Open Up Your Look: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Eyes Appear Wider Set
Do you want to create the illusion of wider-set eyes? Many people find this look desirable as it can contribute to a more open, youthful, and balanced appearance. While genetics play a significant role in your natural features, makeup and strategic styling can work wonders in altering perceptions and enhancing your features. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to making your eyes appear farther apart using makeup techniques, brow shaping, and even hairstyle considerations.
**Understanding Eye Shape and Placement**
Before diving into the makeup application, it’s crucial to understand your eye shape and placement. Consider the distance between the inner corners of your eyes. If the distance is less than the width of one of your eyes, you likely have close-set eyes. If the distance is equal to or slightly greater than the width of one eye, your eyes are considered to be normally spaced. Understanding this will help you tailor the following techniques for the best possible results.
**The Power of Makeup: A Detailed Guide**
Makeup is your most powerful tool for visually altering the distance between your eyes. Here’s a breakdown of the key techniques:
**1. Brighten the Inner Corners:**
* **Product Choice:** Opt for a shimmery, light-reflecting eyeshadow or highlighter that’s 1-2 shades lighter than your skin tone. Avoid anything too glittery, which can look dated. Champagne, ivory, light gold, or even a subtle pink hue can work beautifully.
* **Application:** Use a small, precise eyeshadow brush (a pencil brush works well) to apply the product to the inner corner of your eyes. Focus on the tear duct area and blend it slightly outwards and upwards towards the inner brow bone. The key is to create a subtle, diffused highlight, not a harsh line.
* **Why it Works:** Light reflects outward, drawing the eye and making the area appear brighter and wider. This creates the illusion of more space between your eyes.
**2. Contour the Bridge of Your Nose (Strategically):**
* **Product Choice:** Choose a cool-toned contour powder or cream that’s a few shades darker than your skin tone. Cool tones mimic natural shadows and create a more believable effect. Avoid warm or orange-toned bronzers for contouring.
* **Application:** Instead of contouring the entire length of your nose, focus specifically on the sides of the bridge near the inner corners of your eyes. Start at the inner brow and gently contour downwards, stopping just before the middle of your nose. Blend meticulously to avoid harsh lines.
* **Why it Works:** By contouring the sides of the nose near the eyes, you create shadows that visually push the eyes outwards. This emphasizes the space between them. Stopping the contour midway prevents making your nose appear shorter.
**3. Emphasize the Outer Corners of Your Eyes:**
* **Product Choice:** Use medium to dark eyeshadow shades in neutral tones like browns, taupes, grays, or plums. You can also use colored eyeshadows, but ensure they complement your skin tone and eye color.
* **Application:** Apply the medium shade to your crease, starting from the outer corner and blending inwards. Blend well to avoid harsh lines. Then, use a darker shade on the outer third of your eyelid, creating a subtle smoky effect. Wing the eyeshadow outwards and slightly upwards to elongate the eyes.
* **Why it Works:** By drawing attention to the outer corners, you visually widen the eye area and draw the focus away from the space between your eyes. The winged shape further enhances the widening effect.
**4. Master the Art of Eyeliner:**
* **Eyeliner Style:** Avoid lining the entire length of your upper lash line. Instead, start applying eyeliner from the middle of your eye, gradually thickening the line as you move outwards. Create a subtle wing at the outer corner, extending it slightly beyond your natural lash line.
* **Lower Lash Line:** Avoid lining the entire lower lash line, especially with dark colors. Instead, apply a light-colored eyeliner (nude, beige, or white) to the waterline from the middle of your eye outwards. This will brighten and widen the eyes.
* **Tightlining:** Tightlining (applying eyeliner to the upper waterline) can make your lashes appear fuller and your eyes more defined. However, avoid tightlining the entire length of the upper waterline if you have close-set eyes. Only tightline from the middle of your eye outwards.
* **Why it Works:** Starting the eyeliner from the middle of the eye and extending it outwards draws attention to the outer corners, making your eyes appear wider apart. Light eyeliner on the waterline brightens and widens the eyes, while avoiding dark liner on the entire lower lash line prevents closing off the eyes.
**5. Mascara Magic:**
* **Application Technique:** Focus your mascara application on the outer lashes. Apply several coats to these lashes, fanning them outwards to create a wider look. Avoid clumping, which can make your eyes appear smaller.
* **Why it Works:** By emphasizing the outer lashes, you draw attention to the outer corners of your eyes, visually widening the eye area.
**6. Conceal Dark Circles Strategically:**
* **Product Choice:** Use a concealer that’s one or two shades lighter than your skin tone and has a creamy, blendable texture. Choose a formula that counteracts any discoloration (e.g., peach-toned concealer for blueish under-eye circles).
* **Application:** Apply concealer in an inverted triangle shape under your eyes, blending it downwards towards your cheekbones. This will brighten the under-eye area and create the illusion of lift.
