How To Use Eyeshadow To Make Your Eyes Look Bigger

We all know that how we apply makeup can totally transform our faces. What we're looking to achieve varies from person to person and even from day to day. Eye makeup is one of the most popular ways to experiment with your look, and there are so many different ways to do it that can totally alter our eye shape and, consequently, completely change our whole look (via Ipsy). For those of us who want to make our eyes look bigger, there are plenty of different ways to achieve this with makeup and how we apply it.

There are multiple components to a good eye makeup routine, and as a result, there are various ways to change it up too (via Stylecraze). Although makeup trends come and go, the best methods of altering your face with products are tried and true. You'd be surprised to find out just how much of a difference tiny tweaks to your eyeshadow can make for the appearance of eye size and shape, for instance. If you're looking to open your windows to the soul up just a little bit wider and get all eyes on your eyes, we've got the tips that will totally transform your look — and all it takes is just a little bit of eyeshadow.  

The first step is choosing your eyeshadow. Most of us are not color theorists with an innate understanding of the science behind our beauty looks. Still, there are times when this can really help improve our skills, and this is one of them. All you need to keep in mind here is that dark colors make things look like they're in shadow, and highlights bring them forward, per City Beauty. This is why we contour places that we want to be in the background and apply highlighter to spots that we want the light to hit. 

We can apply this idea to make our eyes look bigger too, by using a lighter shade of eyeshadow on our lids (via Stylecraze). This will make both eyelids and eyes look bigger. In general, lighter, shimmery shades are ideal for your lids. As makeup artist Lennie Billy explained to Ipsy: "When it comes to eyeshadow colors, using light to medium tone shadows will help your eyes look more open." There is also a place to put your favorite darker shadows, however. 

Blending a darker eyeshadow into your crease will create a contoured look and make your eyes look like they're set back further. Like highlighting and contouring on the rest of your face, this will work especially well when paired with a light eyeshadow on the lid. As always, though, be thorough about blending. 

Once you've selected your shades, it's all about placement. Lennie Billy shared: "My most-used technique to make eyes appear bigger is taking eyeshadow very close to the brow. This gives the illusion that your lid space is bigger and opens the eyes more" (via Ipsy). One of the oldest tricks in the book is putting a little bit of lighter shadow on the inner corners of your eyes to highlight them further, per Glamour. 

When you simply want to open your eyes without making a statement, opt for a light, matte shadow. If you prefer to go bolder, try a light, shimmery shadow with a pop of color. In general, you'll want to avoid black or grey tones when trying to make your eyes appear bigger than they are, as Stylecraze warned. That doesn't mean that those of us who want to magnify our eyes are shut out of the world of smokey eyes, though. 

Once again, it's all about placement. As Billy informed Ipsy: "I would recommend you keep the most pigmented part of your eyeshadow lower on your lid and blend it very well from the middle up, so it looks more like a gradient and less like a huge saturated patch of color." Furthermore, opting for brown shades instead of black can make your eyes appear bigger too. No matter how you choose to do the rest of your makeup, these subtle adjustments will ensure that your eyes look big and beautiful.