Oh hey there, four eyes! ;) Long gone are the days of glasses rendering you an instant nerd. In fact, now it’s actually kind of COOL to wear glasses — so cool that chicks who don’t even need ’em are rocking faux frames just for the style. Whether you’re faking it or legit need prescription lenses, here are some makeup rules to know while rocking your specs.
Makeup Tips for All Glasses Gals
– Always shape, groom and fill in your eyebrows. They set the frame of your entire face and will do so especially when you are reppin’ your prescription.
– Concealer is key, then blend, blend, blend! This rule applies to every girl, glasses or not, but it is definitely crucial for anyone wearing glasses as they tend to enhance your eyes or skin.
– Contour your face with a bronzer that does not distract from your makeup but rather balances the space of your face that is exposed outside of your glasses.
– Highlight your cheekbones and the bridge of your nose in a subtle way.
– If you are in the mood to mascara up, curl your lashes, yo! Otherwise they will hit your lenses every other second.
– ALWAYS set your makeup with powder, especially around your eyes and on the bridge of your nose where your lenses make contact with your skin. This will ensure that the makeup doesn’t rub off or smudge up your glasses.
Now, onto a few more specific looks that work really well with specs.
Distract from the lenses and play up that pucker! This look is all about pairing a nude eye with a bold lip shade. Of course, the best “nude eyes” do involve a little bit of makeup ;)
Play Up That Pucker
1. Start with BB Creme Maybelline. Use a foundation brush to apply a decent coverage of this self-adjusting foundation creme.
2. Next up, go for a concealer a little lighter than your skin color for a more brightening effect. YSL Concealer is a hydrating, light weight coverage concealer that is fabulous for any skin type so long as it is the right hue.
3. Use a bronzer to contour cheekbones like Wet n Wild Bronzer, which has a slight sheen to it to make your entire face glow. This will give your specs the perfect canvas to rest upon.
4. Sweep on a bright, matte blush like Sephora Peach Fusion Matte Blush on the apple of your cheeks. Blend up and back towards your temple for a subtle brightener.
5. Brush a creamy shade of shadow like MAC Vanilla on your entire lid to give it a natural, even tone.
6. Using the same bronzer, apply to the crease of your eye lids as well as under your eye along your lower lashes to reinforce the natural depth in your eyes.
7. Curl your lashes before applying mascara so your luscious lashes won’t touch your glasses.
8. Smokin Eyes Benefit is an amazing universal palate to use for shaping your eyebrows. Blend with a clean mascara wand for a more natural look.
9. Line your lips with a liner that looks good with deeper reds, like Liner 1/2 Red MAC.
10. We used MAC Hang Up Lipstick for a vampy, seductive pop of color that’ll turn heads.
11. Finally, set your entire face with a powder like Laura Mercier Translucent Powder so your makeup will stay put.
Oh heeeeey! Love those bold lips, and the color is a great alternative to a straight up red shade.
For gals with big eyes, we’re going for a smoky look that minimizes them behind your glasses.
What Big Eyes You Have
1. Start with a foundation like MAC Studio Tint. We picked this line because it’s great coverage for our gals with deeper skin tones.
2. Next up, it’s concealer time! We used YSL Multi Action Concealer again, universal and lovely for all skin types.
3. Brush on a bronzer like Rimmel Sundance Bronzer, another drugstore find that gives your skin that summer glow.
4. For blush, we like NARS Taj Majal Blush. This golden blush has the same glowing effect as NARS Orgasm but complements darker skin tones.
5. Use a translucent face powder to set your face. This is a must for anyone because it truly blends into just about every skin shade if used correctly.
6. Apply a nude satin eyeshadow (we used Virgin by Urban Decay) on the brow bone and corner of your eye for a subtle highlight.
7. Use a matte shadow in the crease of your eyelid to set the base of your smoky eye. We used MAC Scene, but any grey will do!
8. Apply a warm, reddish earthy shadow that has some sparkle in it, like MAC Paradisco on the lid to pull out the same peach undertones in the blush. This gives the smoky eye a brightening contrast that is super flattering under your lenses.
7. Line the outer corner of the eye with a dark metallic shadow, like the “Creep” shade in Urban Decay’s NAKED palette to take that smoky eye to the next level.
8. Line the entire eye with black liner to balance out those big ol’ eyeballs ;)
9. Use Smokin Eyes Benefit on the brows to fill ’em in. Blend with a clean mascara wand for a more natural look.
10. Finish off with a nude lipstick like MAC Cremeshene Nude to tie the look together without distracting from those smoldering eyes.
Who says you only have to wear your glasses while driving?
Lastly, we’ve got a glowing look that is great for enhancing smaller eyes and playing up cheeks.
Go for the All-Over Glow
1. Start with a lightweight sheer foundation, NARS makes a good one that will leave your skin feeling hydrated and touchable.
2. Next up, conceal. Makeup Forever has an entire array of color correctors, but the lightest one, that we used here, is a great pick for fair skin.
3. Now, for the glow! Start with a bronzer like Physicians Formula Pearls Of Perfection Bronzer. This gives you a very natural matte finish that allows you to go a little heavier for a more intense defined look.
4. Use a translucent powder to set your base.
5. For blush, we had to go for everyone’s favorite: NARS Orgasm for a bright, fresh-faced shimmer.
6. Next, apply a highlighter — we love Highbeam by Benefit Highlighter. A light layer of this on your cheekbones and bridge of your nose ties in the luminous summery look.
7. For the eyes, apply a nude satin like Virgin from Urban Decay’s NAKED palette across entire lid, corner and brow bone.
8. Use a light brown like Buck (from the same Urban Decay palette!) in the crease of your eye to enhance your natural depth without taking away from the cat eye you are about to create.
9. To create our dramatic cat eye, we used Clinique Black Honey Liner with an angled eyeliner brush (see our cat eye post for more tips on that!). A good trick for enhancing smaller eyes.
10. Use Smokin Eyes Benefit to shape the brows. Blend with a clean mascara wand for that natural look.
11. After curling lashes, apply mascara.
12. Finally, apply your favorite shimmery, summer gloss to complete this look. We went with Wet n wild Rose Gold Lip Gloss!
Do you wear glasses? What are your go-to makeup tricks? Talk to us in the comments below.
