Makeup can be a great tool when it comes to anti-aging looks. With the right products and techniques, you can enhance your natural beauty and take years off your face. Surgical facelifts are undoubtedly expensive and not for everyone, so cleverly recreating the effects of these treatments with makeup is a much safer, cheaper, and easier option. To learn more about eyeliner techniques that mimic a facelift, we spoke with Kerrin Jackson, a four-time Emmy-nominated makeup artist and creator of her blog The Makeup Refinery. Find out more below!
Tip #1: Substitute liquid eyeliner for a pencil
A great way to draw attention away from crow's feet (read about dermatologist-approved treatments for these wrinkles!) around the eyes is eyeliner. The first thing to consider is the type of eyeliner you're using, Jackson emphasizes. As we age around the eye area, applying eyeliner can be trickier because many liquid eyeliners can actually drag.
"Aside from being difficult to apply, once you get over 35 (yes, even 35) that [liquid] eyeliner won't look clean and straight like it did as a late teenager and early 20-something," the makeup artist continues. "Gravity works against the skin, and when fine lines appear, that liquid eyeliner doesn't look so good anymore. So the best and most flattering bet is to stick to soft shadows as opposed to harsh, hard eyeliner altogether."
Instead, opt for an eyeliner pencil or a thin, angled makeup brush to ensure your eye makeup doesn't drag. "If you are desperately attached to your eyeliner, try using a very soft pencil that you can blend to soften so no harsh pencil lines appear," Jackson says. "You can also try using a soft eyeliner crayon. These can be a little thicker in size than a traditional eyeliner pencil and create an instant soft definition that once blended with your eyeshadow brush, will help open your eye and make your eyes appear larger as well." We love it!
When it comes to applying, Jackson recommends drawing "along your upper lash line, as close to the lashes as possible. As I mentioned, if you use a very soft eyeliner pencil, you can soften that line and blend it to create a shadow along the eyeliner instead of an unflattering hard pencil line that can look crepey and wrinkly on a mature eye."
Tip #2: Use skin-toned eyeliner
Adding a little flick or wing just at the outer corner of the eyes can create an instant uplifting effect and help take years off your look. One popular tip makeup artists suggest to give the illusion of bigger eyes and make you look more awake and younger is white eyeliner. Jackson highly recommends this tip, but she has her own spin on it.
The white eyeliner hack "generally involves using a white eyeliner pencil inside your waterline, and also on the inner corner of your eye to create the illusion of a more open eye. But honestly, this can look a little on the theatrical side if you're not careful," Jackson warns. "In fact, this technique has been used for opera, ballerinas, and drag queens long before Tik Tok was ever in existence."
To avoid looking too dramatic, Jackson says to use "a soft pink, or light flesh tone eyeliner pencil, such as Charlotte Tilbury's Rock'n'Kohl in Universal Nude, [to] create this very illusion. [By] using a soft pink/flesh tone instead of white creates a far more natural, everyday wear look. So simply place a dot of the pencil on the skin at the inner corner of your eye to instantly add light and open up your eye. And if you have smaller eyes, or want to take it a step further, draw the pencil on your lower waterline as well. This will instantly create the illusion of a bigger, more open eye and take years off in seconds." Got it!
Tip #3: Avoid shimmer eye makeup
One popular makeup product Jackson vehemently says to avoid is eyeshadow with shimmer in it. She says that glimmer eye shadow "can instantly age the eyes in one sweep of the brush." Although it may be tempting to use glittery eyeshadow for a festive look or a night out, this makeup powder may actually age you. Jackson continues, "The reflective nature of shimmer eyeshadow can be unflattering on an eyelid with a lot of texture. It reflects off all angles of the skin and can actually make your eyelids appear even older appearance than they actually are." So there you have it: five perfect anti-aging eye makeup tips. With these eyeliner tips, you're just a few products away from a stunning look that is sure to make your eyes look younger!
