Key Takeaways
I’m taking a break from face makeup and trying to see what I can do with only eye makeup. So I’ve been spending a lot of time looking in the mirror to find out what’s bothering me and why I’m unable to achieve that sleek and clean eye makeup look. I concluded that it was because of my hooded eyes.
And that made me realize that makeup for me has almost stopped being about “enhancing my natural beauty” and become more about changing what I have. And changing things is more difficult than enhancing what you have.
Because now I have to learn things and figure out how to lift my eyes using makeup in a way that they look more awake, open, and youthful. Well, I did. I’ve learned some makeup tips, tricks, and techniques to lift my eyes using makeup.
I’m ashamed to admit that I watched some TikToks too. The point is I’m here to share what I’ve learned so that you can have everything you need in one place if you ever need to learn how to lift your eyes with makeup.
The good news is apparently, there are different ways makeup can help fake an eye lift. So you don’t have to do every single thing. Some of us prefer using eyeliner to lift eyes while some of us look into other ways to do that.
So pick your favorites and focus on what you can do with the makeup you currently own. Now, whether you have mature aging skin, downturned eyes, or hooded eyes, here’s how to do your eye makeup to lift your eyes.
How To Lift Your Eyes with Makeup
1. Prep Your Eyes
Before makeup, remember to focus on skincare and apply eye cream to moisturize the under-eye area and plump up fine lines and prep the eyes for makeup.
Additionally, you can try an eyeshadow primer. It’s not really a must but it’s no secret that it helps your eyeshadow by making it last longer and preventing smudging.
2. Style Your Eyebrows
Your eyebrows can make things so much easier as long as you know what you’re doing. Filling in your eyebrows or shaping them in a way that makes your eyes appear lifted will make you rely less on eyelid makeup, which can get tricky especially if you’re a beginner.
So before anything else, clean up your eyebrows by plucking the short ones or filling them in. To make the eyebrows appear lifted, focus more on the tail.
Slowly tint the brows and if you can, elongate the tail a bit too. This will open up space to make your eye makeup easier to apply later on. Once you fill them in, use a brow gel to brush them upward.
3. Carve Out Your Eyebrows
Carving out eyebrows means applying a very thin line of concealer right below the brows parallel to your eyebrow shape. The contrast between your concealer and the color of your eyebrows works like contouring and highlighting.
It lifts your eyebrows and also gives the illusion of a wider eyelid. After applying the concealer, use your concealer brush or beauty sponge to press it in.
After accentuating the shape of your brows, pat the remaining concealer on the eyelid and bring it downward to cancel out any discolorations on the eyelid. Make sure you don’t apply any additional concealer on the eyelid. It can crease and look heavy.
4. Apply Concealer
It all starts with a good concealer that’s 2-3 shades lighter than your skin tone. A heavy-coverage matte concealer can crease later on during the day whereas a concealer with a very light consistency may not be able to provide the coverage you need. So make sure yours is an in-between that is easier to blend.
Apply your undereye concealer however you like. But the most important thing here is to apply a dot of concealer on the outer corners of the eyes closer to the lashes.
This is to cancel out discolorations and shadows that subtly make the eyes look droopy and downturned. Blend it in with a concealer brush or makeup sponge.
Additionally, you can consider using a pink color corrector to get rid of any veiny discolorations on the outer corners of the eyes before applying concealer.
5. Apply Eyeshadow To Lift Your Eyes
Personally, I’m not into layering different eyeshadow colors because I’m not good at it. I’m into one-and-done eyeshadows. But either way, eyeshadow helps a lot to create depth that can help lift your eyes.
Get a piece of paper and hold it next to your eyelid. This is to help you apply your eyeshadow more easily to create a 45-degree angle. Hold the paper with one hand, and use your other hand to apply a very small amount of eyeshadow. Use neutral colors such as brown.
Blend the eyeshadow with your brush and apply it only on the outer corner of the lower eyelid. Keep it there and don’t bring the color up to the brow bone or toward the middle of the eyelid. Blended it well with a fluffy brush so there are no muddy-looking edges.
6. Accentuate the Lift
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By now, you have concealed any discolorations around the eyes and created a lifted appearance by practically contouring your eyes. Now, you can accentuate that lift from your eyeshadow by applying a very light concealer parallel to that line.
You can get a tiny bit amount of concealer using an angled brush and apply a very thin line. Blend it well. Concealer has different uses and in this case, it helps you sharpen the edges of your eyeshadow.
And that creates a vertical shadow to lift the eyes. If you’re going to be using eyeliner as well, you can do this step after applying eyeliner too.
7. Tightline Your Eyes
If you’ve never tried this, here’s the gist. Tightlining your eyes is applying a black eye pencil on the upper waterline. This draws attention to the upper side of the eye, creates a subtle definition, and makes the eyes appear lifted.
It also makes your eyelashes look fuller and thicker. It’s also a great workaround for people with hooded eyes who can’t work with regular eyeliner because tightlining will work like an invisible eyeliner. Use a waterproof pencil eyeliner or a use a gel liner with a fine-tipped brush for precise application.
8. Apply Eyeliner
Eyeliner, especially if you have droopy eyelids, may not be as effective in lifting your eyes as you might think it is. It’s really difficult to apply, especially if you’re not used to it. So I’m telling you, it’s not a must. Here are some workarounds for that.
Try a black eyeshadow as an eyeliner substitute or use a gel liner that comes with an angled brush. Apply a very thin layer of eyeliner all over the eyelid to define the eyes.
Then apply a tiny amount of your eyeliner/eyeshadow on the tip of the upper lash line. You don’t have to drag it out or make it a wing if you can’t do it.
Again, black eyeshadow is easier to use than black eyeliner because you can fix it more easily in case you don’t get it the first time.
9. Apply Mascara on the Outer Corners
Mascara will have a big impact to help lift your eyes. But the application is key. You don’t want to apply mascara all over the eyelashes because that’s just enhancing what is there. We want to create an illusion of eyes that look lifted in the end. Here’s what you do.
Use lengthening mascara and apply several coats of it on the outer lashes. There are different types of mascara wands and skinny wands or tapered wands are the best ones for maximum length.
For the middle lashes and the short lashes on the inner corner, just apply one or two layers to simply define them. Don’t try to lift them up or curl them. You can also try curling your lashes, especially outer lashes, before applying mascara.
10. Try Fake Lashes
Individual lashes can make a huge difference by giving you fluttery lashes. You can make use of them by applying short individual lashes only on the outer corners. If you get the size right, it’ll blend right in.
Remember that fake lashes can be difficult to apply and maintain. So if you’re not used to using them, simply focus on your mascara application and perfect that one.
11. Highlight the Inner Corners
And lastly, to create a contrast between the outer corners of the eyes and the inner corners of the eyes, apply a small amount of highlighter on the inner corners of the eyes. This draws attention to the inner sides and also makes the eyes appear more awake.
So this is how to lift your eyes with makeup. I’m well aware that the results may not be as jaw-dropping as we might like them to be. However, if you’re self-conscious about droopy eyes or hooded eyes, even the tiniest changes can make a lot of difference and help you regain confidence. Remember, it’s all about placing lighter colors closer to the inner corners and darker colors on the outer corners.
