If you didn’t get enough sleep from the night before or if you want to draw more attention to your eyes for your makeup look, the best thing to do is to make your eyes look bigger. This is actually quite simple to do with some core cosmetic products. Alyson shows us how:

As someone with hooded lids, I’m always looking for ways to make my eyes look bigger.  I’ve been in the beauty industry for over 5 years, so I’ve made it my mission to learn techniques based on my own experience and from makeup artists.  After testing out a ton of products and tips and tricks, here’s what I’ve learned what works for my features:

Contour Your Crease And Lower Lash Line

Choose a contour shade that complements your complexion.  What you want is a natural looking shadow to give the illusion that your lids have more depth.

Don’t know where your eye crease is?  My trick is to tilt my head back and look down, and then with a fluffy blending brush, press the brush head into my lid to find your orbital bone.  In circular motions, blend in the contour shade below and slightly above your orbital bone.  You don’t have to be precise with the crease color, which is why I use a fluffy blending brush to get a wash of color over my crease and lids.

For the lower lash line, use a pencil brush to blend in the contour shade underneath your lash line.  Don’t worry about applying the eyeshadow too low, this will create the illusion that your eyes larger and rounder.

Define Your Lash Line

You can either use a liquid liner, gel liner, pencil liner, or eye shadow to define your upper lash line.  Whatever product you choose, make sure you really concentrate the color close to your lash line.  This will make your lashes look thicker and also create more depth to your eye.

Highlight Your Tear Duct

Apply a small amount of a light shimmery eye shadow/highlighter to the inner corner of your eye.  This will instantly open up your eyes, making them appear wider.

Line Waterline With Nude Eyeliner

An old trick is to line your waterline with a nude eyeliner to make eyes look instantly more awake.  Find a nude (not white!) eyeliner similar in color to your ideal undereye concealer.  The nude eyeliner will remove the redness from your waterline, making your eyes look wider and awake.

Apply Mascara To Your Lower Lash Line

To create wide doe eyes, make sure to apply mascara to your lower lash line.  An extra trick is to apply more mascara to the middle of your lower lash line to make eyes look even rounder.

To prevent smudging use a tubing mascara (like this one) or a mascara specifically for bottom lashes (like this one).

Apply Falsies

As intimidating as it is to apply, falsies make a HUGE difference if you want to make eyes look bigger.  I found that wearing long wispy lashes (without a ton of volume) will open up the eyes.

For a more natural look, use a lengthening mascara that holds a curl or find fluttery lashes with a shorter length.

Photo by Alyson

Alyson is the beauty and style guru behind the blog, Beauty Vanity. Based in San Francisco, Alyson believes makeup should make a person “feel beautiful, inside and out” and uses her blog to write about her perspective on “beauty, fashion, and lifestyle.” She shares her makeup experiences and reviews, keeping in mind what products work out for her and what would benefit her readers. Follow Alyson on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!