Jayanti Krishnan

‘The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides…’

goes a famous quote. And how true too!

Eyes play a very important role in a woman’s persona. Despite the smart outfit and makeup, if your eyes look dull and dreary, the entire look can lose the charm. To get that confident and professional look, check out some tips on corporate eye makeup.

I cannot insist enough on the importance of not only your eye makeup but also the subtlety of it.

Without a doubt, eyes are the most defining feature and a proper makeup of eyes will make you look gorgeous.

Before we begin

Before we get into the details, like always, there are some basics natural habits that one needs to follow for happy and attractive eyes. To get clear and sparkling eyes, you can adopt simple lifestyle changes and try some easy home treatments:

Ground work

1. Get your 7 to 9 hrs of beauty sleep. This will give brighter and less puffy eyes. And a disciplined following of this regime will eventually get rid of dark circles or bags under your eyes.
2. Exercise the eyes by circular/horizontal and vertical movements, and then rub your palms together and place them on closed eyelids for a few minutes. This will help relax any strain in your eyes.
3. Use rose water and cucumber slices frequently for relaxing the eyes.
4. Before retiring at night, always remember to remove the eye makeup completely using makeup remover or baby oil/coconut oil.
5. You may also apply castor oil on the eyelids for natural and beautiful eye lashes. (My mom used to do that for me and I seldom use Mascara now :))

With this basic regime in place, let us move on to eye makeup. This quick guide will help you do your eye makeup in a few short minutes, so you can look professional at your workplace.

Note that corporate makeup should not be confused with Saturday night makeup. Less is more, so put the heavy eyeliners and bright colors away.

Things you need

1. Right type of eye shadow brushes
2. Eyeshadow base and eyeshadow
3. Eyebrow designer
4. Mascara
5. Eyeliner
6. Kajal pencil

Quick tip: Put your kajal and brow pencils in the freezer before you sharpen them.

Making up your Eyes

Step 1 – Design your eyebrows

Brows frame the eyes, so they form the core anchor for your eye beauty. Use the Eye Brow Designer to define and fill in your eyebrows using short strokes. Stick to the natural shape of your eyebrows and comb through it afterwards to make it blend softly.

Step 2 – Define your eye contour

For durable eye make-up, begin with an eyeshadow base. Use your fingertips to gently spread the base onto your eyelid. Always start with a base shadow that matches your skin tone and apply all over the lid up to your brow. Then, apply the eyeshadow. Always choose a light color which blends with your skin tone, rather than a bold or glittery shade. Use your shadow brushes with medium pressure on the eyelid and light pressure on the crease.

Step 3 – Frame your eyelids

Eyeliner gives perfect precision to business make-up. Lower your head back slightly and draw exactly along the lash line. Keep it thin, to just give a hint of highlight. Choose a color – black, brown or any dark color – that goes with your outfit. Keep glittery and shiny colors at bay. For easy eyeliner application, dot your lashes and connect them with a brush to create an even stroke. Alternatively:

1. Set the tip of the eyeliner onto the inner corner of the eye and draw a line connecting the corner to the center.
2. For the perfect curve, set the eyeliner on the outer corner of the eye and complete the line.

Step 4 -Enhance the depth of your eyes

Now, this is the most critical step. It can make or break your look. So do pay a lot of attention to this step.

Line your lower waterline with kajal. Keep the shade closer to the eyeliner color, not too jazzy.

Begin by using the kajal on the center of the eyelid and then go outward on either sides. If you have smaller eyes, do not apply the kajal to your inner corners as this will make them appear even smaller.

The secret to long-lasting eye makeup is layering.

Using a sharp kajal pencil, start lining your eyes from the outer corner and work your way through to the inner corner. This way you will ensure not to get any excess product deposited in the inner corners.

If you’re aiming for a subtle smokey eye for that added bit of sophisticated drama, use a smudging brush to gently smudge the kajal and smoke it out.

Step 5 – Lift up your lashes

You can increase the volume of each individual eyelash by using the mascara. Place the mascara brush at the base of the eyelashes. By slightly rotating the brush, all the lashes will be coated to their tips in the textured color of the mascara. Repeat as necessary to get the desired look.

As someone has aptly said, the real voyage of discovery consists not in making new landscapes but in having new eyes.

So here’s to your beautiful eyes…