Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Trick to Making Your Eyes Look Bigger

Ever look at those pictures of celebrities before makeup and after? My favorite celebrity is Gwyneth Paltrow and I was thrilled one day to see her without makeup. Her eyes just disappeared. Yet in photos, she has luminous eyes. So what's the secret?

There are actually several. To get huge eyes try these tricks:

1. Always curl lashes before applying mascara. You can actually curl lashes AFTER mascara is applied, as long as your mascara is dried (a good tip to know if you want to curl your lashes later in the day without removing your mascara).

2. Don't forget your bottom lashes. For years I avoided mascara on them until a makeup expert showed me how much mascara on my lower lashes really make my eyes pop. I rarely go without now. To apply mascara on lower lashes, hold the brush vertically, then sweep it back and forth.

3. Individual false lashes are exotic, gorgeous and can look natural if applied correctly. Large cities offer "lash bars" in the hottest department stores. (Henri Bendel, Bergdorfs and more, for example) but I expect the counters at most department stores will have experts in false lashes. Ask at yours.

Don't want to go to department store? Drugstores carry false eyelashes. If they're too long, you can trim them with scissors.

4. For a doe-eyed, seductive look, makeup artist *Paul Starr suggests you try lining your lower lids with a creamy white eye pencil. He likes Estee Lauder Artists’s Eye Pencil in Whiter ($18.50).

5. White Liner may sound odd, but it really opens up the eye. You can also try putting it on the inside corner of both your upper and your lower lids.

6. Another way to open up eyes is to skip the white eyeliner and opt instead for a platinum highlighter. Dot along the browbone, then blend in. Apply highlighter at the inner corners of your eyes. Follow with eye shadow.

7. Make sure your brows are manicured. Until you get your brows professionally waxed, tweezed or threaded, you won't realize how much they affect the rest of your face. Cleaning up your brow line of stray hairs, adding a slight arch and filling in sparse spots are key to making eyes look much larger.

I find once you get a professional brow job, you can do it yourself for a few months using the pro job as a "map" of where to tweeze. To keep brows in place, try a clear eyebrow gel like Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara or just spritz a bit of hairspray onto an old toothbrush and brush brows in perfect place.

source from http://beauty.about.com

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