5 Easy Makeup Tricks to Make Your Eyes Look Younger

Research says that the eyes are the first place people look when trying to determine your age — and wrinkles, dark circles, and sagging skin can certainly show it. But a few simple make-up tips can make your eyes look younger. Keep ‘em guessing with these simple-to-achieve, pro-approved makeup tricks that reverse years in a blink.

Brighten tired eyes with nude liner.

The makeup-artist trick to ensure eyes — and you! — look 10 years younger? Swipe a nude liner along the waterline of the lower lid, says makeup artist Jami Svay, who’s worked with Julianne Moore and Freida Pinto.

“Unlike dark liners, which can shrink eyes and highlight redness, the helps eyes shine without overpowering soft, subtle hue complements all eye colors, and neutralizes inner-rim redness so whites appear brighter and eyes look wide awake!”

Erase crow’s-feet with golden primer.

Before applying makeup, dab a silicone-based primer with golden particles like e.l.f. Cosmetics Illuminating Face Primer (Buy on Amazon, $9.26) onto the under-eye area and up to the brow’s outer edge, advises Svay. “The golden particles deflect light from the face, ‘blurring’ fine lines, while the silicone creates a shield on skin that prevents makeup from settling into — and highlighting — creases.”

Mask circles with a youth triangle.

Draw an upside-down triangle from the lower lash line to the top of the cheekbone; blend. The long triangle “points” focus down to the cheekbone and away from puffiness, while creating the same light-shining effect a flashlight would if held under the eye, making shadows magically disappear!

Svay’s tip: Choose a color-correcting concealer (like NYX Color Correcting Concealer: Buy on Amazon, $4.72) in the opposite color of your shadow’s undertone to cancel it out. For blue-toned shadows, use an orange concealer; for purple ones, try a yellow concealer.

‘Thicken’ lashes with two-tone mascara.

Just like the hairs on our head get sparser and thinner with age, so too do the ones on our eyes — adding years to our look.

Svay’s solution to pumping up lash volume in seconds: First, apply one coat of dark brown mascara all over lashes; let dry. Then dab a black mascara on just the tips. “This ombré effect gives lashes depth while drawing attention to the ends, together creating the illusion of fuller, longer lashes.”

“Lift” lids with a three-step shadow technique.

“Simply shading the lid with variants of a shimmery neutral shadow creates the illusion of an eye lift”, says Svay. Her how-to:

Step 1: Using a three-toned palette like Burt’s Bees Eye Shadow Trio in Shimmering Nudes (Buy on Amazon, $22.34), sweep the lightest shade onto the inner corner of the eye and along the brow’s arch. “The subtle shimmer directs focus upward”, says Svay.

Step 2: Brush the medium shade across the entire lid to highlight the eye while creating a smooth, even base on the lid.

Step 3: Blend the darkest shade into the crease (the sunken area between the lid and the brow bone where skin tends to sag) to create a “shadow” that helps loose skin visually recede.

This article originally appeared in our print magazine.