* **Why it Works:** Brightening the under-eye area makes your eyes appear more awake and open, contributing to a wider-set appearance.
**The Importance of Brow Shaping**
Your eyebrows play a crucial role in framing your face and influencing the perceived distance between your eyes. Here’s how to shape them to create a wider-set look:
* **Widen the Gap:** Pluck or wax any stray hairs between your eyebrows to create a wider gap. This will visually increase the distance between your eyes.
* **Extend the Tail:** Extend the tail of your eyebrows slightly outwards and upwards. This will create a more elongated and lifted appearance.
* **Arch Shape:** A slightly higher arch can also contribute to a more open look. However, avoid creating an overly dramatic arch, which can look unnatural.
* **Filling in Brows:** When filling in your eyebrows, use a brow pencil, powder, or pomade that matches your natural brow color. Focus on filling in sparse areas and defining the shape. Avoid making your eyebrows too thick or heavy, which can close off the eyes. Start the brow fill after the inner corner of the eye. Avoid filling from the start of the brow, as this would make the eyes look closer together.
**Hairstyle Considerations**
Believe it or not, your hairstyle can also influence how wide-set your eyes appear.
* **Avoid Heavy Bangs:** Heavy, straight-across bangs can make your eyes appear closer together. If you want bangs, opt for side-swept bangs or wispy bangs that don’t completely cover your forehead.
* **Create Volume at the Sides:** Adding volume to the sides of your hair can visually widen your face and make your eyes appear farther apart. Use volumizing products or styling techniques to create lift and fullness.
* **Off-Center Part:** An off-center part can create asymmetry that can make eyes appear wider set. A middle part can emphasize the distance between the eyes so if your eyes are already wide set, then this could be a great option.
**Pro Tips and Tricks**
* **Use a good quality eyeshadow primer:** This will prevent your eyeshadow from creasing and fading, ensuring that your makeup lasts all day.
* **Blend, blend, blend:** Blending is key to creating a seamless and natural look. Use a fluffy blending brush to blend your eyeshadow and contour to avoid harsh lines.
* **Experiment with different colors:** Don’t be afraid to experiment with different eyeshadow colors to find what works best for your eye color and skin tone.
* **Take photos in different lighting:** Makeup can look different in different lighting. Take photos of your makeup in natural light, indoor light, and flash to see how it looks in different environments.
* **Practice makes perfect:** The more you practice these techniques, the better you’ll become at creating a wider-set eye look.
* **Consider contact lenses:** Using colored contact lenses to enhance eye color can have a subtle effect on perceived spacing. For example, lighter eyes tend to appear larger and can subtly contribute to the illusion of being wider set.
* **Skin Prep:** Prior to makeup application, ensure your skin is well-hydrated. This will make the makeup application smoother and more natural. A well moisturized under eye will help prevent concealer creasing.
**Example Makeup Looks**
To further illustrate these techniques, here are a couple of example makeup looks you can try:
* **Soft and Natural:** Use a light champagne shimmer on the inner corners, a soft brown contour on the bridge of your nose, and a medium-brown eyeshadow on the outer corners of your eyes. Apply mascara to the outer lashes and use a nude eyeliner on the lower waterline.
* **Smoky and Glamorous:** Use a light gold shimmer on the inner corners, a cool-toned gray contour on the bridge of your nose, and a dark gray or black eyeshadow on the outer corners of your eyes. Create a winged eyeliner look and apply several coats of mascara to the outer lashes.
**Tools and Products Checklist**
To successfully achieve a wider-set eye look, you’ll need the following tools and products:
* Eyeshadow primer
* Eyeshadows (light shimmer, medium and dark shades)
* Contour powder or cream
* Highlighter
* Eyeliner (liquid, pencil, or gel)
* Mascara
* Concealer
* Eyebrow pencil, powder, or pomade
* Eyeshadow brushes (small precise brush, blending brush)
* Eyelash curler
* Tweezers
**Troubleshooting Common Issues**
* **Eyeshadow Creasing:** This can be avoided by using an eyeshadow primer and setting your eyeshadow with a translucent powder.
* **Harsh Contour Lines:** Ensure you blend your contour thoroughly to avoid harsh lines. Use a fluffy blending brush and blend in circular motions.
* **Eyeliner Smudging:** Use a waterproof eyeliner and set it with eyeshadow or translucent powder.
* **Mascara Clumping:** Use a clean mascara wand to separate your lashes and remove any clumps.
**Conclusion**
Creating the illusion of wider-set eyes is achievable with the right makeup techniques, brow shaping, and hairstyle choices. By understanding your eye shape and placement and following the steps outlined in this guide, you can enhance your features and achieve a more open, balanced, and youthful appearance. Remember to experiment and find what works best for you, and don’t be afraid to try new techniques. With practice and patience, you’ll be able to master the art of making your eyes appear wider set. Enjoy enhancing your natural beauty!