How to Get Anime Eyes

Enlarging Eyes with Makeup

Apply concealer and foundation. Use these products to conceal dark circles under your eyes, and to give you an even skin tone base to work with. Select a foundation lighter than your skin tone.

Add eye primer. Cover the area around your eyes with eye primer to keep your makeup in place and make the appearance more durable. Tap it on all the way up to your eyebrows, but not on top of them.

Use eyeshadow. Placing eyeshadow correctly can make your eyes appear larger and rounder. Brush on eyeshadow around your eyes. While you may use any color, softer, lighter shades are recommended to accentuate the cute appearance of most female anime eyes. If you decide to use pale eyeshadow, blend in a tinge of brown over it to make it stand apart from the white eyeliner you'll be applying later.

Accentuate with eye shimmer powder (optional). For a glittery effect, add eye shimmer powder around the inner corners of your eyes. This step can be skipped if you dislike the flashy effect, or if you do not have this product.

Create a pale outline of the inner eye. Use white or pale eyeliner to draw a V shape through the tear duct area of your eyes, at the inner corner. Extend this outline slightly onto the waterline of each eye, but not more than 1/3 of the way across your eyelid. Paler outlines create the illusion of a larger object, and focusing on the inner corner makes your eyes appear closer together. The waterline of an eyelid is the hairless area that touches the other eyelid when you close your eyes. Some makeup brands make "Big Eye" eyeliner products specifically for this purpose. You may use an eyeliner pencil or liquid eyeliner.

Make a longer outline with dark eyeliner. Apply a black or very dark eyeliner to the top and bottom water lines of your eye, to make your eye more dramatic. Avoid the area with white eyeliner, or carefully outline the white area. On the outer eye corner, extend the eyeliner past the waterline by 1–2 centimeters (0.4–0.8 inches) to make your eye appear slightly larger. Optionally, create a small wing at the corner. Winged eyes look even larger and more dramatic, but large wings can result in a heavy, partially closed look that doesn't match most anime styles. You might achieve a more natural effect by closing your eyes and using the natural crease to extend the outline. Avoid smoky eyeliner, which can make your eyes look smaller. You might have heard that if you have rather close set eyes, it's not okay to put eyeliner on the bottom because that closes up eyes even more. However, if it's done right, it just ties your whole look together.

Put on black mascara. Use a "volumizing" and lengthening mascara to make your eyelashes full and long. The outer lashes often appear thicker than the inner ones in anime, so concentrate on these. There are two main approaches you can use to different effect. Choose between them below, but remember to let your mascara dry before applying the next coat: Apply several coats thickly across the eyelashes for a bold, dramatic effect. This option is not recommended if you have a mascara that clumps together. Apply one coat using three brush strokes, across the outer, middle, and inner sections of your lashes. Repeat as needed until you achieve the desired effect.

Wear false eyelashes (optional). If you are unsatisfied with the look so far, accentuate it with false eyelashes. Use demi lashes, or cut full-length lashes shorter before using. Apply them a little further back than you normally would to create a "larger" eye, across the top of the waterline or even just behind it. Optionally, add lower lashes as well. If you do not want to use false eyelashes, curling your eyelashes can result in a similar, though less dramatic, effect. Anime characters often have more "separated" eyelash look. Consider attaching sections of false eyelashes 2–4 millimeters (0.08–0.16 inches) apart, instead of in a continuous fringe.

Achieving Other Anime Features

Change your eye color with contacts. Large "circle lenses" can achieve a more dramatic effect than makeup, especially if colored with an unnatural color. Always get your eyes measured by an optometrist first, and purchase the contacts from a reliable source. Poorly made or poorly fitting contacts can cause serious eye damage. For an especially dramatic effect, try "sclera lenses," which cover almost the entire visible eye. Always put on contacts before applying mascara.

Use a light lipstick or lip gloss. Dark or bold lipstick will make your lips appear fuller and larger, which will detract attention from your eyes. On many face types, over-accentuated lips and eyes together can be overwhelming or chaotic. Consider a light pink lipstick or clear gloss instead. You can, however, make an exaggerated heart-shaped bow on top of your lips, if you are imitating an anime character with this feature.

Add a pink blush. The innocent look of most female anime characters can be reinforced with a light pink blush on the cheekbones. For a uniquely anime look, cross the blush over the bridge of the nose from cheekbone to cheekbone.

Alter the look with colored eyeliner. Brightly colored purple, blue, green, or other eyeliners can achieve an even less realistic look. You may wish to use this instead of black eyeliner if you are imitating cyberpunk anime, or other unusual styles.

Draw on false eyebrows. A thinner, higher arch looks more animated than a natural eyebrow, especially if drawn boldly. Optionally, you can also use unusual colors. Wiping a gluestick over your natural eyebrows will flatten them out to make this more convincing.

Tighten your eyes with teaspoons. Keep two teaspoons in the refrigerator or a cold cellar for 20–30 minutes. Put the bowl of the spoons over your eyes until the spoons have warmed up. This pulls the skin around your eyes tight, temporarily making you look wide-eyed.