Black might be your go-to color when it comes to eyeliner, but using a brown or colored eyeliner can also help make your eyes appear bigger and brighter. For enlarging the appearance of your eyes, choose a colored liner that mimics the natural color of your eyes.
The key is to apply a black or dark brown eyeliner on your upper waterline and lash line. You need to make sure the skin beneath your upper lashes is all covered with the pencil. This makes your lashes look thicker, hence making your eyes appear a lot bigger.
Brown eyeliner will give a soft dimension to your eyes while still making them appear rich and intense. However, if you want a sharp and sleek look, black eyeliner is always an excellent choice. To make your brown eyes appear brighter, go for colored eyeliner in contrasting shades.
Eyeliner can make your eyes look bigger or smaller, depending on how you apply it and what shade you choose. Rimming your eyes in inky black liner makes them look tinier than they actually are.
Brown eyeliner
Brown eyeliner acts as a contour for your eyelids and adds more depth. It is the best eyeliner for natural look. Simply apply the Lakme Absolute Explore Eye Pencil - Fearless Brown on your upper and lower lash line and use a brush to slightly soften the outer corner of your eyes.
One of the study's main findings was that gray eyes are both the rarest and the statistically most attractive eye color, with hazel and green following closely behind. Conversely, brown eyes are the most common color yet the least attractive to the survey's respondents.
Mistake #04: Using black eyeliner
Applying a thick, black eyeliner makes your eyes appear really small and beady — making you look older than you are. An easy solution to this problem is to switch your back eyeliner with a brown one for a softer and more youthful appearance.
The way to apply eyeliner to make the eyes look bigger is by drawing a very thin line, black or brown, just above your lashes. Once you reach the last third of the lashes, taper the eyeliner outwards in a straight line and draw back in to create a flick.
It's a bit of a beauty myth that small eyes shouldn't use eyeliner. When used in an entire ring around the eye, black liner can exaggerate the smaller shape, but the trick is to use a contrasting white or pearl-coloured liner in the lower waterline and keep the smoky eyeliner to the lower lashes instead.
For an eye-opening effect, try swapping dark liner for white eyeliner or nude eyeliner like the TARTE Fake Awake Eye Highlight. Billy says she loves to use a nude eye pencil along the upper and lower waterline for bigger, wider-looking eyes.
Eyeliners in colors such as midnight blue, cobalt, vivid purple, emerald green, grey and cool charcoal will bring out the lighter brown and golden flecks in your eyes. The contrasting color will really make your eyes pop.
For hazel eyes, purple, green, gray, and taupe are all excellent choices. People with green eyes should look for burgundy, rust, and other warm, reddish tones, though black and brown can also work well. If you have blue eyes, opt for navy, copper, dark brown, or yellow eyeliner.
“It gives a softer, more natural look as opposed to a black or pop of colored liner,” says O'Leary. It proves brown eyeliner makeup doesn't necessarily need eyeshadow to make the eyes pop; just pair it with a lengthening mascara to add definition.
Use light, neutral colors on the lid.
Dark colors recede, light colors bring objects forward. Placing a light color on the lid gives a larger appearance to the eye area.
Since perceived youth of a mate is also a sign of fertility, men tend to prefer women with neotenous features, like large eyes.
Also, try to avoid applying makeup on the lower lash line as it makes the eyes look smaller, highlights fine lines and drags down the whole face. The eyeliner can get smudged from the bottom lash line, clearly showing signs of fatigue, and making you look older.
“Swap your black eyeliner (especially for day) for brown, navy or plum. Sometimes black eyeliner can be very harsh on mature eyes and draw attention to dark circles and lines around the eye. Experiment with colour for a softer look that compliments your eye or hair colour.”
“You may have heard the trick to apply white pencil eyeliner to your waterline to brighten your eyes and make them look younger. However, this can look unnatural and too retro. Instead, opt for a champagne shade or nude eyeliner on the waterline.
Ditch liquid liners
Thick black lines don't do any woman over 35 any favours as it makes eyes that are already getting smaller with age look even tinier. And the rock-chick look is too harsh for ageing skin tones, so switch to brown or charcoal-grey.
Women of any age can wear eyeliner. There is no age limit to apply eyeliner.