How To Make Your Eyes Stand Out

Eyeliner

Women have been wearing eyeliner or kohl for thousands of years as they have always wanted to enhance what is one of their most beautiful features - their eyes. Knowing the best way to apply eyeliner can turn the ordinary into the beautiful and make eyes appear much larger. Once you know the basics its a very easy beauty regime to follow each day.

For everyday wear:

  • Using a kohl or eyeliner pencil (which need not be black, but dark brown, grey etc) hold your eyelid taught, but not stretching the skin (we all know this is bad!) and apply the eyeliner from the outer corner of your eye to about two thirds of the way along the top eyelid. Keep a light touch for daytime.
  • Eyeliner can be set using eyeshadow (in the same way that powder sets foundation - applying eyeshadow over eyeliner has the same effect). Preferably using a eyeshadow brush rather than one of those spongy little applicators, brush a darker coloured eyeshadow gently over the eyeliner.
  • Finally, using the eyeshadow brush again apply the same shade of eyeshadow along the bottom eyelid beneath the lashes - again starting at the outer corner and working your way in to about half way across. Don't be too heavy handed here or you could end up with a slightly gothic look - unless that's your intention.
  • Any mistakes can easily be tidied up using a cotton bud - I always keep a handy pot of these in my bathroom.

For evening wear:

  • For the evening you might want to go for a more sultry and smoky look - here your eyes will be at the centre of the stage, so to speak, so don't overdo the lippy and blusher or you could end up looking more silly than sultry.
  • Again, as above, line the top lid from outside to in with quite a bold line, and then using one of those handy cotton buds (which you are now keeping at your side in your bathroom cabinet) smudge the line.
  • Then apply to your eyelid a darker coloured eyeshadow using a brush, blending it from a deeper hue near the edge of the lid up to the crease line of your eyelid where the eyeshadow should be faded out.

For a bold and dramatic look:

  • Here forget the eyeliner pencil and opt for the liquid eyeliner - a lot of people are afraid to use this and I have to say that it does take a few practices before perfection is reached with a liquid eyeliner - but the end result is worth it for a special night out.
  • Using your liquid eyeliner and again holding your eyelid taught, start from the middle of your eyelid and sweep a line to the outer corner of your eye - this line should be quite bold.
  • Next starting from the inner corner of your eye (or slightly further out if your eyes are close set) sweep a finer line to meet the first one in the middle of your eyelid.
  • If you find this look too harsh, it can be softened - once dry - by applying some eyeshadow to blend in the line against your eyelid.

All of these looks take a little bit of practice in front of the mirror to attain perfection, but who doesn't love playing with makeup - I know I do.