Tips and Tricks to Make Your Eyes Pop

Yes, it’s true there is something to be said about bold, smoldering, sexy eyes. They manage to get our attention every time and when we see a pair we love, we’ll talk about them for days. The good news is even if you weren’t blessed with big eyes, there are loads of tricks to help you fake it and make your eyes look bigger beauties. We just happen to have a few of them that you might want to check out just in case you’re in need of a good tip.

1. Ice ice baby. Check.

A puffy eye is a smaller looking eye. To fix, grab some ice, place in a baggy or ziplock and wrap it in a soft cloth. Place it over your eyes for at least 15-20 minutes to reduce the puffiness before removing. Another good trick is to use wet tea bags to pull out the toxins and help reduce puffiness over time. There are also eye creams available to tackle this but for something quick, the ice is your best bet. 

2. Filling in and grooming your brows. Check.

This is the one feature on the face that when filled in and groomed really does make the eyes stand out. Softly arched brows make your eyelids look lifted, and draw attention up and away from under eye puffiness and dark circles. If your brows are thin or sparse, then you’ll definitely want to take the time to do. Use short, feathery strokes to fill in your brows with a pencil (a taupe shade works on most brow colors and skin tones) and then brush them up and out with a spoolie brush.

And don’t just fill in the area’s that are sparse, take your color all the way out, so that if you wanted you could draw a diagonal from the end of your brow to the corner of your eye, says Makeup Artist, Beth Bender. This will not only elongate the eye, but will also situate them more effectively on your face. If you’re as meticulous about your eye makeup then you shouldn’t neglect your brows, and with all of the products available including brow stencils to help you perfect the shape, there is no excuse. Check out more tips on grooming your brows here.

3. Add lashes. Check.

Okay, so you’ve never even thought about wearing lashes. Just the idea seems a bit intimidating, but believe or not they’re a lot easier than you may think. Lashes will be stronger than ever this fall, lash clusters especially so why not at least give them a try and just a few will be all it takes to make your eyes go POW! The best way to apply individual lash clusters is to pull out a few at a time and place them on the front of your hand. Squeeze a little lash glue near your clusters and then one lash cluster at a time, dip the end into your lash glue and slip into your own lashes just at the outer corner of your eyes.

Apply a few clusters as close to the lash line as possible without touching the lid. They should slip into your natural lashes. By focusing your lashes just at the outer corners you will create a more elongated cat-eye appearance too and the illusion of a larger eye. You can also cut a lash strip using the longer end and apply to the outer lash line.

4. Apply concealer. Check.

During the day you’re subject to harsh sunlight which isn’t the best lighting for trying to camouflage flaws, dark circles, or under-eye puffiness. A daytime concealer trick that’s easy to do with great results is to apply the concealer just below the under-eye "bags" and dark circles instead. By using this technique you'll brighten up your eyes without anyone seeing the actual makeup while keeping the under eye from looking too heavy.

5. Highlighter. Check.

This is a great tip for instant eye-popping gratification and creating a beautiful lifting effect. Use a liquid, cream or finely milled eyeshadow in a shimmer finish to highlight the eyes. Apply it under the arch of your brows and out towards the tip of brow, along the top of each brow, and in the corner of eyes. Soften any harsh lines with a brush. With all formula’s you can use your fingers under the brow bone to apply your highlighter and then blend using a small to medium size brush. The brush hairs should be short enough to fit comfortably under the brow without compromising any eye makeup already on the lids.

6. Curl your lashes. Check.

We know, you don’t always have time to curl your lashes, but if you realized what a huge difference it really did make, there wouldn’t be any question. When your lashes are upturned, your eyes look more open and that’s a makeup fact. For the biggest payoff, squeeze a lash curler once at your lashline, once in the middle of your lashes and again at the ends. Curling takes seconds to do and if you’re going to go through the trouble of applying mascara, this is the big payoff beauties. Gorgeous lashes.

7. Go lighter on the waterline. Check.

To make your eyes look bigger and brighter, trace a nude liner on the inner rims/waterline of your lower lash line. "Make sure the liner is a beige-y color and not too white," says Bender, "Beige looks more natural and does a better job of neutralizing the redness in or around the eyes."

Yes the darker eyeliner on the waterline does look dramatic but if you’re trying to make your eyes look bigger this will do just the opposite and instead shrink the eyes.

8. Layer your eyeliner. Check.

After applying liner, take a slightly lighter (than the liner) colored shadow and smudge it into the liner. This will create depth and add contour to the eyes, which makes them appear larger. Another great trick is to line your upper lashes with two different hues, one deep, and one vibrant. What this does is counteract the shadows underneath your eyes making the whites of your eyes look brighter. To do, start first with a dark brown or black pencil eyeliner and line along your top eyelid as close to your lash line as you are able. Top it with an eyeliner pencil in a vibrant jewel tone, like a sapphire blue, violet or emerald green.

9. Try the mini cat eye. Check.

Using eyeliner (a liquid, pencil, or gel, will all work) and starting on and the outer edges of your upper lid, at about 1/4 of the way in, start by lightly lining your lid and drawing out a tiny little cat tail or point. Try not to start all the way in on your inner upper lid, or you’ll lose the effect. Make it so that you can’t even clearly distinguish where the liner started, because it was so light. Line underneath your outer lashes starting at about ¼ in and bring the liner out to form your cat-eye point or flick. By doing this you can elongate and enlarge the appearance of your eyes by about 25 percent.