This post has been updated since its initial publish date to include more expert insight.
Makeup is one of the best tools to utilize for enhancing your appearance and highlighting your best features without making any permanent changes to your face. Mastering the application techniques that most effectively flatter your look is essential for nailing your makeup day after day and getting a well-deserved boost of confidence that comes from feeling good in your skin.
As you grow older it’s natural for skin to sag and fine lines to develop on the surface, so adjusting your makeup routine accordingly (and avoiding common aging makeup mistakes!) can create the illusion of an effortless facelift without actually getting any work done. We spoke with NYC-based commercial & editorial makeup artist Lindsay Kastuk and Kerrin Jackson, a four-time Emmy-nominated makeup artist and creator of her blog The Makeup Refinery for their tips on applying eye makeup in a way that can lift your face and snatch your complexion for a flawless look that will make you look 10 years younger!
Blend out and up
Knowing how to work with your particular eye shape is essential for creating a lifted look on your face, and Kastuk suggests focusing a darker shade on your outer corner while making sure to blend upward will create the illusion of a natural facelift. "I always try to keep the darker shadows at the outer corner of the eyes – never inwards; this closes the eyes in," she explains. "You want to make sure and always blend the darker eyeshadows up and out."
Dragging and blending a darker shade upward on the corner of your lid will have the same effect as a cat eye wing, drawing attention toward your temple and making your face look taut and lifted. "For a simple yet effective eye lift trick, use a little bit of a dark eyeshadow (or an eyeliner) and place it at the outer top lash line," says Kastuk. "A very soft liner look can lift the outer corner of the eye a bit." While harsher liners and sharp lines are certainly in, a softer, more blended look can help add subtle beauty to your appearance.
Pairing a blended, darker outer corner eyeshadow look with a defined contour can work together to effectively solidify the illusion of a facelift, and it only stands to reason that if you want your face to appear more angular, adding in those angles yourself will make all the difference. "[This look] draws the eyes upwards and creates the illusion that everything is being pulled upward,” explains Kastuk. “Similarly to contouring your cheeks or nose, it’s creating an eye shape."
Achieving a facelift through makeup is largely about blending effectively, but Kastuk notes that building up layer by layer can help to create the most natural final product. "Add a little bit of color at a time and stop when you feel good. It is much easier to take your time and add color than it is to start over entirely," she explains.
Use a skin-toned eyeliner
One popular tip makeup artists suggest to give an instant uplifting effect and the illusion of bigger eyes is white eyeliner. Jackson highly recommends this tip, but she has her own spin on this popular trend.
The white eyeliner hack "generally involves using a white eyeliner pencil inside your waterline, and also on the inner corner of your eye to create the illusion of a more open eye. But honestly, this can look a little on the theatrical side if you're not careful," Jackson warns. "In fact, this technique has been used for opera, ballerinas, and drag queens long before Tik Tok was ever in existence."
To avoid looking too theatrical, Jackson says to use "a soft pink, or light flesh tone eyeliner pencil, such as Charlotte Tilbury's Rock'n'Kohl in Universal Nude, [to] create this very illusion. [By] using a soft pink/flesh tone instead of white creates a far more natural, everyday wear look. So simply place a dot of the pencil on the skin at the inner corner of your eye to instantly add light and open up your eye. And if you have smaller eyes, or want to take it a step further, draw the pencil on your lower waterline as well. This will instantly create the illusion of a bigger, more open eye and take years off in seconds." Noted!
Ultimately the makeup looks that you feel the most confident in are going to be the ones that appear most flattering against your features and face shape. Remembering to concentrate your product to the outer corner of your eye and blend it in an upwards motion will produce a significant anti-aging effect. And, using a skin-toned eyeliner along the water line can mask fine lines around the eyes and give your complexion a natural face lift without ever having to actually go under the knife.
