Although it's not eyeshadow, I find that lining the bottom of my eyes really open them up. You don't necessarily have to use an eyeliner, an eyeshadow will do the job with the right brush. If you line over where your little bottom lashes are, it opens them up. Try different colors...I find that white works really well, and a light blue liner makes my eye color pop (I have green eyes)
you should avoid lining the bottom lid with dark liner, as it will make your eyes appear smaller.
I would try the following three techniques, and determine which gives you the look you want
- lining the upper lid only and slightly extending the outer edge of your eye with liner
- line the upper lid all the way across and line just the outer quarter of your lower lid
- line 3/4 of your upper lid and just the outer quarter of your lower lid
dark liner should be softened or smudged, never a harsh line (unless you're going for a really dramatic upper lid line - think Sophia Loren)
Myself, I use technique #1 with a MAC eyeliner brush and black eyeshadow. I dust a little powder on before and after to keep it from settling in the crease of my eye. You may want to try a black/brown pencil or shadow for lining.
dark shadow pulls things in, light shadow pull things out. when you have determined which lining technique makes your eyes appear their largest, experiment with shadow - try a darker shadow only on the outer half and into the contour of your upper lid, and a highlighting shadow on the brow bone and inside 1/4 of your upper lid.
I tried to create some drawings to better illustrate the techniques - sorry the text is unreadable, but they're in the same order as the 3 techniques explained above.
-- Edited by detroit at 11:30, 2006-03-11
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kaykay i have blue eyes too and I find burgundy eyeshadow and navy eyeliner make my eyes really blue. I don't know who makes a good burgundy any more. Mine was by too faced but they discontinued it and I need to replace it. I'll let you know if I ever find the perfect one because I'm not having any luck right now. Probably because its spring right now.
The eyeliner I use is by too faced. its called lava gloss and its pretty awesome. The eyeshadow I've seen on ebay new in box and its called too faced ego. I don't know when it was discontinued so I haven't bought it on ebay. I think i might try mac though. they seem to have a good color palette.
I also wear an orangy bronze with a light ivory color and dark green and it looks good on my eyes. I keep the dark green on the outer corner and the ivory color right under the eyebrows and down the inner corner/edge of my eye. Its all Lorac brand and has excellent staying power.
fairywings I really like that color of liner, Aurora I will check into the too face brand of liner and eyeshadow. I like the idea of green as well as brown.Thanks everyone.
I have blue eyes and I'm with Aurora - plums and wine colors really make my eyes bright.
Here's another little trick I use when I have the time (or when my eyes look a little swollen from not enough sleep or allergies): dot a little bit of white or light colored eyeshadow right above your pupil/middle of your eyelid. Blend the edges and don't cover up your eyeliner. I do this as a finishing touch for my eyes and it really makes them open up and appear bigger. I learned it from a soap opera makeup artist! Hee.