Eye advice needed

[WobWib]

Morning all,
I really need your help. I'm in my late 50s and my eyes look like I am 70! Hopefully I have attached a photo. I am very low at the moment and the nights crying have taken their toll.
I have a big event coming up which I need to look bright and happy at. I have bought a great dress and hat but what can I do about these sad eyes? How can I disguise the bags and dark circles and generally put some life back in them?
Any help would be gratefully received.

I am the same age as you and my eyes are not as I would l like them.

They do look a bit better with tidied up eyebrows (plucked a bit). I then use a very easy to use product called Brow Shake by Rimmel. This is like using eye shadow on your eyebrows. I can comb them through with a spoolie brush. The whole thing takes about one minute.
I also put a fine line of eye liner on, in a soft brown or grey, never black, and a bit of mascara.

All this draws attention to the eye rather than the under eye.

If I had a special event to attend I might put a tiny bit of foundation under the eye on the darker bit and blend it in.

Hope that helps. Also drink more water and get more sleep. Sounds like the last one us not so easy.

Thank you for your reply Mosiac. Daft question, but I have never used eyeliner successfully. I'm a bit cack handed and I don't really know where to put it. Can anybody advise or recommend anyone online to help?

I use the kind that are like a fine felt tip pen. I don't like the kind you have to sharpen.

Top lid only and start about half a cm from the middle of your face and follow the curve of your eye to almost the end.

Make up one eye only , then look in the mirror and see the difference.

Thank you so much.

Would you consider getting your eyebrows done? If they’re threaded/waxed and tinted it can ‘lift’ the eyes a bit.

I'm a bit younger than you and my eyes look like that close up.
I second getting your lashes and brows tinted and consider LVL, which is like a lash perm and tint.
Can you get to a makeup counter? A decent primer, concealer and light reflecting foundation can make such a difference.
Bobbi Brown or Laura Mercier are my go tos.

@WobWib if you are not used to doing eye makeup, I would suggest going to a department store and asking a sales assistant for help. Many brand counters have 15-min appointments where the sales assistants can show you how to do one bit of makeup (eg eyes, skin etc, rather than the full face) for free, so you don’t need to commit to buying any products if you don’t like them. Bobbi Brown and Estee Lauder are good options.

I wouldn’t use a felt tip eyeliner for the look you want - you said “bright and happy” so I’d use a cream eyeshadow in a light and slightly shimmery shade over the upper eyelid (just the bit over the eyeball, not the bit over the brow bone) a medium-dark shade close to the eyelash line, and a dark creamy eye pencil very close to the lash line, slightly buffed/smudged to give it some softness.
I love liquid/felt tip eyeliner but it’s not a soft look usually, and it takes a while to learn how to apply it without smudging!

I second PP’s suggestion to tidy up brows, it doesn’t need to be a drastic change but just a “clean up” of the area under the brow. I’d stay clear of threading as it’s very painful when you are not used to it or when you have a lot of hair (or longer eyebrow hair) to remove. Waxing would be better, though of course it would need to be done by someone good to avoid giving you a whole new look that you don’t want.

But your eyebrow has a good shape to it, if you don’t fancy the idea of getting them waxed (or tweezed), there’s no need to do it! Just avoid putting any eyeshadow or concealer in the area just under the brow and above the eye socket.

@WobWib

Morning all, I really need your help. I'm in my late 50s and my eyes look like I am 70! Hopefully I have attached a photo. I am very low at the moment and the nights crying have taken their toll. I have a big event coming up which I need to look bright and happy at. I have bought a great dress and hat but what can I do about these sad eyes? How can I disguise the bags and dark circles and generally put some life back in them? Any help would be gratefully received.

Hi, I feel your pain. I've just had upper blepharoplasty which removes the sagging skin on the eyelid. It has made a hell of a difference but it took two weeks for the swelling to go down. Before I had the procedure, I wore strip on fake lashes as they totally open your eyes.,x

Also, putting ice packs under your eyes can reduce the swelling x

I’d put a bit of concealer on your actual lid, dusted over with a bit of pale cream powder shadow to cover any redness. Blend a little bit of concealer under your eye too.
Get a medium taupe powder shadow & a small eyeshadow brush & blend a bit in the socket, use a wiper blade type movement back & forth. Blend out any hard edges with the same pale cream shadow you used on the lid.
Then put a fine line along your upper lid as close to the eyelashes as you can, sort of blend it into the roots. This is easiest using a dark brown powder shadow applied with a damp small eyeliner brush, much easier & more fool proof than using felt tip or a pencil. Then stroke on some mascara, onto the lashes. None of this needs to be expensive, Boots or Superdrug will have lots of choice.
I’m older than you & this is what I do, makes a huge difference to how you look.
I hope whatever is causing you such distress eases soon & you can begin to enjoy life more, take care

For someone who’s not good with eyeliner, I would avoid the liquid ones and go for a soft pencil such as Rimmel Scandaleyes in grey or similar soft colour.

Try tightlining where you apply the pencil underneath the lash line, the effect is quite subtle but will definitely give your eyes a lift.

You are all so kind to help. I've not really worn make up since the depression hit. I think that an appointment at a make up counter is probably a sensible idea. I am near Harrogate if anyone can recommend somewhere that would be good and not too intimidating.
| used to have my eyebrows waxed - so yes, I should do that too.

Op you can lift your eyes immensely with a few simple exercises done regularly. Lots of teachers /demonstrators on YouTube. It’s is relatively quick to tone up the eye muscle surrounding the eye.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=NL1mxS-W9jc

m.youtube.com/watch?v=8MEhYRoSZcw

Your eyes look a bit puffy and swollen, the Caffeine serum from The Ordinary is brilliant to help with this. Just dot a drop under and round the eye and it does a brilliant job of tightening up. Used it a lot when I was going through a low patch and crying in the mornings before going in to work. It's so cheap and lasts for ages.

@WobWib sorry I don’t know the shops in Harrogate, but I wanted to say that cream eyeshadows in a stick may be the ideal solution. Most department store brands have a version of them (Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, MAC) but you can also get them from E.L.F. In Boots or Superdrug, they are just as good quality.
You can do an amazing eye makeup with a light and shimmery shade as a base and a darker shade on the lash line, smudged (this could be a soft pencil eyeliner like the Rimmell one a PP mentioned!).
Don’t forget your eyelashes - use an eyelash curler if you have one, then use a mascara for volume and length. If you want a really soft look, you can swipe the mascara brush lightly on the lashes while blinking your eyes. Hard to explain but hopefully you get what I mean! This gives me a softer but still defined eyelash look.

Bless you I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think and taking a close up photo never makes anyone feel better!! I think you should go and get your brows tinted and shaped (not much shaping needed just a tidy up) and maybe have a lash tint and perm (I think that’s what an lvl is now). I would try a caffeine roll on eye gel (mine is q and a you can buy it in lots of supermarkets etc) and keep it in the fridge to really wake up the eyes. I would be minimal with any make up as unless you get skilled you can simply end up drawing more attention To an area you don’t want attention to. Just simple eye make up and Maybe a nice bright lipstick would take the attention away better than trying to learn eyeliner tricks in a rush. Honestly though I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think and you don’t owe anyone else nice bright eyes or anything!! Do what you feel comfortable with.

I can't say how grateful I am for all your help and advice. I have booked in for an eyebrow wax and LVL this week and I am going to town shopping for lotions and potions tomorrow.
I am also going to get plenty of exercise and fresh air, sleep and good food/water.
Thanks again

Sounds really good.