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8 Great Eye Make Up Tips
The Basics Behind Beautiful Results

Eye make up tips sometimes are biased to a particular beauty style, which may or may not suit your style...  

These eight great tips offer KEY basic steps that will work for everyone. 

I have had so many girlfriends confess they want to be more creative, and have some fun with eye makeup, but really feel like they don't know what they are doing.  Because of this, they tend to shy away from using much of it at all, to make sure they haven't put in on incorrectly.

It really can be quite simple when you know the basic application sequence .  From there, a little practice, patience and creativity will bring a lot of satisfaction, beauty confidence and yes, even fun...  

Well, for all you girlfriends out there who want to feel more confident about their eye makeup application and enjoy the creative fun in the process of putting on makeup, here are some straightforward eye make up tips.

Remember, good eye makeup application is meant to enhance your eyes, compliment your unique features and underscore your own expression of style.  

eye make up tips Nothing brings more sparkle to the eyes than a healthy, bright smile.  Get whiter teeth within days.

Eye Make Up Tip #1   PRIME for staying power...

Prime eye area with a foundation and follow with light dusting of loose translucent powder.  This will give any eye make up applied, some staying power.

For extra smooth application (especially helpful for middle aged and up skin) consider using a primer makeup, and then follow this with foundation.

Eye Make Up Tip #2  DIMENSION created with color...

eye make up tips

A.  Keep Eye Area Tidy and Free of Residual Dust and Specs.    When applying eye shadow, a lot of residual dust can land around the eye, creating unattractive results.  To avoid this try placing a flat folded tissue under the lower  lash line when brushing shadow on.
B.  Create dimension with eye shadow.
  Three tones of eye shadow is ideal, but two will work.  Choose three complimentary shades; 

1. light shade- sweep with medium firm, soft haired, eye make up brush, from your upper lids lash line to the brow bone area, just past your eye lid crease.
2. medium shade- using top narrow edge of same brush, follow natural crease on upper lid, creating visual presence but blending well.
3. dark shade-using smaller eye makeup brush, with firm bristles, sweep along upper lash line blending as far as the crease and if you choose, under lower lash line, as well.

Optional:  You can switch shades 2. and 3. for a slightly different look...

DISCOVER BY EXPERIMENTING ...what really plays up your unique features and suits your personal style?  The depth of shades being used in combination with eyeliner style will ultimately  be what determines a "look". 

 

Eye Make Up Tip #3 DEFINE for impact...

Shape and define your eyes using eyeliner.  The idea here is to open your eyes ...Your lash line defines your eye shape so emphasis on the eyes begins with understanding your eye shape and using techniques in eye make up application,  to compliment that eye shape.  

"4." in eye make up tips page diagram (above) No matter the eye shape,  I recommend a well sharpened soft lead pencil to create a thin line as close to the lash line as possible, however, it really comes down to personal style preference.

Eye Make Up Tips:
Common Eye Shapes & Compliment Eye Liner Strategies 

Round Almond Asian
Line the outer two-thirds of the upper and lower lash lines, to lengthen the eye. Also, try angling the line upwards (upper lash line) as it moves towards the corner.  The result will be slightly thicker line at outer corners.
Mascara emphasis placed on outer corner upper lashes.
Suits many styles and techniques.  Generally, line entire upper lash line and use neutral eye shadow.
Optional to line lower lash line and soften with brush.
Mascara upper lashes, with emphasis on outer corners. Strategic placement on lower lashes.
Line upper lash line starting at outer third and extending straight horizontal line to corner, filling gap between line and lashes with liner.  Completely line lower lash line.
Soften lines with a brush.
Highlight center of upper lid, and blend out on each side.

Use eyelash curler, and mascara upper and lower lashes.

Small Close-set Wide-set
Line rim of lower lid with white, flesh color or blue to make the eyes brighter.
Use of eyelash curler very important.
Mascara upper and lower lashes.
Line outer third of upper and lower lash lines, to create distance between the eyes.
Mascara emphasis should be placed on outer corners of upper lashes.
Line inner third of upper and lower lashes with dark color.  Shadow play should not go beyond, but blend into area above outer corner of eyes. 

Eye Make Up Tips Eye Liner Product Suggestions:  

  • Paula Dorf Eye Pencil Eye Liner, Enhancer icon -"Paula's Tip: The Enhancer pencil is a peachy, flesh tone color that helps eyes appear wide-open and awake. Try it instead of the age-old white pencil trick and see the difference for yourself!"

  • If you want dark neutral options with ease, try Tarte double ended eyeliner  
  • If you want more color in your liner, try  NARS Eyeliner Pencil   
  • Lancome - Artliner-  This is an official liquid liner.
  • Paula Dorf Angle Liner Brushicon Great for placing shadow along the lash line.  
  • CARGO Small Angle Brush Soften lines with a firm but soft bristled angled eye shadow brush.  

    (You can find Lancome, Tarte, Cargo and Nars at Sephora.com.)

    Eye Make Up Tips #1 Eye Liner Tip: Keeping your pencils sharp is critical to your success.

