Makeup Techniques While Wearing Glasses

If you are one of those people who think that the time and the efforts put to wear your makeup are pointless as your glasses hide it? Then think again. Prescription glasses do not come with a death sentence that rule against your makeup.

As a matter of fact, your prescription glasses hold the unique ability to work as the perfect accessory but certain techniques are required while wearing makeup along with glasses.

Adding certain frames to your face may sometimes cast a giant barrier between you and your makeup. With the right frames and appropriate makeup you could pull off any look. On the other hand, if you neglect to apply any makeup, then all your great features may disappear. You need to take several aspects into consideration when you are doing makeup when wearing glasses. Several aspects of your glasses affect the outcome of your makeup.

Why is makeup different with glasses?

The reason why wearing makeup along with your glasses is different is because your glasses tend to bring the focus onto your eyes rather than your entire face. Also, your eyes look different under your glasses.

The reason for this is because the light bends inside your lenses. You might have noticed that if you are near-sighted then the concave lens that you wear make your eyes and the surrounding region look a bit smaller through your glasses. If you are far-sighted then the convex lens that you use makes your eyes seem a bit larger than they actually are.

Therefore, the type of glasses influences the way you should wear makeup. Another area of concern is your dark circles. Your glasses cast shadows around your eyes rendering your dark circles more prominent. Finally, it comes to those obnoxious little nose braces. They tend to instantly smudge the makeup on your nose.

Makeup for thick and thin frames

Glasses tend to give more focus to your eyes. So, it is not a very good idea to use a lot of makeup. The trick here is to keep it simple and natural and to provide good definition to your eyes. The amount of makeup you can wear with glasses gradually increases with the thickness of your frames. A thicker frame allows you to wear a bit more makeup compared to glasses with thinner or no frames.

Makeup for thick lenses

Top stylists are unanimous in their advice that women who wear glasses with thick lenses should steer clear of too much eyeliner and dark eye shadow. Both of these can make your eyes look like peepholes, and that’s certainly not attractive! To the rescue are light colors that have a bit of shimmer. Soft and glowing colors bring out your eyes and are also easy to blend. What you cannot ignore is a good eyelash curler and a lot of mascara.

If you have near-sightedness that requires you to wear thick lenses, then the lenses will make your eyes appear to recede behind the frame. You may use an eyeliner pencil to draw a “wing” past your lash line if you are opting for the “cat” eye effect. Choose an eye shadow in a medium shade to make your eyes look bigger and apply a light, shimmery one in the inside corner of your eyes. Strong colors such as charcoal, dove-blue, plum etc. and remember that the emphasis should fall on the crease of your eye and also the outer corners of your eyes. This will open up your eyes, making them look bigger. Also apply black mascara generously on your top lashes. This creates a sort of a contrast and makes your eyes look more prominent and fresh.

Makeup for thin lenses

If you have far-sightedness then your eyes tend to look larger than they actually are when you wear your glasses. In this case the lighter the makeup the better. You may want to opt for matte, neutral or darker eye shadows on your eyelids. Use the slightly darker eye shadow color in the crease of your eye but do avoid any shimmery or bright eye shadow colors. They will amplify your eyes even more. Take care to blend everything in; you would not want to go out with any mistakes as your glasses magnify them. It is also good to use a white liner on the inner rim of your bottom lashes to brighten up your eyes. If dark circles worry you, then a salmon tinted base can easily conceal them. Also, a little bit of the shimmery powder near the tear ducts might just add that extra bit of life into your eyes.

If you have glasses with black, colored or multi colored frames then use muffled down or earth-toned colors that match your tone. If you have thin framed or frameless glasses then you can probably get away with bolder shades but this doesn’t mean more makeup. It would also help you if your glasses have the famed anti-glare coating. A pair of these glasses imparts better and gives a more accurate manifestation of your eyes. Also, bear it in mind that you should certainly apply eyeliner when wearing glasses with thin lenses.

