Tricks of the Trade: Eye makeup made easy

I can never seem to do my eye makeup right. I try to follow the advice of my best friends but I can’t seem to apply it to my chinita eyes as they have round eyes. Do you have tips for doing makeup for different eye shapes?

It’s surprising what a little eye makeup can do to brighten, lengthen or widen our eyes; it can even go as far as enhance its shape and balance our features. Learning the fundamentals of makeup goes a long way, especially during days when we simply have to look good with little time to spare. But, and we ladies know this from experience, doing our own eye makeup is tricky. It requires shading and blending in the right places, also it doesn’t hurt to have a steady hand for precise application. A lot of practice pays off, as well as knowing how to apply makeup for your eye type. Read on to find out which eye makeup complements you, whether you have round or chinita eyes, or eyes set far apart or close together.

CHINITA EYES. If you are chinita, then you know your eye makeup should be all about creating a smoky eye and lengthening those lashes. Matte brown eye shadow is your best bet when it comes to getting this look right so make sure you have it in the shade that complements your skin tone (look for shades in sand, nut-brown and coffee). To get that smoky eye right, apply the shadow from your lash line, blending outward until just under your brow bone (you can feel it, just follow the outline of your eye socket). The important thing here is to blend, blend, blend, until your eye shadow softly fades outwards. Then, gently line the insides of your lash line with a soft black or brown waterproof eyeliner and apply two coats of mascara after you’ve curled your lashes.

ROUND EYES. Round, saucer-like eyes will look elongated by drawing a wing using eyeliner. You can choose between a soft wing, or kohl eyeliner gently smudged at the edges, a hard-edged wing which is drawn with waterproof liner or a dramatic wing which uses liquid liner. The trick is to start lining from two thirds of your upper and lower lash lines, starting from the inner part drawing outward. Then, connect both lines at the edge and turn it up a little (skip lining your lower lash line when using liquid liner). Play it up by concentrating mascara to the outer corners of your lashes or wear false lashes.

DROOPY EYES. To offset droopy eyes, sweep eye shadow on the outer contours of the eye, concentrating on the area below the brow bone. As always it is important to blend the shadow well, creating a subtle upward slant on each outer corner. Finish the look by drawing along the upper lash lines using waterproof liner and even extending it a little to follow the angle of the shadow.

CLOSE-SET EYES. Eyes that look too close together will benefit from applying eye shadow and liner on its outer edges. Dark matte shadows and eyeliner should be drawn from the middle of the lash line blending outward. Another way to create the illusion of space between the eyes is by using a soft, shimmery shadow on the inner corners of the eyes until the iris. Then, draw your liner from the middle of the eye going outward.

WIDE-SET EYES. To bridge the gap between your eyes, start your eye shadow from the inner corners of your eyes but let it fade before you get to the outer corners. The same rule should be followed when lining your eyes. Put emphasis on the inner corners of your eyes and avoid light shimmery eye shadows, unless it is properly blended with a dark or neutral shadow.

Photo credit: Smashbox Cosmetics