How NOT to Do Your Eye Makeup

When your eye makeup is done well it can change your whole look.  Some styles enhance your eye color; some widen your eyes and make you look more awake; others give a sultry, smoky effect.  On the other hand, bad eye makeup just looks tacky.  Here are some common looks I see that shouldn’t exist:

·      Light Blue Eyeshadow- Just light blue eyeshadow.  All over the lid, smeared across the lash line or even just in the crease.  I’m not sure why anyone ever decided this was a good look, but it is one of the biggest signs of someone who doesn’t know how to do makeup.  Blue eye makeup can be tricky, but it’s not that bad!  A full blue look can be done well as long as the blues get darker from the inner corner to the crease, and an electric blue liner looks great paired with a thin line of black or winged on its own! 

·      Thick Black Pencil Liner- Not in general, but thick black pencil liner all around the eye (or just on the lash line), smudged, but not on purpose.  (You know that look.)  A lot of girls seem to think that if they don’t have enough time in the morning for full eyeshadow or carefully winged liner and a little mascara, they can just take a black pencil liner and completely rim their eyes (or just scribble some on the lash line) because that’s better than nothing.  (Wrong.)  The thicker the liner, the more it looks like you put some effort into getting ready, right?  (Wrong.)  For some quick black pencil liner, draw a thin line just on the lash line (maybe with a little near the outer corner on the bottom) and carefully smudge with a Q-tip.  Or, skip the liner altogether and put on a little mascara!  Just a little, focusing on the tips of the lashes and the ones near the outer corners, opens your eyes and looks so much better!

·      Chunky Glitter During the Day- Just, no.  Leave the chunky glitter eyeshadow for nighttime.  It’s way too much for the daytime.  If you want a little sparkle during the day, use some shimmery shadows or metallic liners.  Shimmery white shadow or liner on the inner corners of your eyes brightens them and draws attention to your eyes.  (Just don’t go too white and make sure you blend the edges!)

·      Mascara on Just the Top Lashes- Why not just keep going with the bottom lashes?  Eye makeup looks incomplete when you skip that step.  Some people are afraid their bottom lashes will look too clumpy with mascara, and some people have naturally long bottom lashes that they think may look spidery with mascara.  But a quick swipe of mascara, even just on the tips, will complete your look and open your eyes even more, and they won’t look clumpy or spidery at all!   

~Alyssa