6 Easy Tricks That Make Your Eyes Look Bigger

model with big eyes
Mango

It's no secret that bigger, brighter eyes make for a more polished look. But if you have genetically dark under eye circles, are lacking in the sleep department, or have dullness around the eyes, then no eye cream or cooling gel can truly transform the look of your eyes. Instead, you can easily create the appearance of larger, more illuminated eyes with makeup. It's fairly simple, and can be done with products you probably already have in your makeup drawer. Ahead, watch celebrity makeup artist Carissa Ferreri show you how to make your eyes look brighter and bigger with makeup.

Meet the Expert

Carissa Ferreri is a celebrity makeup artist with clients among the likes of Ashley Graham, Hannah Brown, Gina Rodriguez, and more.

Wear Shimmery, Champagne Eyeshadow

"I'm going to use this all over the lid," says Ferreri. "I always like to pull the skin a little taut, this just really helps to get in on any creases or fine lines. Then I apply slightly above my crease using a dense, fluffy brush. Blend up and out."

Create Definition With a Darker Pigment in the Crease

Once you've applied a brighter, shimmery shade to the lids as a base for the look, you can make your eyes feel larger and brighter by adding definition to the crease with a pigment that's a few shades darker than your skin tone. "By creating some shadows here, it's going to focus the inner corners of the eyes to bring everything lifted up and more awake."

"Next, I'm going in with this more taupe shade in the palette," she says. "I want to focus on the outer corner of my eyes. I'm going to give them some shape by doing little circles focusing on the crease, above the crease, and the outer corner."

Ferreri says you always want to blend upward and outward, and for this particular look, try using a tapered blending brush, which helps control exactly where you're depositing pigment.

Curl Your Lashes

Curling your lashes helps to fan them out for a more awake-looking appearance. "This might be the biggest step to making your eyes look bigger and more awake. This is my favorite step of all time," Ferreri says. "It's very easy. You're going to look at yourself in the mirror. With the lash curler open, place it right on top...it should fit right in the socket of the eye."

She continues, "When you think you have all of your lashes in, just clamp down gently making sure you're not pinching any skin. Try to get [the curler] as close to the root of your lashes as you can, and I like to do a few little squeezes."

Apply Eyeliner, Concentrating Pigment on the Outer Corners of Your Eyes

"This color is a warm brown that also has a bit of shimmer to it," Ferreri says of the Charlotte Tilbury pencil she's using in the video. "So it's going to reflect light. This is the trick: You want to focus on the outer corner of your eye. So I'm not going to go all the way in, just focus on the quarter outer edge." Start with your upper lash line, then repeat this step on your lower lash line, still focusing only on the outer corner of the eye.

"And then I like to connect the two [lines]," she says. "Slightly overdrawing it and just smudging it slightly with your finger."

Apply Mascara Generously

"This [mascara] by Givenchy has a really interesting brush," says Ferreri. "And you can really focus on each individual lash. I like to start on the outer corner of the eye with the lashes because that's where I want most of the color to be deposited. And for this look, I like to do the top and bottom lashes.

"Just sweep [the applicator] across the bottom lashes, pulling them from the root-down to create that wide-awake, doll-like shape."

Top It Off With Nude Eyeliner and Highlight

"If you want to take this look a step further and you're still looking a little bit tired, a nude eyeliner is the way to go," says Ferreri. "You're going to use this on your waterline. I'm doing it very gently to just coat that under eye."

As a final step, you can finish this look off with a pop of highlighter on the inner corners of the eyes to really brighten that area significantly.

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