rather have her eyes looking farther apart or closer together. You can accomplish both of these illusions with very little imagination really.  Most eyes look better just a smidge father apart. Why? We really don’t know for sure but some anthropologists might say it is because we are all mostly predatory animals; our eyes are naturally spaced closer together, deeper set, and are smaller than animals of prey. As a collective, we enjoy looking at faces that are similar to our own but the same or less threatening than ours, with eyes spaced an equal distance apart or farther than our own and not quite as deeply set as ours. We tend to feel more secure around people with eyes similar in size and shape, (slant), and age (droop) to our own and especially attracted to those with eyes slightly larger and slightly younger if male and slightly older if female- than our own. There are the extreme and unusual attractors found due to cultural or environmental bias, but in the general public these indicators of beauty remain consistent.

There is a limit to all of this however and just because someone has eyes that are really large and spaced a hands length from the other does not make them beautiful. They must retain that human look.  This balance of having just the right placement of the eyes matched with over all facial symmetry is what we call beauty. Beauty is after all the goal in this article.

Creating the illusion of having the eyes spaced farther apart:

Measure the distance of your eyes from corner to corner. Now check to see if you have less than an eyes width between them. If you do they may look better just a smidge father apart. Apply a lighter tone makeup or concealer near the center of the eyes and smooth outward. Also apply this lighter tone to the outside grey shadow areas of your nose to broaden it. Apply a matte  eye shadow in a medium-to-dark shade & stroke it outward & slightly upward from the middle part of your upper eyelid. Take your eyeliner and start at the pupil of your eye on the upper lid and run this line out past the outer corner of your eye. On the underside of your eye begin with a darker shade of your matte eye shadow smudge a soft line from the middle or pupil toward the outer corner. Then apply the line dark eyeliner over the top of this just as on the top and bring this line out past the corner of your eye as well.

Creating the illusion of having the eyes closer together:

Begin with a light coverage of shadow over the top eye lid and on the bottom near the corner of the eye. Do the eyeliner from the corner of the eye to the pupil of the upper lid area. Then take shiny slightly metallic eyeliner in baby blue or green and complete the line out to just about the corner of the eyelid. Do the same for the bottom lids. Start with the dark eyeliner from the corner to the center or pupil area. Then use the shiny metallic eyeliner in the lighter color of blue or green to complete the line.

Creating the illusion of having bigger eyes:

The right shades are the key here. Light shades of shadow will make the eyes appear bigger, while the opposite is true for darker shades of shadow. Do the same tricks as mentioned above with the eye liner and as a final touch add a touch of white cream high lighter to the center of the brow bone.

Creating the illusion of younger eyes:

Drooping eyelids can be made to look younger with makeup. Apply a darker shade of shadow to the outer corner of the eyelid forming a sweeping upward and outward feline look. Apply a speck of white highlighter above this and skip the eyeliner all together.

Creating the illusion of less deep set eyes:

If you have deep set eyes and want them to appear less dramatic or less intense you can easily do this by downplaying the brow bone. First sweep a light or medium-tone shade on your lid, add a darker shade of shadow above the crease of the eye. When you apply your eyeliner take it from the inside corner of the eye and extend to the outside corner but the difference here will be that you will want to make your line thick in the middle and thinner toward each corner.

Creating the illusion of more pronounced eyes:

The eyelids of Asian women in general can seem to almost disappear when the eyes are open. This is not a structural flaw or a detriment and is quite beautiful, still with globalization and many Easterners trying to look more Western there is a way to do this with make-up. Definition may be found by sweeping a medium-toned shade across the lid & brow own. The underside of the brow should be dusted with a light highlighter shade to accentuate the brow bone and then use a pencil liner to line the upper & lower lash lines. Make sure the line is small and not thick and is natural looking.

Creating the illusion of younger eyes by making your lashes longer:

Place the wand of your mascara brush at the bottom of your lashes and move up in a firm stroke motion. After applying one coat of this to one eye upper lid and before it dries, close that eye and dust the lashes with a powder. This powder forms a bond with the wet mascara which will make the lashes appear much longer and thicker when you are finished.  Some women go the extra length of gluing on lashes in strands of 5 at a time in the center of the eyelid outward. These individual strand groupings of eyelashes come in packs of brown and black and in three lengths, short, medium and glamour or long length. The lash group is applied with a tweezers and special glue that adheres instantly and lasts through showing, and other activates. You must carefully apply these small lash groupings by dipping the root bulb end into the top of the small bottle of eyelash adhesive; instantly applying this to your upper eyelid near the center and extending outward. Usually 3 or 4 of these single hair groupings will be enough to give you that extra special feel without making you looking over done.

Color coordination is a subject all its own but to give you just the basics for your everyday makeup inventory- here are a list of common colors of eyes and the matching colors that do flatter them.

For blue eyes:

You will want to closely with: Taupe, gray, violet, purple,

If you are feeling funky you can try: Fuchsia, deep blue or black!

Green or hazel eyes:

You will want to stick closely with:  Brown, apricot, purple, plum, deep khaki

If you are feeling funky you can try: Gold, lime green, really light green, bright purple

Brown eyes:

You will want to stick closely with: Copper, bronze, champagne, brown, beige, and khaki

If you are feeling funky you can try: Royal blue, hot pink, lime-green

Please enjoy these great eye make-up tips.

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