How to apply makeup for the rest of your face, when wearing glasses

Glasses have a natural tendency to bring focus to your eyes, making it crucial to highlight all the features of your face so that your face does not hide behind your frames. The best way to achieve that is to apply lesser makeup but use brighter shades instead. Taking good care of your skin is extremely important for anybody regardless of whether you wear glasses or not. If you do wear glasses then the importance of skincare is paramount. Use any suitable gel to avoid puffy eyes as they get magnified under your glasses. It is good to begin with a light-reflecting under eye serum, also use an under eye cream to avoid your wrinkles or dry skin from getting amplified under your glasses.

When wearing glasses, your brows also attract a lot of attention. If you shape and groom them well they can contribute greatly to define the structure of your face. If you have thicker frames, take care that your brows do not hide under them. Also if you have thick brows, pluck them generously till you are able to tell them apart from your frames. Remember to use a brow pencil that clearly matches your hair color to define your brows. Finally, set them with an appropriate brow gel.

You can dauntlessly add bold colors to your face. A peach blush can superbly compliment your pretty eyes. Also a peach blush suits most skin tones. This will get your cheekbones into the spotlight. You are free to choose as bright a shade of lipstick as possible. If you have a dark frame then a dark shaded lipstick would perfectly compliment it. However, if you have glasses with thinner frames or no frames, then a lighter color or just a gloss would be enough to balance the glasses. Also, using a mineral foundation can prevent the nose braces from ruining your looks.

How to choose the best frame shape for your face

Choosing a frame that suits the shape of your face can sometimes be a tricky task but certainly not impossible. Firstly, you must know what face shape you have and then purchase frames that complement its contours. We discuss how to determine your face shape in the “Corrective Contouring on Different Face Shapes” chapter.

Here are the ideal frames for the different face shapes.

Round face: Aviator or square frames will compliment your round face perfectly. While choosing a frame you should try to choose one that lengthens your features. Opt for frame tips with a clear bridge; they make your eyes appear wider. Round frames should be avoided at all costs.

Oval face: An oval-shaped face is by large considered the ‘perfect’ face shape. This is given that most frame shapes work well with oval faces, including aviator, square and oval. It is however best to pick frames that are at least as wide as the widest part of your face. The idea is to ensure a sense of proportion and maintain balance.

Square face: A square face is one that is as long as it is wide. Circular or curved frames will suit a square face. If you have a square face, try to choose frames that have a greater width than depth. This will add a more softening effect.

Oblong face: An oblong face is typically a lengthy and angular one with less width. Oblong or faces that are rectangular look good in circular, deep rectangular and triangular frames. A frame that is broader than its width can help accentuate your features.

Heart shaped face: If you have a heart-shaped face, circular and geometric frames will suit you well. Opt for wide bottomed frames as opposed to rimless ones. The idea is to minimize your generous temple width and draw your eyes more to the lower part of your face.

Diamond shaped face: A diamond shaped face is an angular one characterized by wide cheekbones, and a narrow chin and forehead. Aviator, square and circular frames go well with such face shapes. Opt for frames that are top-heavy, like frames that come with detailing over the brow line and semi-rimless ones.

A few important points to keep in mind

Always keep your glasses at hand and monitor your progress as you work on your makeup. See to it that your vanity table provides ample lighting. If you have long eyelashes, they might come in contact with your glasses and smear all the mascara on it. So, it is better to curl them a bit.

Finally, makeup that looks great on a bright and sunny day might look overdone on a gloomy or a rainy day. To avoid this you must make sure to check your makeup in different light settings once you are done. Make sure that it looks good in all the settings. If you feel something is off, then either try to even it out or do it again.

Studies suggest that one in every three women wear glasses. Most of them have a misconception that glasses make them look plain and unattractive. The rest of them however shy away from any makeup as they believe it will do no good. But with the help of these simple yet elegant makeup techniques, you can sculpt your face, bring out the beauty in your eyes and shine the limelight on your real self, who until now was hidden under a façade of your glasses.

