It’s about more than just putting on make-up. Eyes can twinkle brighter when you take good care of yourself with better nutrition, exercise, sleeping habits and lifestyle. A lack of sleep, for instance, can have you waking up with dark and puffy panda eyes.
The book gives tutorials on transforming to sexy smoky eyes.
“Drinking more water, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, avoiding processed salty foods, going to bed earlier, and exercising regularly,’’ said Bobbi Brown, “will do more to give you beautiful eyes than any cream or make-up can.”
That was some of the advice given in Brown’s book, Everything Eyes, which will be released next month.
Bobbi Brown’s eight beauty book, Everything Eyes by Chronicle Books.
Available at Kinokuniya and Asia Books, the beauty manual features basic techniques, make-up looks, and a whole chapter dedicated to girls with glasses.
Basic techniques include counteracting under-eye circles with concealer and corrector — two make-up items she can’t live without. A corrector helps neutralise and brighten under-eye discolouration, whereas a concealer lightens dark areas and covers up redness.
Considering shape and colour, Brown identifies what works best to make eyes stand out.
Asian eyes, for example, require building dimension with a wash of ivory or white all over the lids and a medium tone in and just above the crease. Eyeliner is a must-have for Asians, she said, and they should define eyes from the outer to the inner corner, with a thick line.
As changing eye make-up can transform the overall look, the book gives step-by-step tutorials for creating 10 styles, from nude and sparkly to smoky and retro-glam.
The transformations are demonstrated on real women, not models, to show that one can easily become a bright-eyed beauty.
Glasses don’t get in the way either, as chapter three guides readers through how to make eyes stand out from behind lenses. The first make-up artist to offer eyewear launched this year, Brown herself loves wearing glasses as they enhance how one looks while making a style statement. Her favourite frames feature black heavy rims like those on Tina Fey.
In finding the best frames, consider face shape and skin tone as well as frame thickness, colour and style. Square faces, for instance, can go for wide glasses with curved or rounded corners that soften the strong face shape.
Wear eyeshadow that doesn’t compete with the colour of the frames, she advises, and add definition with eyeliner, followed by layering two coats of waterproof mascara.
Don’t overlook the removal of make-up. Use gentle formulas before applying eye serum and cream to care for the delicate area so that they remain in a good condition.
Nectar & Nudes Eye Palette from the spring 2014 collection.
Beautiful in my eyes
As perhaps the most fragile feature of the face, the eyes are often first to show signs of ageing, from fine lines and crow’s feet to puffiness and dark circles.
While Photoshop can erase these flaws to magically present a youthful version of a person, in reality, whenever we meet someone and make eye contact, the state of the skin around this area always reveals the real age.
Various eye serums and creams claim to be able to correct these aesthetic concerns, while other formulas specifically serve as eye brighteners and fillers.
Corrections have recently become more specific and sophisticated with dedicated BB (blemish balm) and CC (complexion or colour corrector) creams, following a boom for facial BB and CC products.
So, when eye treatments fail to improve imperfections, make-up concealers and correctors come to the rescue for fresher-looking peepers.
