Something I get asked about all the time and a thing I do need to think about myself…I’m not a ‘full time’ glasses wearer, but do have them (for when my eyes are tired and overworked!) and I’m also a fan of massive (extremely pretty but very extra and often heavy!) sunglasses which can still have the same effect on your makeup!
So yeah, I’ve put together some of my favourite tips and tricks to help keep makeup in place, avoid/ deal with glasses marks and make the most of your glasses wearing eyes…so if you’re always in glasses, an occasional wearer or just a lover of a good pair of sunnies, keep reading!
Firstly, just want to put it out there…there’s of course no set rules about wearing makeup with glasses. Ultimately, you do you and rock whatever the hell you want…but there might be a few of these tips and tricks that apply to you and will hopefully make your own makeup v glasses situation so much easier!
➕ If your glasses make your eyes look smaller than they are…concentrate shadow and liner to the outer corners of the eyes to frame and add definition. You can also go for a light flesh tone pencil on the waterline (I like Urban Decay 24/7 Waterline Pencil in Walk of Shame – UK*/Ire*) which will really open up your eyes and make them appear bigger.
➕ If your glasses make your eyes look bigger than they are…darker more matte shadows in general will make eyes look smaller, but you can also do any eye makeup you want and just use a black or dark brow pencil on the waterline for a smaller more feline smokey look.
➕ Generally more matte textured eyeshadows will work better when you’re wearing glasses, it’ll just stop over sparkle and loads of glare that you can get from more glittery shades. It’ll also minimise random bits of sparkle attaching themselves to your lenses!
➕ On the subject of shimmer and sparkle…skip inner corner highlight. It’ll highlight the inner eye/ nose area, so if you do get glasses marks it’ll highlight those too!
➕ I love a blinding highlight as much as the next person, but when you’re wearing frames (of any kind) try to go easy if you’re worried about fine lines or texture so it doesn’t highlight those areas more because of the focus on your glasses.
➕ Under eye concealer…you don’t want one that’s too dewy (it’ll crease/ make your eye makeup transfer) and one that’s too dry can make your under eye look dry and cakey and glasses can draw attention to it. I generally go for something like the (Kat Von D Lock It Concealer Creme – UK*/Ire*), great coverage, I know it’s going to last all day, doesn’t crease on me (although you can always set with a bit of powder) but doesn’t look dry and flat either.
➕ Focus on brows…frame dependant, but any frame will draw attention to that area so I always make sure my brows are groomed. You might want to go for a very soft brow to let your heavier frame do the talking, a super defined brow maybe if your glasses don’t offer you enough definition. Most of the time, I just keep my brows naturally groomed and somewhere in the middle. That way my brows won’t be fighting against my frames and my whole face/ makeup just looks more put together. I love either the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow* or LASplash UD Brow Mousse* (read more about that one here) on a super fine angled brush for a naturally defined ‘hair stroke’ brow. Either of those are waterproof and will last all day too!
➕ Curl your lashes! I never skip lash curlers ever, even on no makeup days! They just make your lashes look maximised and makes you look way more awake, mascara or not. Giving your lashes a curl too will stop them touching your glasses if you’re lucky enough to be blessed in the lash department! I use the Surratt* lash Curler, they give the most lift and a lasting curl.
➕ Mascara’s an important one too…again, glasses will draw attention to that whole area and sticky spidery lashes will be hard to hide. Go for a defining, volumising and smudge proof formula and if they start going spider regardless, just give them a good comb through with a spoolie or lash comb. Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof (UK*/Ire*) is a hard one to beat in my opinion and it builds perfectly without turning spider!
➕Foundation…there are a few ways you can approach foundation….
• Skip foundation where your glasses sit on your nose altogether…you might go without foundation altogether or you could just blend the rest of your face as normal and just skip there (making sure it’s well blended).
• You can use a long wear foundation and ‘bake’ the area with powder too. So for this, you apply your powder liberally to that area…leave it to ‘bake’ for a few minutes and then dust off the excess powder. This will technically mean that your foundation/ base is less likely to move under where your glasses sit. The main disadvantage doing it this way, is if you do then get any kind of glasses marks, it’s near on impossible to fix unless you remove and reapply!
• My personal norm…I like to use a foundation that is long wearing,but that stays flexible on the skin (eg. doesn’t dry down too matte and powdery) so I can re touch with concealer without the fear of cake and patchy or just buff my makeup back in to get rid of glasses marks. The Kat Von D Lock It Foundation (UK*/Ire*)is my all time favourite and I really like the Milani 2 in 1 Foundation* for this too.
➕ Blot powder is your friend…so even if you have powdered your whole face/ set your makeup with setting powder already, I would always use a little extra blot powder under your glasses anyway. Even if you do the foundation thing as above that avoids setting powder in that area (my preferred way), I’d still use a bit of blot powder as it’s light enough for you to still be able to buff your foundation back in where it’s worn off and it minimises moisture on the skin so stops your glasses sliding around as much in the first place. Kat Von D Beauty Blot Powder is my current go to (Coming to Debenhams KVD counters near you on 14th September!). Love the formula and the compact itself is so pretty, it’s a beauty to whip out of your bag for touch ups on the go!
➕ Contour like you mean it…brows defined and eyes looking awesome, glasses (of all kinds) can still sometimes overtake your features and leave your face looking a bit flat. Not ideal! The best way to counteract this annoying glasses behaviour is to step up your contour a little. Obviously still on the natural side or at least well blended, but it will add a bit more depth, dimension and warmth. The KVD Beauty Shade and Light palette (UK*/Ire*)is a firm fave of mine!
➕ Setting spray…you can use a setting spray in place of setting powder or as well as to finish and really seal in your makeup for the day/ night. Whichever way you use it, when wearing glasses…make sure it’s fully dry before putting your glasses on. It’s a stupid little detail, but one that can actively bring on slidey under glasses makeup if not fully dry when you stick them on!
➕ Last but not least…glasses are the perfect excuse (not that you need one!) to rock a bold/ statement lip! Great for lazy/ cba with eye makeup days too. I prefer to go for a liquid formula for a low maintenance lip that lasts.
Hope this has been anyway helpful to any of you fellow glasses or sunglasses wearing folk and you’ve learnt a tip or two! Let me know if you have any of your own in the comments!
Lyd x
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