9 Easy Ways to Make Your Eyes Look Brighter With Makeup

No matter the makeup look you’re going for, it’s safe to say that a common goal that’s always on the forefront of our minds is to look bright, radiant and awake — even when we’re running on just a few hours of sleep with undereye bags the best concealer can barely fix. On these sort of days and even totally normal ones when we actually wake up when our alarm clock goes off, there are some easy ways to make our eyes look bigger and brighter — even if it’s earlier than 10am. Ahead, we had the chance to chat with Lancôme beauty advisor Olivia Thompson to find out her best-kept secrets for making eyes look brighter with makeup.   

TIP 1: Blue Mascara is Your Friend

Get your hands on a blue mascara like the iconic, much-talked-about Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Royal Blue. Blue not only complements every eye color, but it will help make the whites of your eyes look whiter. Consider your eye-whitening problems solved.

TIP 2: Highlight Your Inner Corner

“Using a light, shimmer shade in the inner corner of your eye always brightens you up.” explains Thompson. Whether you refer to it as just highlighting or strobing, the trend involves adding a light shade of eyeshadow or highlighter into your inner corner to make you look more awake. Feel free to exaggerate the look by using a formula with a higher pigment, or keep things subtle with a sheer one — your call.

TIP 3: Use a Flesh-Toned Eyeliner on Your Waterline

You’ve probably heard this one before, as it’s a classic trick for making your eyes look wider. “I like using a flesh toned eyeliner right on the lower waterline and I smudge a medium tone shade right underneath that,” Thompson explains.

TIP 4: Give Your Lashes Some Curl

Give your lashes some life and open up your eye with an eyelash curler. We recommend the Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler to achieve the perfect, long-lasting curl. After that, apply a lash-defining mascara and then be on your way.

TIP 5: Use a Contrasting Eyeshadow Shade

“If you want overall brightness, the above tips are a universal way to go. But if you want to make your eyes pop, then using a color that is contrasting to your eye color is key,” explains Thompson. “For example, the opposite color of green on a color wheel is red. Therefore, if you are someone with green eyes, using a brick red toned eyeshadow will make your eyes look amazing.” For those days when an inner-corner highlight and flesh-toned eyeliner isn’t enough, we recommend giving this tip a try.

TIP 6: Shape and Fill In Your Brows

Whether you prefer waxing, threading or tweezing, make sure your brows have a defined shape, as this helps frame and open your eyes. If you have naturally sparse brows use a pencil to fill in any thin spots.

TIP 7: Line Your Eyes In a Cat Eye Shape

A cat eye helps open your eyes and makes you look more awake. Even if you don't want to do a dramatic winged look, you can still throw in a small outward flick at the end to help widen your eyes.

TIP 8: Apply Under Eye Concealer In a Triangle Shape

Erase dark circles by using an under eye concealer every morning. Instead of applying product in a curved shape just under your eye, make a triangle or V-shape and blend it outward. This helps create a lifted appearance and makes your eyes look super awake.

TIP 9: When all Else Fails, Reach for Eye Drops

Our editors are currently loving Lumify Eye Drops to whiten and brighten our eyes. Pair this tip with the above ones and your eyes will be looking as bright as can be.

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