Makeup Tips to Get Rid of Tired-Looking Eyes

As we age, and thanks to our children, we seem to gain little lines and dark circles under our eyes daily. And once I added makeup to this, I discovered I looked even older and more tired. That is when I started looking for products and at magazines to discover how to make my eyes look refreshed. If your eyes look well rested, you appear younger. Here are a few tips I found that really work for making your eyes pop! (All of the makeup mentioned in the article can be found at Sephora.com.)

Eye Makeup Tip #1- Use Moisturizers and Tug-less Removers

It is so important for good eye health to remove your makeup every night before bed. If you do not, eye infections are not only possible but probable. So when you take off your eye makeup, use a good remover that will not force you to scrub at your eyelid. I use Caudalie's Cleansing Water which is an oil-free makeup remover that is dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested. It is safe for contact lens wearers and is also a facial cleanser, makeup remover, and toner all in one. It is very gentle and does not pull or cause you to scrub makeup off.

If you want to keep your face as young and fresh as possible, you must use moisturizers. Even if you have oily skin, find a good oil-free moisturizer. I have combination skin and the eye area tends to get very dry and prone to lines. Use a good eye moisturizer or cream that is different from your facial moisturizer. I use an eye cream with SPF for day time (under my makeup) and a repairing cream at night. Bliss's All Around Eye Cream is great for hydrating and lessening the appearance of lines and dark circles. If you need something with more repairing power, try Lancôme's Primordiale Optimum Eye.

Eye Makeup Tip #2- Prep the Skin

Before putting on makeup, make sure your skin is clean and moisturized. That includes the eye area. Use a good eye cream with at least SPF15. Pat the cream around the eye area; do not rub it in as that tugging can cause lines. Allow it to soak in before you put on your makeup. Once it has soaked in, you have a couple of options. If you still have pronounced lines, you may want to invest in an eye primer. The primer, just like a facial primer, will fill in the lines and set so your eye make will stay on top, not fill in the creases. A good eye primer is Bare Escentuals bareVitamins Prime Time Eyelid Primer or Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion.

Eye Makeup Tip #3- Use Light Effectively

Courteney Cox, now 43, said in an interview she manages to stay young looking because "lighting is everything."¹ Granted, she was talking about stage lighting but the idea is the same. You have to use light effectively. Start with light diffusers: these can be found in some eye creams, such as Bare Escentual's bareVitamins Eye Revver-Upper. The small flecks of light reflecting minerals make skin appear younger.

As for eye makeup, start with a light base. In the past, it was easy to swipe a neutral tone over the eyelid, but now, in order to take the tired look from your eyes, start with something much lighter. I love Bare Minerals Eye Glimmers because of the light-reflectors in the eyeshadow. Matte shadows are great for the detailing on the outside corners of your eyes, but a glimmer shadow works best with tired eyes. Click here to see the actual colors. I would start with swiping Ecstasy (for cooler tones) or Queen Phyllis (for warmer tones) over the entire eyelid and up to the brow bone. Already your eyes look fresher and more "awake." Fill in darker colors to the outside corners of the eyes. Keep the inside corners free of dark colors and your eyes will really "pop." When using the darker color, take a tapered brush and blend the color on the crease of the eyelid starting from the middle to the outside corner. Then take it along the lash line up to the center of the eyelid. Do not fill in too much on the eyelid, just blend the color leaving as much of the light color on the top of the eyelid as possible.

Eye Makeup Tip #4- Use Targeted Makeup

If you suffer from very dark circles, or discoloration around the eyes, try something targeted for that before putting on makeup. When my daughter was an infant and going through a very fussy stage, I was up all night and got great dark circles. One thing that really helped was Benefit's Lemon-Aid, which is a concealer and shadow base. The lemon yellow cream hid the dark circles nicely and smoothed out the coloring on my eyes so I did not even have to wear eye shadow.

Another helpful product for tired eyes is reverse eyeliner. A reverse eyeliner is simply an eyeliner pencil in a very light color, such as white, light yellow, or light pink. (If you have red-rimmed eyes, avoid a pink color because it will just enhance the redness.) Take the pencil and lightly apply to the inside corners of your eyes. Blend it well and you have instant "awake" eyes. I personally like Philosophy's white eyeliner. Another great color for this spring is gold and Korres's all natural Eyeliner Pencil in Golden is a beautiful way to wake up your eyes. (Korres also carries a white pencil as well.)

Eye Makeup Tip #5- Do NOT Use Glitter or Foil Makeup!

A huge mistake women can make is using glitter or foiled makeup. As we age, the lines and discolorations deepen and glitter makeup only emphasizes it. Subtle glimmers or light-reflectors work best. Leave the glitter for the teenagers. I discovered this when I tried a sample of Urban Decay's eyeshadows. I used Midnight Cowboy (which is a light beige color with, what I thought was glimmer) and Mildew, an olive green color. The Midnight Cowboy color turned out to have larger pieces of silver glitter in it and though it made my eyes "pop," it also made the fine lines around my eyes look deep. A better color for me was Midnight Cowgirl, a golden beige with micro-glitter. The look was much more subtle and attractive.

Eye Makeup Tip #6- Mascara is Your Friend

For a polished finish, make sure to use a good mascara. There are many varieties of mascaras for any look you want. Avoid oddball colors that would draw attention to the wrong part of the eye. Teal blue lashes may sound funky and fun but on tired eyes, it will not help. Black or dark brown lashes can give a sophisticated finished look or use mascara alone for daytime. Sometimes (with good moisturizer and primer) eyes only need a little mascara to "pop."

To make your lashes look incredible, start with a primer, such as Lancôme's Cils Booster XL. This helps condition and prep the lashes for mascara. Then choose your favorite mascara. I personally love Dior's Diorshow Mascara in black. The brush helps volumize, lengthen and curl the lashes.

By following these eye makeup tips, you should be just a few moments away from bright, well-rested looking eyes.

Sources

¹http://www.eonline.com/celebrities/profile/index.jsp?uuid=66f0e0cb-f7db-49c3-a22f-fc163727bc05

Sephora.com