How to Look Like You Have Big Eyes

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Big eyes have long captured the imagination, as they convey everything from innocence to youth to sultriness. Even if you weren't born doe-eyed, simple aesthetic tweaks can lend you the appearance of bigger eyes or draw attention to your peepers. Eye makeup, in both bold and subtle varieties, serves as the key tool here, but it's not your only option -- hair and clothing choices also create an enlarging effect.

Mascara Magic

To create the effect of larger eyes, mascara is key. Use a thick brush to apply mascara with a wiggling motion, brushing your lashes up and out. Allow the mascara to dry completely, then add a second -- or even third -- layer to your upper lashes. Then, accent the wide-eyed look by separating each lash with the tip of the mascara wand. This trick also helps to prevent clumpy lashes. Complete the look by brushing clear eyebrow mascara into your brows and then combing them up and out for a bright-eyed appearance.

Enlivening Liners

Go with dark eyeliner shades, such as black, brown, charcoal or navy, to make your eyes pop. While thick upper eyeliner is a standby for making eyes look bigger, don't neglect making a thin line just under the lower lashes -- rim the lower lashes with a white liner, then apply the darker liner under the rim to make whites of your eyes appear larger. To make each eye look wider, apply the liner a bit heavier on the outside corners of each eye, and use a cotton tip to push the corner lines upward and outward.

More Makeup Tricks

Before you apply eye makeup, curl your lashes to make them look bigger. First, curl right at the eyelash roots, then apply the curler to the middle area of your lashes. Contrast is key to emboldening your eyes. To boost the contrast between your skin and lashes, apply a concealer that's a shade lighter than your natural skin tone around the eyes. In addition to the eye shadow of your choice, dot a light-colored shadow on the inner corner of your eyes to brighten them. Likewise, subtle bronzer under the cheekbones and blush on the cheeks lightens and draws attention to the eyes.

Cuts and Duds

Makeup effectively enlarges the eyes, but your haircut can strengthen the effect even more. Shortly cropped dos, full and textured bangs, and pixie cuts draw attention to your peepers. Similarly, cuts with angled bangs can create a sort of arrow that points right to the eyes. You can also use eyeglasses with colored frames to create a magnifying, attention-drawing effect, and choose clothes that match your eye color or subtly complement your eye shadow shade to make your eyes look bigger and bolder.