How do you wear makeup with glasses?

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bluerose

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Crazy question, I know. Here’s the background. I’ve often thought it would be nice to “dress up” my face a little when DH and I go out, but I’ve never been one to wear makeup (not even lipstick) and I just don’t understand how women with glasses are able to do it. I know Sarah Palin pulled it off, but most women I’ve seen who wear glasses and makeup somehow overdo the makeup, as if to make sure it’s apparent through the glasses. Not the look I want at all! And I can’t wear contacts (that’s been suggested to me before.)

So those of you who do wear both… how did you learn what works and what looks natural? Did you get a makeover or professional advice? Trial and error (and how much did that cost?) Like I said, this is not an everyday thing I’m planning on (don’t have time every day to put my face on!) just something for special occasions that doesn’t make me look like I’m ready for the Mardi Gras parade!

Thanks in advance!
 
Try the CAF girly girls group here or their forum, which is full of questions on makeup, and ladies to answer them.

Also there is a thread in parenting on makeup. Just search everyday minerals.

Sorry, don’t have glasses, so no advice.
 
I wear glasses, and the main thing is to find a nice black eyeliner to do the whole smoky eye…you do not need to over do it with a lot of eyeshadow and things.🙂 A good black liner on top and bottom, and good mascara make your eyes pop even behind the glasses. Trust me, I have very dark rimmed plastic heavy frames…and I do not need to put on a lot of makeup to make my eyes stand out. 🙂 Good luck.
 
For most women a bit of mascara and blush will do. You only really need more if you have dark circles under your eyes and other such things. There are several natural mineral powder make ups out today if you want to even out your skin tone. Neutragena is good and not too expensive. Just go by the natural color of your skin. I wear glasses but I don’t put on make up any differently. I only put on what enhances my natural look. The object is for people to see you not your make up.
 
There is a technique to it, in my opinion. I wear contacts half the time and wear my glasses the other 50% of the time (or whenever I don’t feel like dealing with my contacts.)

I am more inclined to wear more eye makeup, or try a more dramatic look, when I’m wearing my contacts. Like you mentioned, eye make-up behind glasses has a tendency to look either overdone or sloppy-- I think the glasses can be a double-edged sword, they both accentuate your eyes and conceal them. So the same will happen with your make-up when it’s less than perfect, or less than subtle. 😉

To combat this, I just focus on accentuating my eyes and making them look bigger when I’m wearing glasses. Use a very, very light hand. You want an almost “nude” look. I’ll wear some light shadow on the lid and browbone (either a light, neutral color like taupe or peach-pink, or a pale, shimmery color to act as a highlighter). I skip the mascara and line my top lid with a brown or black liner, in a thin line very close to the lashline. And that’s it! 👍
 
I’d try with a mirror. It probably depends on the particular set of glasses, like strength and short or far sight and all that. Anti-reflection filters would probably matter too, or those really transparent glasses where you can only see the frame in a photo, but no glass.
 
Wow! Thanks for all the (name removed by moderator)ut! I wear bifocals (the no-line kind) with metal half-frames that hit just below the brow because I don’t want my glasses to be the first thing people notice about me (I went through my “Sophia Loren giant frame, dark lens” thing about 20+ years ago!) I guess I’ll just have to be brave and give it a try! Thanks again everybody!
 
ac_claire said:
Like you mentioned, eye make-up behind glasses has a tendency to look either overdone or sloppy-- I think the glasses can be a double-edged sword, they both accentuate your eyes and conceal them. So the same will happen with your make-up when it’s less than perfect, or less than subtle. 😉
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That part I bolded is key - depending on the curvature of your lenses and the shape of your glasses, they will either magnify or diminish the effect of the makeup you are wearing. My best advice would be to sit by the mirror with the products/looks you’d like to try, do a test run of each, and have someone take a photo. You can then look at the photos and figure out what works best for you. You could also try using an eyelash curler before applying mascara - it will make your eyes look bigger and more open behind your glasses.

Also, if you have a friend/relative/close co-worker who usually wears glasses and good eye makeup, I’m sure they’d be flattered if you asked them for a quick tip.

As far as minimizing cost goes…look for coupons in the weekly fliers and sales at local drug stores. The basics, like Maybelline classic black mascara is just $4 at my Wal-Mart. For most women, basic products will be the same - mascara, an eyeliner pencil, and about 3 different eyeshadow kits. You can definitely look online to see which colors will go best with your complexion, eye, and hair color, and then experiment within that range. Using coupons and shopping sales, a basic and good-quality eye makeup kit can be had for less than $20.
 
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