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How To Make Your Eyes Look Bigger With Makeup, From A Pro
Hannah Frye is the Assistant Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including health, wellness, sustainability, personal development, and more.
No matter your eye size or shape, there are no limits when it comes to makeup looks that complement your unique features. That being said, it is common to want to shake up your go-to beat a bit, whether that means adding color, trying a new eyeliner method, etc.
A common inquiry in the world of eye makeup is this: How can I make my eyes look bigger and more awake? To come, a celebrity makeup artist shares her step-by-step tutorial.
A concealer trick for bigger eyes
As shared on her TikTok page, celebrity makeup artist Melissa Murdick provides a quick and easy way to encourage wide-awake eyes. Below, find her essential steps:
Grab your tools & products.
The first step is to grab all of your products and lay them out in front of you. Here's what you'll need:
- A concealer slightly lighter than your natural skin tone
- A matte eyeshadow that's also slightly lighter than your natural skin tone
- A matte brown shadow that's slightly darker than your skin tone
- An eyeshadow blending brush
- Brown or black eyeliner (whatever you prefer)
- An eyelash curler
- Mascara
Start with concealer.
Now that you have your supplies, it's time to get started with concealer. "Put down a base concealer all over your eye area with a shade that is slightly lighter than your natural skin tone," Murdick explains. Blend this out however you like, be it with your fingers, a blending sponge, a concealer brush, etc.
Apply a light shadow.
Grab your eyeshadow shade that's a bit lighter than your natural skin tone. "Do a wash of that eyeshadow all the way from your lashes up to your brow," Murdick instructs.
Fake a higher crease.
"We don't want any part of this eye makeup to be too dark, so I'm going to take a blending brush and then a matte neutral shade that's just a bit deeper than my skin tone, and I'm going to go above the eye socket, so actually a little bit higher than the crease of the eye," Murdick notes.
This part helps you fake more space on your eyelid. Murdick adds, "Make sure that after you place this color above the eye socket you connect it back down to your actual eyelid so that it's not just a floating line."
Top off your lighter shade.
"We are really only using two shades for this eye look, so I'm going back to that lighter shade. Now, I'm going to pat that onto the lid all the way up to where that other shade is," Murdick explains.
Apply liner to half the lash line.
As for eyeliner, "You want to keep it super thin and just on the outer half of the eye," Murdick explains. If you line the entire length of the lid, there's a chance you can actually narrow the eye—which is the opposite of the end goal here.
Rather, take your eyeliner just along the outer half of the upper eyelid, and make sure you go all the way to the end of your eye shape.
Curl your lashes & apply mascara.
Finally, curl your lashes and apply mascara. When doing the latter, focus your mascara on the outer half of the eye, Murdick notes; this way it can "echo" the liner you did above.
"I really wiggle in at the base and flare my lashes out on this outer half of the eye, which gives a little lift," Murdick says. If you like the look of lower-lash mascara, feel free to put a super-light coat on those lashes too.
Top off the look with a lip balm, brow gel, cream blush, et al., and you're all set.
The takeaway
For anyone wanting to open up their eyes using makeup, you can fake a larger eyelid by placing a matte brown shadow right above your natural crease and applying a lighter, skin-similar shade to the base. Keep your liner and mascara focused on the outer lash line as well. Want to dive deeper into the nuances of eye shape and complementary makeup? Check out this guide.
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