Mascara: Choose a volumizing or lengthening mascara for your upper lashes. By increasing the length of the lashes, mascara creates the illusion of bigger, more open eyes.
Adding mascara to your lower lashes will also open up the eyes for a wide, doe-eyed look: For a softer look, you can use brown mascara, or even colored mascara if you like. Adding a little eyeliner to the outer corner of your lower lash line will also help to elongate your eyes.
Mascara is THE magic wand for making eyes look bigger and if you use only one product make it this, but try a lengthening formula over a thickening one.
"Contour eyes with a medium to medium deep shadow to the crease and outer crease of eyes," suggests the pro. "Contouring gives eyes depth and definition, making them look bigger, bolder, and perfectly shaped. Use one color for the entire crease and then go darker with a shade on top to the outer corner."
The Eyeko Tip: To make the eyes look bigger with makeup, contour with lighter rather than darker shades. Dark shades can make the eyes look smaller. Lightly brush the brown shadow a little bit higher than your crease to give the illusion that the eyelid extends higher. Blend upwards to add dimension.
Apply A White Or Flesh Toned Eyeliner
Apply a flesh-toned or white kajal pencil to the waterline and then follow it up with black kohl beneath the lower lash line. This trick creates an illusion of bigger eyes. This is an off-white shade that adds a subtle glow to your eyes.
A purple mascara will not only emphasise the whites of your eyes but make them appear larger. This deep shade will give a subtle contrast of light and dark and add definition to your lashes.
With a little beauty know-how, this flattering shade can be used to make eyes appear bigger, irises brighter and even warm up your complexion. Here are four ways brown mascara can finally emerge from your beauty bag and into the spotlight…
Curl your eyelashes.
Eyelashes are the natural frame of your eyes, and curling them will attract more attention to that part of your face. Curled lashes will also increase the wideness of your eyes. Using an eyelash curler, start at the base of your lashes and hold the curler for three seconds.
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.
As you age, the skin on your eyelids tends to droop. Use an eyeliner to bring back the youthful shape to your eyes. Apply the eyeliner from the middle of your top lash lines to the outer corners. Keep the lines nice and thin to make it look natural.
If you're wearing eyeliner, eyeshadow, and mascara on the upper lashes, then it's best to define your lower lashes too, so as to balance that heavy eye makeup look. Also, mascara on the lower lashes works when you want to give your lower lids a slightly highlighted effect.
The biggest cause of this shrinkage is the lack of firmness around the eyes that occurs naturally as we age. The three key areas around the eyes affected by ageing are the undereye area, eyelids and the corners of the eye. These regions all play a vital role in presenting youthful-looking skin.
"A blackened-brown mascara can give a smoky hue to the iris," Jones explains of the neutral color. "And anything purple will make [the eyes] pop, as that's a complementary color to brown eyes," she adds of shades ranging from Burgundy to deep purple.
"If you're fair-skinned and have blonde or red hair with naturally light lashes, brown mascara is the most natural way of emphasizing your lashes. Anyone with darker hair, regardless of skin tone, should stick to black mascara so the lashes don't fade into the rest of the face."
While brown mascara and liner has been spotlighted as a “less harsh” alternative to a black liner or mascara, Swift says these rules don't necessarily apply to older eyes. “'I will do a brown color for an eyeshadow, as long as it doesn't have any red tones to it, but liner should remain black.”
Despite what you may have heard, it's not the best idea to apply dark eyeliner to your bottom waterline because this can actually shrink the appearance of your eyes. Instead, apply your go-to eyeliner just below your lower lashes to help make your eyes look bigger.
"Keep the liner to the top lid for a more lifted, youthful effect." If you really, really want to go after your bottom lash line, Stiles recommends using a lighter color there than you're using on the top. "This will still give you definition, but feels softer and more flattering," she adds.
White to bright. “Use a white (or nude) kohl pencil eyeliner on your waterline for an instant eye lift. White eyeliner is a secret weapon to give the effect of wider, more awake and brighter eyes. Choose a water and smudge proof brand that will stay put all day.”
“Using a small eye brush, start from the outer corner of the eyes and work inwards, so that the color gets gradually lighter. It'll give you a bigger, wide-eyed look.”