Yesterday I picked up some Essence products, one of them being a clear brow & lash gel. Super cheap & very effective. I believe it was about $2.49 or so. Great stuff. It really keeps the brows in place. As far as makeup application goes, I always do the following: I apply my under eye concealer not only under the eye & eyelids. I pull it down right over my cheekbones. I also blend it out from the outer corners of my eyes & into my temples out to my hairline, angled upwards somewhat. A little bit also goes above my whole brow area. For this I always use a shade that is slightly lighter than the rest of my foundation & with a yellowish undertone. If you apply it only on your obviously dark area, you'll get a raccoon look. The way I do it just lifts the eye, making it look more open & slightly brighter than the rest of the face. Before powdering my concealer to set it, I also apply a bit of a gel or cream highlighter above my brows, again, & right under my brows. That gives my eyes even more of a lift. And it's not obvious because my powder knocks any sheen down so it looks totally natural. Once again, use a powder that's slightly lighter than your regular face powder for all of these concealed areas. After applying my foundation, powdering it, doing my eyeshadow, blush, etc, I then take either a powder contour product or matte/nearly matte light shade of eyeshadow & very lightly, using my fan brush, dust it above my eyebrows & on the tops of my cheekbones. I then take an appropriate light shade of eyeshadow & 'draw' it on directly under my brows as close to the edge of them as possible, along their entire length. It then needs to be blended along the edge of the shadow so that I can't see an obvious line of light colored shadow. I then fill in my brows & set them with my clear brow gel, brushing them upwards & outward. After that I use either a shimmery peach, white or slightly lavender pencil on my lower waterline. Yes, it needs to be waterproof, otherwise it'll wear off very quickly. You can also set it with a similar shade of eyeshadow. Pull it right into the inside & outside corners of your waterline. For lashes, another step that will magnify the look, I apply a really thin coat of mascara. Really thin. While it's drying, I heat my lash curler pads with my hairdryer on warm. I then immediately curl my eyelashes, holding for about 10 seconds. I get as close to my lashline as possible. I let my lashes cool completely & then apply the rest of my mascara, fanning my lashes out with a lash spoolie after every coat. My lashes are really hard to keep curled, but this keeps them in position all day. It's totally false that you should never curl your lashes with mascara on. Most people can do so without pulling out their lashes if they do it properly. If you apply the lightest coat of mascara & then use a warmed curler, your lashes will be absolutely fine. You don't need any special type or brand of mascara, either. No mascara I've tried, not even the most expensive, 'curls' lashes & keeps them curled all day. Just choose any decent, non-flaking mascara & follow the steps I mentioned. Essence has some very inexpensive products in Canada & the US now. The majority of their products are under $3. L'Oreal makes great mascaras too. Try L'Oreal Double Extend. Probably my all-time favorite, affordable mascara. It's double ended, has a base that extends & thickens the lashes, and is very pigmented. I also forgot to mention, the color of your eyeshadow base can also make a big difference. Try a flat white, a shimmery white, a flat or shimmery cream shade, anything that's appropriate for your skin tone. The only place I would avoid a flat tone, especially matte white, is the waterline. It's far too stark & usually looks either freakish or totally unnatural. Unless that's the look you're going for, I'd avoid it. I know this sounds like a lot of steps, but it takes very little extra time & makes a big difference. I've experimented & done one side of my face & left the other bare to compare the difference & it does make a big, big impact on how much more awake my eyes look & how 'lifted' they appear to be. Like night & day. You don't require any special or expensive products to do this. Don't let anybody tell you that you need to buy expensive products to obtain a certain 'look', because you don't. You're just playing with light & shadows to get a more open-eyed effect. And anybody can do it. The shades you use will depend on your skin tone, though. Just experiment & play with it. You don't have to be a professional makeup artist to do things like this.
