Although I love to wear a vibrant lip gloss from time to time, I usually prefer playing up the eyes or opting for balance between both features. As women, we can enjoy trying different makeup looks to suit our tastes, creativity, attire, and the seasonal trend. With so many choices available, many women want to know which feature is best to emphasize, regardless of the current style.
Ask yourself the following: What’s your most distinguishing feature? What do other people compliment you on the most? No face is perfect, yet we all have features we love to play up and others we’d like to fade into the background. Makeup artistry fortunately allows us to do so.
When you want to draw attention to the upper part of your face and showcase your cheekbones, emphasizing the eyes is the way to go. If you have jowls, an undefined jawline, or a very pointy chin, you will also want to de-emphasize the bottom part of your face. On the other hand, if you have any sort of eye problem, bad vision, or eyes that are difficult and very time consuming to play up, deep-under eye pouches or bad allergies, you may find it easier and faster to concentrate on the lips and cheeks instead. If you’d like to emphasize both your eyes and lips, you will need to strike a balance between the two.
How To Emphasize Your Eyes
Aside from an ultra-dramatic evening look, there are numerous ways to play up your eyes daily, depending on their size and shape. Remember to keep the rest of your face low-key. Be sure to tightline the upper, inner waterline with a black liner to really make your eyes pop. A shimmery shadow on the lids and a highlighter placed in the inner tear duct can brighten and enlarge the eyes. You can also try a flesh-toned liner on the bottom waterline to brighten them as well. For a doe-eyed look, curl your lashes and use lots of mascara on the outer third of the eyes. If you have no time for eyeshadow, you can opt for a vibrant liner to make the eye pop as well. A good concealer is also important when you want to showcase your eyes. A little TLC in this area certainly goes a long way.
How To Emphasize Your Lips
The easiest way to highlight your lips and make them appear fuller before adding color is by placing a bit of shimmery highlighter above your cupid’s bow, i.e. the center of your top lip. Next, line around your natural lip line. If you want to enhance a thin upper lip, you can use a neutral-toned liner to enlarge the upper lip, then fill in the lips with the lipliner. Next, use a vibrant color of your choice. To complete the look, top with a gloss and add a dab of shimmer to the center of the upper lip to really make it pop.
How To Balance Your Features
Eyes and lips are the most important features on a face, and the place where people usually focus first. Eyes have always been the windows of the soul, and if you will be speaking, your lips will draw attention as well. How do you strike a balance between both features? Over or underdoing those features will not accomplish the job. If you apply too much makeup on both, the results will look disastrous and harsh. On the other hand, if you underplay both of those prominent features, you may look washed out. Today’s smoky eye can be captivating and achieved with softer shades of brown, greys, blues, and green, as opposed to the old and classic charcoal version of yesterday. You can then pair the eyes with a flattering and vibrant pink, red, or berry shade. To create an even softer lip, try using a vibrant gloss instead. Be sure to keep the blush to a minimum and opt for a soft, bronzy shade.
Makeup is not a one size fits all! Whether you’d like to play up your eyes, lips, or strike a balance between both, first figure out what your objective is. Then have some fun, be creative, and enjoy experimenting with a new look.
Risselle Naimark is a Professional Freelance Makeup Artist and Skincare Consultant. She carries an extensive line of personalized skincare, cosmetics, and anti-aging products. Risselle is also available for weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, makeup lessons, and all of your beauty needs. She can be reached at 718 263-5517.