How to Make Eyes Bigger Without Eyeliner (2 Methods)

One of the easiest ways to make your eyes look bigger is to use eyeliner. However, if you don’t have eyeliner lying around, there are other easy makeup tricks that you can do in order to make your eyes look bigger.

In this post, I connected with professional makeup artists and asked them to provide me their best tips for making eyes bigger without eyeliner.

Here’s How to Make Eyes Bigger Without Eyeliner:

Method 1 – Smooth Your Eyelids

Sharon Becker, an NYC makeup artist and go-to artist for Hearst Digital Studios’ Cosmo Body and Good Housekeeping TV suggests doing the following:

1. Smooth out any discoloration on your eyelid (veins, capillaries, pigmentation) with a concealer or neutral cream eyeshadow.
2. Prep the eye area with eye cream. Try using something basic like Cerave Eye Repair Cream.
3. Tap on a dot of concealer on your lid, and with either your ring finger or a flat synthetic brush, blend it from your lashes up to your eyebrows. You can also use a neutral eye base, like MAC Paint Pots, in a color that matches your skin or slightly lighter. Blend on very thin layers to achieve a light and even coverage
4. Lightly tap on some loose powder with a fluffy brush. Dip your brush in powder lightly, and then tap off the excess so you don’t end up with powder in your eyes or under them.
5. Take a few minutes to carefully and gently curl your lashes with an eyelash curler
6. Slowly and carefully apply several coats of mascara. Start at the base of your lash to create definition (a little cheat, since that what liner does) and then coat the whole lash. Tap the tips of the lashes for length and curl. Do top and bottom lashes to make your eyes look bigger.
7. Use a lighter color eyeshadow, especially with a very soft shimmer (think champagne color or soft pearl) on the eyelid only to create the illusion of more space.

Method 2 – Brighten Your Eyes

Theresa Novicky, owner of Makeup By Theresa is a licensed makeup artist from Southern Maine.  She has been doing makeup for weddings and photoshoots for over 8 years.

Theresa suggests the following method for making your eyes bigger without eyeliner:

1. Use an eye cream nightly. she suggests Monat’s Eye Smooth Nourishing Eye Cream which will depuff your eyes because the puffiness is what’s swallowing your eyes.
2. Brighten dark under circles with an illuminating concealer, use a shade slightly lighter than your foundation. Try IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Illuminating Concealer.
3. Lengthen your eyelashes. Theresa uses Monat’s Lash & Brow enhancing serum twice daily after your morning cleanses and nighttime skincare routine.
4. Curl your lashes, Theresa likes the Tweezerman Classic Lash Curler.
5. Contour your crease! Do this by choosing an eyeshadow that is slightly darker than your skin tone. Theresa likes the color “Pooter” from the Jaclyn Hill x Morphe eye shadow palette. Be sure to pack it on and then blend it out with a blending brush.
6. Always brighten the inner corners. Theresa likes to use a highlighter. The color “Enlight” from the Jaclyn Hill x Morphe eye shadow palette works amazing for the inner corners. Apply it with your ring finger.
7. Brush your eyebrows up to open your eyes. Give it a nice arch. Theresa loves the Covergirl’s Easy Breezy Brow Micro-Fine Fill + Define eyebrow pencil.
8.  The key to making your eyes look bigger is mascara. Use a lash lengthening mascara. Try the L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara and use it on the top lash only to really open your eyes.

How to Make Your Eyes Bigger Without Makeup

If you don’t want to use any makeup, the best way to make your eyes bigger without makeup is to curl your lashes without mascara then brush your brows up with a  clean spoolie. Run your spoolie over a bar of glycerin soap and run it through your brows to help give them more definition.

For more details on this method, I connected with Meredith Boyd, an award-winning makeup artist who specializes in natural makeup looks for corporations and celebrities.

According to Meredith, Here’s What You Need To Do:

1. Curl your lashes without mascara. Check out my guide on how to curl your lashes without mascara if you want to learn how to do it.
2. Use a disposable spoolie and brush your brows upwards with no product.
3. Take the spoolie and run it over a glycerin soap bar
4. Swipe it through your brows and your brows should hold position quite nicely.
5. Optional: Add a dash of hairspray to the spoolie and brush up and out again to lock in the look.

This is called the “soap brow” technique. This works well especially in humid areas and high temperatures in the summer.

Additional Tips From Meredith:

1. Using a quality eyelash curler. I have used a dozen different brands in my years as a professional makeup artist, and I keep reaching for is the Shiseido The Makeup Eyelash Curler. It’s designed to not pinch the eyelid so it’s a win for me and my client! Be sure to spray on 70% alcohol after use to sanitize and change out the bumper pad regularly for best results.
2. I also use a small tweezer that gets every single lash, even the stubborn lashes that won’t curl. For these instances, I use Tweezerman Champagne Every Lash Curler. It looks more like a nail clipper, so don’t be caught off guard by its appearance. Its small but mighty power can open any lash line to reveal bigger, brighter eyes in seconds!