How to Make Your Eyes Look Farther Apart

Co-authored by Courtney Nawara and Hannah Madden

Last Updated: February 16, 2022 References

If you have close-set eyes, you may have noticed that your eyes aren’t as far apart as other people’s. Close-set eyes certainly aren’t a bad thing, but they can close off your face a little more than you’d like them to. By using some basic makeup tricks, you can widen and elongate your eye shape to make them appear further apart than they actually are.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Eye Makeup

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Dab a light eyeshadow in the inner corners of your eyes. Rub an eyelid primer onto your lids and let it dry for about 1 minute. Pick out a shimmery white or tan colored eyeshadow and dab a small, fluffy brush into it. Pat the color onto the inner corners of your eyes to make them look brighter and wider.^{[1]
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Expert Source

Courtney Nawara
Makeup Artist & Gothic Blogger
Expert Interview. 30 July 2021} Keep the shadow to the inner corner, not on your actual eyelid.^{[2]
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- You can also use pale pink or light orange eyeshadow to match the rest of your look.
2
Add a medium shade of eyeshadow to the center of your eyelid. Pick out a shade of eyeshadow that’s in between your lightest and darkest shade. You can use a light brown, tan, pale purple, or dusty pink eyeshadow to complement the look you’re going for. Pat it into the center of your eyes to bridge the gap between the dark and light shades of shadow. Bring the shadow up to your eyelid crease to make your eyes look larger.^{[3]
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- If you chose tan, try pairing it with brown or beige.
- If you chose pink or light orange, try going with pale purple or dusty pink.
- You don’t need a ton of the medium shade since you’re mainly using it to fill in the gaps between your other 2 colors.
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3
Pat a dark colored eyeshadow onto your outer eyelids. Pick out a dark brown, purple, or gray shade of eyeshadow to put onto your outer eyes. Gently pat it from the center of your eyelid out toward the edge of your eyelid from your lash line to the crease of your eyelid to make your eyes look larger.^{[4]
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- If you used tan and brown, try going with a chocolate brown for the darkest color.
- If you went with a pink or orange combo, try using dark purple or dark orange.
- Avoid using black eyeshadow for the outer corners of your eyes, as it can close them off and make them look closer together.
4
Line the outer half of your lower lash line with dark shadow. Take the same eyeshadow you used for your outer corners and drag it down to your lower lash line. Use it to line just underneath your lash line from the outer corner to the center of your eye, but don’t go beyond that.^{[5]
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- Adding too much darkness to the inner corner of your eyes can make them seem closer and smaller.
- Blend all of the colors together with a large, fluffy brush.
5
Draw winged eyeliner from the center of your eyelid outwards. Grab a liquid black eyeliner and start lining right above your upper lash line from the center of your eye outwards. Drag the eyeliner out in a wing that’s about as long as your eyebrow to extend your eye shape outwards.^{[6]
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- A long wing will make your eyes look larger and further apart.
Tip: You can also add some black eyeliner on your lower lash line if you’d like to, but don’t take it past the center of your eye.
6
Swipe mascara onto the lashes from the center of your eye outwards. Take your mascara wand and use it mainly on the lashes from the center of your eye outwards on both your bottom and top lashes. You can add a little bit of mascara to the inner lashes as well, but try to focus on the outer ones to open up your eye shape.^{[7]
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- Try using an eyelash curler beforehand to give your lashes some extra lift.
- You can also trim a set of false lashes and glue them to the outer edges of your top lash line.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Filling in Your Eyebrows

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Brush your eyebrows up and outwards with a spoolie. Take a small spoolie or eyebrow brush and use it to comb through your eyebrows. As you do, brush the hairs upwards and outwards to make your eyebrows look fuller and more defined.^{[8]
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- Most eyebrow pencils have a spoolie on one side that you can use.
Tip: You can comb your eyebrows before and after you fill them in to make them look neat and keep them in place.
2
Fill in your eyebrows with a matching eyebrow pencil to make them bolder. Grab an eyebrow pencil that matches the shade of your eyebrows. Use short, small strokes to draw in the lines of your eyebrow from the beginning to the end. This will give your brows more definition and width.^{[9]
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- You can use the spoolie on your eyebrow pencil to brush your brow hairs back into place as you work on them.
- You may have to test out a few different colors until you find the shade that works for you.
3
Emphasize the arch in your eyebrows as you fill them in with pencil. Use your pencil to make a slight arch above the outer 1/3 of your eyes. Widen the arch slightly to make it more prominent, if you can.^{[10]
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- A higher arch will extend your eye shape outwards.
4
Extend the tails of your brows about 1 cm (0.39 in) longer than your eyes. Using your same eyebrow pencil, drag the tail end of your eyebrows down just slightly so that they’re about 1 cm (0.39 in) longer than your eyes. Drag the line downwards toward your ears instead of straight out. Don’t go overboard, as a super long eyebrow can make your eyes look droopy.^{[11]
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- A longer eyebrow widens your face, making your eyes look further apart.
5
Highlight the arch of your eyebrows with highlighter powder. Dab a small makeup brush into some bright, shimmery highlighter. Pat the highlighter directly underneath the arch of your eyebrow on your brow bone, then blend it in with your fingers.^{[12]
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- The highlighter will draw attention to the arch of your eyebrow, making your eyes seem larger.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Choosing Hairstyles and Glasses

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Part your hair to the side to open up your face. Pick the right or left side of your face and brush your hair over to one side. Situate your part directly above one of your eyes to open up your face and make your eyes seem wider.^{[13]
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- Side parts work great if you have a lot of face-framing layers.
2
Add volume to your hair with volumizing products. Wash your hair with a volumizing shampoo, then rub in a volumizing conditioner. Once you’re out of the shower, rub a volumizing cream into your roots, then use a round brush as you dry your hair.^{[14]
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- Adding volume gives your face height and length, making your eyes seem wider and farther apart.
- If you aren’t washing your hair, spray some dry shampoo into your roots to add some volume.
3
Cut long, swooping bangs to add dimension to your face. If you’d like some bangs, try going for long ones that hit at your cheekbones or your chin. Keep them swooped to the side to open up your features and make your eyes look wider.^{[15]
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- These bangs are super versatile, and they look great with almost every hair type.
4
Wear oval-shaped glasses if you need them. If you wear glasses in your daily life, try picking oval-shaped frames. This will make your eyes look further apart because of the wide lenses.^{[16]
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- Avoid going for small, circular frames, as those can make your eyes seem smaller and closer together.

Community Q&A

Question

My eyes are normally very far apart. How do I get my eyes closer?

Community Answer

Filling in your brows closer together can make your eyes look closer together. If you use winged eyeliner, make the wings a little more short and vertical. This enhances the length of your eyes, and makes them appear closer.
Question

For wider eyes, do I put a light or dark shadow in the inner top corner of my eye?

Community Answer

You would put darker colors on the outer corners of your eyes and lighter colors in the inner corners by the nose.