     

Eye Make Up Tip #4  OPEN

Don't underestimate the eye impact power of using an eyelash curler.  

Eyelash curlers are literally miracle workers when it comes to opening the eye and making the lashes appear longer and more full.

QUICK pick eye make up tips arrowEasy, budget friendly Sephora Brand Eyelash Curler Black.

Eye Make Up Tip #5  PRECISION LASHES

Complete your eye make up with precision mascara application. 

#1 Start at the base of your lashes and wiggle the wand slightly to have the mascara bristles grip and coat as many lashes as possible, as the wand wiggles up, towards the tips. Wiggling the wand slightly may sound strange, but it works. You may have to experiment a couple of times, but once you get the hang of it, you will maximize your lash potential.

#2 Don't put too many coats on. Doing the preceding well twice, plus reworking the outer eye corner lashes, is really enough.

#3 Be strategic in how much you apply, if you apply, to your lower lashes. Holding the wand vertically will allow more precision placement, and a stroke by stroke assessment of how much looks good to you.

#4 Definitely finish with a brush to separate lashes and remove any clumps.

Eye Make Up Tips Best Mascara Product Suggestions:

QUICK picks by the proseye make up tips arrowYour eyelashes will determine the best mascara wand/formulation in mascara, but generally...

For naturally sparse shorter lashes, a highly rated inexpensive choice is Maybelline Great Lash Mascara, Blackest Black icon icon

 

 

For naturally full longer lashes, consider L'Oreal Lash Out icon

 

 

For makeup mavens, award winning Lancome - Definicils Mascara # 01 Black (you can find Lancome at Sephora.com)

Eye Make Up Tip #BROWS 'make or break' look...

 Don't forget to groom your brows to finish and frame eyes for maximum impact.

eye makeup tipsOn above diagram ,"5." gives some basic guidelines for shaping and filling using a pencil.  Of coarse every set of eyebrows are unique, but generally, try to follow your natural brow arc.  

Now in your minds eye, visualize several guide lines on your own face:

1. vertical line from side of your nostril straight up, usually is the starting point of your eyebrow.

2. A straight line from the side of your nostril, along side the outer corner of your eye, up to your brow area, will be the finishing point of your brow.  Now, if you feel the resulting brow based on the starting and ending points works, pluck the hairs that are outside of the new brow area.
Important: Don't pluck brow hair above your eyebrow.

3.  The third imaginary line, will create the shape of your brow.  Try to work with your natural brow shape and work in proportion to your face. Don't force a big arc where naturally is a fairly straight line. A straight line on subtle upward angle, that finishes in a soft arc over the outer third of the eye, is a formula that suits many. Every thing under that line is to be plucked (usually just strays).

If your brows are very fair and/ or sparse, you can successfully achieve eyebrow impact, with a good, well matched to your coloring, eye brow pencil.  Use fine, little strokes, to create the appearance of hairs.  Then use a brush to soften the lines; "5" in above diagram. 

Eye Make Up Tips Eye Brow Product Suggestions:

Your unique eyebrows and personal style will dictate the extent of your product needs, but generally, most people will definitely benefit from a good set of tweezers, a brow pencil (correcting and filling), a stiff brush for softening pencil lines and setting with powder, and brow gel for holding  and styling unruly brows (below some products by Laura Mercier and found at Sephora, she has eyebrow pencils and brow powder for perfect color matching). 

Laura Mercier Double Ended Eye Brow Brush Pull Apart Eye Brow Brush
Laura Mercier Eye Brow Gel 0.12 oz
Laura Mercier Travel Size Eye Brow Groomer

 

Eye Make Up Tip #CLEAN FINISH for polish...

Using a soft cotton swab, carefully remove eye shadow dust, mascara speckles etc . from the eye area.  This will ensure a clean, precise and polished "maximum impact" appearance to your eye make up.

Eye Make Up Tip #GENTLE REMOVAL eye care...

At the end of the day, you need to be able to gently BUT effectively remove your eye make up. Make sure you use a remover that is not harsh on your skin or your eyes.  Thoroughly douse a cotton ball, place it over a closed eye for a few seconds, and then gently move across the eyelid.  If needed, sweep under the lower lash line.

Eye Make Up Tips #1 Eye Make Up Remover Product Suggestions:

eye make up tipsicon
I recommend this gentle, inexpensive eye makeup remover L'Oreal Plenitude Refreshing Eye Makeup Remover, Oil-Freeicon. This formula does not sting the eyes and is effective on regular wear eye make up. Lancome BI-FACIL - Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover
This product is more effective in removing waterproof makeup in addition to regular wearing eye make up, plus is non- greasy, and safe for contact lens wearers.

Oh yeah, ...Eye Make Up Tips Last Suggestion:  These eye make up tips are meant to give you  a good OVERALL foundation of practical make up application knowledge that will not go out of style. Keep experimenting and you will always feel like your look is fine tuned to you and fresh.

For the latest trends in make up styles, check out Beauty Central.... 

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