The Bigger, the Better

by The Style King/Ron King on Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Ron King has worked as a hairstylist, transforming people’s appearances, for more than 20 years. With a growing celebrity clientele, King travels the world taking inspiration from different cultures and countries. Along the way, he has developed his own “easy wear” style philosophy which plays up a woman’s natural hair texture and pairs it with natural-looking makeup that’s easy to apply. This mantra led him to launch a signature line of cosmetics for women who want to look pulled together but who are are short on time. King has worked with some of the most respected names in the industry, including L’Oreal Professional, Ted Gibson, Eva Scrivo and Rick Wellman.

Having big features is not usually considered a good thing, especially not when it comes to body parts… But there is one facial feature where bigger is always better. I’m talking about having huge, expressive, doe eyes. Not only will having larger peepers (or the allusion of it) make you seem more attractive, younger and rested, it’s also just a plain cute look. If you’ve ever seen a picture of Twiggy, you’ll realize that much of her appeal had to do with her huge, adorable and blue eyes framed by spidery, black lashes.

Not all of us have been blessed with big eyes, however, so below, I’ve compiled some tips and tricks to make your clients’ eyes large and in charge (I work with a lot of makeup artists in my salon and on shoots, so I’ve managed to pick up these hints up). Here we go…

-Put a shimmery, light-colored eye shadow on either side of the bridge of the nose as well as on the lids (apply lightly here). White or light colors in general make the allusion of more space between the eyes and bigger eyes overall. Just don’t go crazy with the white eye shadow. This is not 1976.

-Try a peach-toned liner on the inner rims of the lower lid instead of black, white or brown (this is not as harsh and unnatural). Then, apply a black/brown/gray liner a little underneath the rim and the peach liner.

-Apply a darker shadow in the crease of the eyelids. If your client’s eyes are close-set, try just putting the shadow on the outer part of her crease. If her eyes are far apart, do the opposite and apply shadow on the inner part of the crease. Does your client have well-proportioned eyes? You’re in luck. You can play around with your makeup to find the best application to enhance your orbs.
-Lastly, don’t forget the mascara!!! This is key to creating a lush, sexy eye. I like black and glossy mascara for night and a more opaque and natural shade for day. Curl your lashes and apply a few coats of mascara (just make sure it doesn’t look goopy). Two brands that are great are DiorShow mascara and, for the more budget-conscious, any Maybelline kind (can’t mess with the tried and true).