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Makeup is the one tool in your arsenal as you grow older which can help you appear younger looking and more vibrant than ever. When used correctly, makeup can draw attention away from signs of aging while simultaneously enhancing your best features, allowing you to look bright and awake without much more than some artfully applied products. However, just as makeup can help to draw out your best assets, when used incorrectly it can drag down your face and make you look older than before. If you’re hoping to turn back the clock, there’s one eye look that makeup artists suggest ditching immediately for a younger, fresher appearance.
Eyeliner is one of the most popular makeup products, and from a cat eye to a carefully smudged look, it can add some stunning intrigue to your features. But while liner can help to open up your eyes and brighten your appearance, tightlining your waterline, or the inner rim of your lashes, will only stand to make you look older. “First of all, makeup inside the waterline instantly creates the illusion of smaller eyes. As soon as you apply that kajal inside your lash line, you’re telling the world that you’re older. Remember, that big eyes equals youthfulness,” says three-time Emmy nominated makeup artist and blogger Kerrin Jackson.
You may have fallen into the trap of lining your waterline years ago and it has since become a habit in your makeup routine, but as you grow older this method of application will only pronounce your age. And while you may like the initial look, putting product on your waterline is a smudge waiting to happen. “The water table of your eye is called that for a reason. It gets wet! So when you apply makeup to this area, the natural watering of your eyes can connect with your tight line makeup creating 'panda-eyes'," warns Jackson. “When eye makeup smudges and runs under the eye, it tends to create the illusion of a grey shadow; essentially an eye bag. And there you have it: instant ageing.”
Liner can still be great for lifting your features and allowing you to look younger, but it’s best to limit application to your upper lash line and flick into a wing, drawing attention upwards and smoothing over fine lines and wrinkles. “I suggest only applying kajal to your top inner lash line or water table, and leaving the lower area well and truly alone,” says Jackson, suggesting instead focusing on the upper waterline or tightline if you must apply product to that area. This will be less likely to smudge, avoiding unnatural darkness under your eye.
Makeup is a wonderful tool for highlighting your best features and minimizing signs of aging, provided it’s applied in a tactful way. Eyeliner can brighten and widen your eyes, allowing you to look younger, but if you want to turn back the hands of time you should avoid putting product in your waterline to avoid smudging and making your eyes appear smaller. Looking ageless is all about knowing how to work with what you have, so concentrate your eyeliner to the upper lash line for a timeless style that won’t pronounce your age.
