If you have blue eyes, you can thank your ancestors on both sides of your family. About 8 – 10% of the population are lucky enough to have this visually appealing eye color.
At W Cosmetic Surgery, we are among the lucky – we all have blue eyes. We’ve worked in a plastic surgery practice where the emphasis is on enhancing beauty, particularly around the eyes, and have cumulated over 40 years of experience in the field advising people about how to enhance their eyes, both as a means of avoiding surgery and as a way of enhancing them afterwards. And we do the things we talk about below every day after studying the techniques and learning from the best—and helping our patients both avoid surgery and enhance their beauty after plastic surgery.
Blue eyes, can be gorgeous on their own – without any makeup. Natural looking makeup doesn’t mean not wearing makeup. If you have the right tools for your skin tone and eye color, you can enhance your look without covering up your natural beauty.
You Need an Eye That is Clear and Bright
Let’s start with the eyes themselves. They shouldn’t be red or dry looking. The tiny blood vessels of the conjunctiva—the skin of the eyelid, should be practically invisible, otherwise you look tired. The eye should be “luminous”. A product called Lumify made by Bausch and Lomb and available over the counter, can do the trick. It’s used every 6-8 hrs, maximum 4 times a day, and it really works alone to make the eyes look better. One caution: some of our clients are allergic to the preservatives in the drop, so if it’s not working for you or make your eyes look more red, stop it immediately and see your eye care provider. Lots of eye drops contain that same preservative.
Natural Eye Makeup Ideas for Blue Eyes
After we’ve enhanced the luminosity of your eyes, the key to enhancing the eyes – the focus of our faces – is trying to intensify the color of your eyes—making them even more striking.
So, begin with the shadow. You don’t want your eye shadow to just make the eye appear dark or smaller. You want to enhance its color.Color scientists understand how to do this –as do most great painters: use the complementary color. Blue eyes are enhanced by the complementary colors on the color axis which we show below. Take the axis which we show below, and draw a line across the middle. Anywhere along that axis you get the complementary color. Brown or gold tones, trending towards yellow, make the blue of your eyes even more intense.
A little shimmer goes a long way too. Select a soft, matte eyeshadow that compliments your skin tone and don’t forget to use a little eye makeup primer. Then a little shimmer of highlighter in the inner corners of your eyes can really make your color pop and even make your eyes appear brighter.
Eye Liner for Blue Eyes
When you get to your eye liner, sometimes no eyeliner is the best choice. If you want to go for the liner, chocolate brown or gold shades—also part of that color wheel– are doing to give you a brighter and more natural look than a darker shade. Save the dark eyeliner, which sometimes can show up too harsh, for a nighttime eye.
Finally, for a sweep of mascara, you can choose anywhere from black/brown to even violet! A blue or purple mascara can bring out the natural blue tones in your eye and add a little contrast that can really draw attention. Don’t forget to curl your lashes first for a put-together but natural look.
Concealer for Under Eye Puffs
When it comes to complexion concerns, concealer is our saving grace. When used correctly concealer can help cover up blemishes, minimize redness and help brighten up under eye circles. Concealers come in many different forms. We’re talking color-correcting formulas, light to full coverage options, under-eye concealers, concealers made for dry, oily and combination skin –and so many more.
The general rule for picking a concealer shade is to go 1-2 shades lighter than your skin tone. Once you have established your shade it’s time to prep your skin before you apply your concealer. Always start with a fresh clean face and proper skincare. Start by applying your moisturizer. Next you want to prep your skin with a face primer. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP, this will help make your makeup grip, cause less creasing and keep your foundation and concealer in place all day.
Once you apply an even layer of foundation it’s time to apply your concealer. One of our favorite ways to apply concealer is called the “face-lifting technique.” This technique focuses on the inner and outer corner of the eyes, and the corner of the nose and lips to create a very natural “face lift” effect. If you are more so targeting dark circles under your eyes this is where color correcting formulas come in to play.
What if Makeup Isn’t Doing the Trick?
In the situation where you still don’t feel like you are getting that incredibly glamorous look, you can consider interventions. These can be as simple as a drop, or an office procedure. Surgery is reserved for the advanced cases, but is also something that you can consider if these more conservative techniques don’t work.
A Drop
For eyes that appear tired, upneeq lifts the upper eyelids. It is a drop that requires a prescription from either an eye doctor or a plastic surgeon. It works for 8 hours and makes sleep eyes appear more awake.
A Shot
Botox or any other neurotoxin can be used selectively by an experienced professional in many cases to elevate the brows, to soften upper eyelid fullness, and to help diminish crows feet and forehead lines,
Fillers such as Restylane or Teosyal-1 can be used under the eyes and sometimes even above them to help soften concavities and hollows and to conceal the puffs.
A Wrinkle Treatment
Advanced solutions include peels which we do in our office with minimal downtime that diminish wrinkles and make the skin around your eyes glow.
We also use radiofrequency energy (Morpheus8) treatments to help treat swollen lower eyelids and tighten the skin.
A Tuck
When things have gotten beyond the point that makeup and in office procedures won’t give you the pop you are looking for, it may be time to think about doing something more. Droopy lids can be addressed, along with puffs in the upper and lower lids, with an upper or lower blepharoplasty. The procedure, at least in our practice, is not done with a blade—it’s done with radiofrequency energy and/or lasers—we feel the most precise way of addressing these changes. You won’t be going out for a week or two, but the results are long lasting and generally spectacular.
Debbie Tuccillo RN has been working in dermatology and plastic surgery practices for 20 years and is an accomplished nurse injector and surgical care nurse. Gina Veith, LME has been a licensed medical aesthetician for 18 years. Victoria Clay is an incredibly talented aesthetician and a sought-after makeup artist that works at W Cosmetic Surgery, making the world more beautiful, one face at a time.
