Thursday 24 November 2011

Top 10 Make Up Tips for Glasses Wearers :)

I started wearing glasses since the ages of about 10, and I've been getting progressively more blind ever since! I first used contact lenses about 6 years ago and I'd quite like to wear them a lot more, but a) I'm a little bit too lazy and b) I have an astigmatism which means contact lenses will be more expensive and I wouldn't be able to use disposable ones- and I'm not sure I like the idea of reusing lenses every day for a month... I'm currently planning to hold out until I can save for laser eye surgery, and in the meantime - I'm sticking with my glasses! Anyway, I've been thinking a lot recently about the way I apply make up, and how it differs when I wear lenses. I thought it was about time I put together a post full of my tips and tricks for applying make up for my fellow four-eyed friends :) (Apologies if this post isn't at all relevant to you)

I am very short sighted- which means that my lenses make my eyes appear a little smaller than they are (which is actually relatively small to start with,) so the tips I give in this post may not be so suitable for people who are long sighted (as those lenses tend to make eyes look larger.)

1) First and foremost, you NEED a magnifying mirror. It can look a little scary with glasses on (who likes to be able to see all of their pores in the mirror?) but once they're off you'll probably need the close up view! I prefer the small table top ones that you can flip/rotate to get the best angle. Get as close as you need to when doing your make up- I usually get about 2 inches away from mine!


I use an Ikea 'Trensum' mirror- £3.29 one regular and one magnifying side

2) With face make up (if you're as blind as I am) make sure you blend foundation/ concealer etc. with your glasses on- I always apply it and blend a little, then pop my glasses back on for a check and more blending- I always find that if blend without glasses I can't see well enough to get everything even and well blended. (how many times can I use blend in one paragraph...)

3) Under eye concealer is a MUST: glasses make under eye circles appear much worse then they are because they can cast a shadow on the area. Always conceal the under eyes really well, and perhaps use brightening products too. (If I don't wear any other face make up- I always use my e.l.f. under eye concealer.)

4) Eyebrows are really  important: they appear more prominent when wearing glasses as they draw attention towards the eye and eyebrow area. Always keep your brows neat and tidy: use a pencil/powder etc to fill them in if necessary- but keep it fairly subtle. I don't actually fill my brows in for two reasons; they are (oddly) darker than my hair colour (and I think enhancing that would look weird on me) and as I have black frames I think adding extra colour to my brows would compete too much with them.

5) With eye shadows, I generally stay with the lighter more brightening shades- remember that glasses can cast a shadow on your eyes, and make them look smaller- anything too dark will make your eyes look even darker and smaller. Perhaps it's to do with my eye shape as well as my glasses, but I always find that adding a crease colour is an essential step- I think that glasses can make my eyes look more one-dimensional that they are, and adding depth is very important (though again, you may want to avoid very dark shades) However, eyeshadow choice and placement will depend on your frames a lot: with lighter frames you can get away with more dramatic eyeshadow, but darker frames often create enough drama on their own.

6) I think eyeliner is another absolute essential. Behind glasses my eyes really lack definition, and eyeliner (or eyeshadow as a liner) helps enormously- of course you do have to be careful as it can look harsh, especially on the lower lash line. I always prefer brown (I love my e.l.f. Cream Eyeliner in Coffee) as it's less harsh on my pale skin (though if you have darker skin I'm sure black could work for you just as well)

7) If, like me, you have straight or long lashes (and actually, even if you have naturally quite curled lashes), always curl them- there is nothing more annoying than having your lashes touch your lenses all the time- flaking off your mascara in the process- plus adding curl opens up your eyes, making them appear larger.

8) With mascara, avoid clumpy formulas, as any clumps can be exaggerated behind lenses. I think it's generally better to use waterproof or very flake-proof mascaras, as flakes can quite easily get stuck to the insides of your lenses.. Also, I like to make sure I allow mascara to dry before putting my glasses back on, I find that it tends to smudge if I don't.

9) Apply all cheek products- blusher/bronzer/highlighter with your glasses on. The positioning of your frames will probably effect where you should place products. I think it's easy to get products too high up on the cheeks when I apply without my glasses. This also helps with the 'blending evenly' point I made with tip 2- I find it much easier to get my face even if I can see it all at once, and I can't do that without glasses!

10) Lip products are great to add 'balance' to the face, but if you want to go for darker lips, really really play down the eye make up- even without glasses darker lips are usually paired with lighter eye make up, but as glasses already draw attention to the eyes, if you want to focus on the lips your eye make up should be even more pared down.

Above all: practise and experiment! Like everything make up related there are no absolute rules, and everyone will find that different things will work for them- don't be scared to play around and find out what works via trial and error.

I really hope you've found these tips helpful :)

Do you have any more make up for glasses tips for me? Share your tips in the comments!


                                                                                                     xGretalRabbitx

2 comments:

  1. Ugh yes! The dreaded eyelashes sweeping over the inside of your glasses, so annoying!

    I have a normal mirror like that for close ups but think I may need to get a magnified one, but that may be too scary lol!

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  2. I know, I hate it so much!

    I definitely recommned magnifyed mirrors- it makes everything so much easier for me :) Though if you're properly used to a regular one you might be ok (depends how bad your eyesight is too I suppose)

    xGretalRabbitx

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