5 Makeup Tips for Glasses-Wearers

Hey glasses-wearers, if you didn't figure it out from the title, this one's for you. I've had a loooooong history with glasses. I got my first pair in kindergarten, thanks to a raaaaging case of amblyopia, which is more commonly known as "lazy eye." The optometrist tried to correct it with the world's hugest glasses, which didn't work. Long story short, I lost almost all vision in my right eye. Even better is the fact that my left eye is nearsighted, which means I will have to wear glasses for forever.

And sometimes, when I'm really tired, I'll still go cross-eyed. It's very attractive. I call it my "bedroom eye." 

Another fun side effect is that I only have to buy contacts for one eye, which saves money and time. Although my husband makes fun of me mercilessly every time I only fill one side of the contacts case.

So when I'm not wearing my contact, my glasses are glued to my face. Usually first thing in the morning when I'm too tired and uncoordinated to poke a small lens into my eye. I just got new glasses a month or two ago -- you can see them here. I love 'em.

And while I love that glasses make it, you know, legal for me to drive, I don't love how they can sometimes magnify eye probs like puffiness and darkness. SO when I know I'm going to wearing my glasses out and about, I take special care with my eye makeup so it's all kosher and my glasses look more like an accessory and less like "It was the weekend and my eyes were tired and I was too lazy to put in a singular contact."

1. Brighten Up!

Darkness gets magnified by glasses, so make sure you conceal and brighten any dark spots. I always use a concealer that has a yellow or pink hue to counteract the blue and gray tones under the eye. But don't forget to brighten the upper lids too -- I feel like people often forget that when you're tired, your WHOLE eye area looks tired. After concealing, I dot a little shimmer (in pink or white) into the tear duct and then on the brow bone area.

eye brightener

2.Tame Your Brows

Fun fact: When I wear sunglasses and raise my eyebrows, I look JUST like my dad. Who my son thinks looks JUST like Tony Stark so basically I look like Robert Downey Jr.

ANYWAY, brows can look unkempt against the graphic shape of glasses, so make sure they're tamed. I wax mine and then cut 'em down because they are CRAZY. After that, I use a little hair pomade to put them into place and that's it. If you have sparse eyebrows -- which totally happened to me over the summer after a bad waxing incident -- fill 'em in with an eyebrow pencil first.

Also, I feel like a post on brow shaping may be in order. Yes?

eyebrow pencil

3. Get Matchy

No, don't match your eyeliner color to your frames, but DO match the thicknesses. It's the easiest way to create a proportional eye and make the whole process foolproof. If you have thin frames, you need thinner eyeliner to avoid looking like you're wearing a crapload of makeup. Thicker frames? Go for thicker eyeliner so your eyes don't get lost. My frames are a thick tortoiseshell so I like doing like, a plum liquid eyeliner. I used to wear thinner frames, though, and then I could get away with minimal liner and mascara.

eyeliner

4. Go Waterproof

Depending on how long your lashes are, they can leave annoying smudges on your glasses. And then you get all ragey. I have experience. Also, I find that I touch my eyes more when I wear glasses anyway, since I can take them off and rub my eyes -- not OK with contact(s). So I wear waterproof mascara when I'm also wearing glasses. No smudges. Also, no smudges when I sob watching YouTube videos of dogs meeting with their owners after they've been in Iraq. SO EMOTIONAL.

waterproof mascara

5. Wear Color

When in doubt, a bold lip balances out your face when you're wearing glasses.Whether you like a red or you'd rather go for some coral or pink, going for some color can help define your lips and make up for a lack of definition in the eye area. I prefer a gloss because lipstick gives me anxiety when it wears away. A stain works really well too!

red lip

So, where are my glasses-wearing girls? When I was a kid I was convinced that wearing glasses made me smarter, which explains why I peaked at like age 11 after I stopped wearing them regularly.

And yes, I still wear them when I want to look smart.