BRIGHT EYES AND BUSHY TAILED

WRITER: WENDY LYN PHILLIPS

Alluring. Intriguing. Conniving. Mysterious. Enlightening. Blissful. Weary. Old.

Since eyes are the window to our soul, they outwardly reveal much about what is going on inwardly. Whether it is using the latest and greatest eye cream with retinol, knowing how to use eye makeup to minimize deep-set eyes, or drinking more water and getting more sleep, there are tricks anyone can use to enhance their pretty peepers. When engaging in conversation, a person’s passion becomes very obvious with expression from their eyes. Your eyes often articulate what your words cannot.

Read on to find out secrets the stars use to brighten their pooped-out peepers.

For starters, take note of your eye shape. Are they close-set, deep-set, or wide-set? Do you have a hooded lid? Are the whites of the eye more yellow or even red from obvious veins? Do you have noticeable crow’s feet at the corners, bags underneath, or prominent dark circles? Any of these issues are ones that can be improved by monitoring amounts of product intake, utilizing proper application, and overall product use.

Let’s talk about the items/products you’re ingesting. Truly, drinking more water can help detoxify and enhance the liver, which is often the cause of yellow, dark, dull, or red eyes. Drinking too much alcohol or not eating enough fruits and veggies is another reason they are not bright! Avoid sugar to further help the liver do its job. Using eye drops can help lubricate and soothe tired, stressed eyes. Also, avoid smoking areas as this can irritate and dry out the eye area and make them pale. To make the whites of eyes look brighter through product application, use a blue liner on the top and bottom lid, and add silver or a white shimmer to the lid. Lastly, a home remedy of using pure, fresh lemon juice on a cotton ball as an antioxidant one to two times a week will help brighten the skin.

One of my most asked questions as an image consultant is how to make eyes “pop”. These steps will ensure that happens for you.

Use a good concealer. Dark under eye circles are a major culprit in making your eyes look tired. Pat with the ring finger to apply (don’t rub), and remember to include the inner part of the nose as you come under the eye into an inverted triangle shape and blend downward on top of the cheek bone.

Use an illuminator. An illuminator with a slightly pink tone in it will add a bit of shine to sallow skin tones. It can also catch the light to reflect it, which helps to brighten the face as well.

Use an anti-wrinkle cream, especially good for the delicate eye area. Many of the eye creams today have ingredients that address the big three areas all in one product: puffiness, crow’s feet/lines at the corners, and dark under-eye circles.

Highlight the inner corner of the eye.

When you haven’t gotten enough sleep, you can fake a bright, wide-eyed look by using some well-placed shimmery eye shadow. Highlighting the inner corner of your eyes near the tear ducts instantly makes your eyes look wider and adds some much-needed brightness to a spot that is often dark. You can use an ivory or cream-colored shadow that has a shimmer or satin finish that catches the light. If your skin is darker, a gold tone color will look more natural. Also, use the highlighter on the brow bone just in the middle of the arch of your brow. This application tip will give your eyes instant lift by creating a vertical line.

Using three colors for a basic look is ideal — a base color, a contrasting color to create depth in the crease, and a highlighter. And the real secret is: Blend, Blend, Blend... then use at least two coats of mascara!

If the chamomile tea bags or cucumber slices don’t work, make sure to get nine hours of sleep and see if that helps! Open those eyes to more meaningful conversation and appear more bright-eyed and bushytailed this year. Here’s to peepers that are worth keeping.