With proper care and the right makeup, your prescription glasses can now be an ornament of self- expression and define your personality

Makeup Techniques When You're Wearing Glasses

The following items from our Makeup Kit will be used:

212 Spoolie Brush
207 Angle Eyeliner Brush
Trio Brow Palette
221 All Over Eye Blender Brush
204/219 Crease Brush
202 Large Shader Brush
15 Color Eye shadow palette- neutral, smoky
8 Eyeliner pencils
5 Gel Eye Liners
Eyelash Curler
Mascara

First I will demonstrate…

How to do Makeup on someone that is Far-Sighted

Here are a few points to remember:

Such a person can see very well at far distances, but not on short ones so the lenses will be very thick. This will result in any makeup fault showing immediately.
Light, medium makeup colors should be used.
Avoid shimmering makeup- rather opt for matte eye shadow colors
Rather use dark brown eyeliner as black will only look harsh through the lenses.
Apply the eye shadow color onto the fold of her eyes.

Now let’s start with the practical…

Step 1: Take your 212 Spoolie Brush and comb your client’s eyebrows neatly in an upwards direction.

Step 2: Dip your 207 Angle Eyeliner Brush into an appropriate eye shadow color that is similar to her hair color. If she has very light/blonde hair, then you may want to go for a color that is one to two shades darker than her hair color. Start by applying the eye shadow color from the thickest part of her eyebrows and gently work your way to the end of her eyebrows.

Step 3: Take your 221 All Over Eye Blender Brush and apply either a white, cream or beige color over her entire eye area.

Step 4: Choose a matte eye shadow color that compliments her eye color and apply this color onto her eyelids.

Step 5: Take either your 204 Crease Brush or your 202 Large Shader Brush and blend in this eye shadow color.

Step 6: You may want to use eyeliner if you want to, but remember that it must not be heavily applied.

Step 7: Take your Eyelash Curler and curl your client’s eyelashes by gently squeezing them together for 10- 20 seconds.

Step 8: Finally, apply 2-3 coats of mascara by making zigzag movements from the beginning of your lash line till the end. This will give your client’s lashes the volume that it needs without clumping it together.

Now I will demonstrate…

How to do Makeup on Someone that is Near-Sighted

Here are a few points to remember:

Such a person can see very well at short distances, but not so good on far distances. The lenses of these glasses will not be thick at all and will make her eyes look smaller.

Stronger colors such as charcoal, dove-blue, plum etc may be used.

The emphasis of the eye shadow should be in the crease of her eyes and also at the outside corners of her eyes.

A shimmering eye shadow color could be used over the existing eye shadow to accentuate her eyes.

Finish this look off by applying loads of black mascara.

Let’s start with the practical…

Step 1: Take your 212 Spoolie Brush and comb your client’s eyebrows neatly in an upwards direction.

Step 2: Dip your 207 Angle Eyeliner Brush into an appropriate eye shadow color that is similar to her hair color. If you have very light/blonde hair, then you may want to go for a color that is one to two shades darker than your hair color.Start by applying the eye shadow color from the thickest part of her eyebrows and gently work your way to the end of her eyebrows.

Step 3: Take your 221 All Over Eye Blender Brush and apply either a white, cream or beige color over her entire eye area.

Step 4: Choose a medium eye shadow color that compliments your client’s eyes and apply this color in the crease of her eyes.

Step 5: Take either your 204 Crease or your 202 Large Shader brush and blend in this color.

Step 6: Take your 219 Precision Crease brush and dip it into charcoal/grey/dark brown eye shadow and apply this color on the outside corner of your client’s eye, but in the crease. Make a “v” shape at this corner, dragging the color downwards to her eyelashes.

Step 7: Take your 204 Crease brush and blend in this color.

Step 8: Apply eyeliner on the top half of her eyelashes and do the same at the bottom, but only till the middle of her eyes. This will make her eyes appear bigger.

Step 9: Finally, apply 2-3 coats of mascara by making zigzag movements from the beginning of her lash line till the end. This will give your client’s lashes the volume that it needs without clumping it together.