Can You Wear Eye Makeup Only?

Are you the kind of girl who has never really worn makeup? You’re not opposed to it, but perhaps you just never really had experience putting it on.

It’s easy to skip too, when you’re young and fresh-faced, but there are occasions when even those of us that like to go outdoors, swim, or just be natural feel the need to wear makeup.

Think formal occasions. A business meeting. Job interview. Date. You get the idea.

So, it stands to reason that if you have little-to-no experience applying makeup that you might be wondering can you wear makeup on a bare face?

Can You Wear Eye Makeup Only?

You can wear eye makeup on a bare face after applying your moisturizer. If you’re skipping on foundation, it’s better to use a little bit of concealer; However, you should avoid using bright colors and applying mascara on your bottom lashes for a beautiful and natural look.

Makeup is supposed to make you feel good about the way you look. It helps add confidence. It’s only natural to feel a little intimidated though when you’ve never really used it. There are so many products out there. What do they do? Do you really need them all?

Well, it really depends on the look you’re going for. Some women like to keep it all-natural all the time with a barely-there tinted lip gloss. Others want to glam it up. And still others will mix it up depending on the occasion.

That’s why we love makeup so much. Your face serves as the canvas for accentuating your features and it’s very easy to cancel out any flaws (like that zit that popped up right before your hot date of course!).

Makeup is such a wonderful accessory because you’re not stuck with the same look every day unless you want it that way. Once you cleanse it away, you can start fresh again and again. It’s facial art and it’s definitely amazing.

As such, there’s no one way to do it and that’s what overwhelms those just diving into the makeup pond. Let go of your fear and keep reading about how to apply eye makeup so that you look and feel like an even more spectacular version of yourself.

Your makeup is your palette of colors from the foundation you use to pave the way to an evened-out skin tone to the eye makeup you wear to make your eyes pop.

You can go as dramatic or as natural as you want, but once you’re finished reading this post, I know you’ll be ready to try it out!

How to Apply Eye Makeup Only and Rock it

If you’re reading this, you’ve never ever or barely dabbled in makeup application. That’s ok because we all have to start somewhere. I’m going to tell you how to do it just right, so you’ll love the way you look. You’ll be a big makeup fan by the end of this!

There are some steps you should follow to ensure you have the best makeup application. These are universal for just about every look you try.

It might help to practice your makeup application at a time when you’re not in a hurry to be somewhere so you can get comfortable with it. Once you’ve applied makeup several times, you’ll get the hang of it and you can speed up your routine.

Here’s what you should do every time you apply eye makeup.

1– Don’t skip moisturizer

Seriously, never ever skip it. Moisturizer and proper skincare leading up to that point are crucial for having beautiful skin. The goal of makeup should be to help enhance what you have. If your skin looks fresh and youthful, you won’t need a heavy foundation.

Using the right moisturizer is essential too. If you have dry skin, you should use a moisturizer that’s intensively hydrating. If your skin is oily, you’ll want something water-based that won’t leave a greasy feeling. Getting the moisturizer right is so important.

Are you uncomfortable with the idea of using a foundation? Afraid that even a lightweight one might feel too heavy? A great option is a tinted moisturizer. This is ideal in the summer when the oppressive heat can make even the best skin feel uncomfortable.

It’s a good look to go for if you want to look good for that hottie at the gym, you’re outdoors, or you simply just want lighter coverage because it will blur away imperfections and smooth out your skin tone without looking covered up, cakey, or streaky.

However you do it, moisturizing can help smooth out blemishes that you have. Look for ones that can help conceal if that’s your jam.

Some self-tanners might be ideal too. It might take a little experimenting to see what feels right for your skin. Generally speaking though, in the summer, you’ll want lightweight coverage while in winter, you’ll want something a bit heavier to protect skin and lock in hydration.

And no matter the season, not everyone is blessed with clear and flawless skin. Some people have blemishes or spots they’d like to disappear. That’s when CC or BB creams can be helpful. They offer light coverage and help lighten, brighten, and clear skin.

BareMinerals’ Tinted Hydration Gel (Amazon link) is just divine! It offers the perfect finish as it fills those pesky fine lines and pores, while evening your skin tone; best of all you won’t be able to tell you’re wearing makeup, that’s how light it is.

2– Avoid bright colors on your eyelids

Once you get comfortable with makeup application, you might change your mind, but starting out, it’s really best to keep from using bright colors on your eyes. This draws lots of attention and you need some practice to get it right.

Plus, if you’re just doing the bare minimum on your face and applying eyeshadows to a bare face, using too-bright colors on your eyelids can make you look unfinished. Like you were doing your makeup and an emergency came up that forced you to vacate your home.

For that bare-faced look, keeping the eye makeup more natural is key. It also helps you warm up into the new routine of makeup.

Add neutral colors to even things out but avoid those bright colors or creating a smoky eye that won’t look right under these circumstances. Play up your lashes with a good mascara that doesn’t clump or give you those scary spider eyes.

A must have is this mascara duo by Too Faced (Amazon link), I absolutely hate clumpy lashes! Yuk! But I never had any issues with Better Than *** (keeping it family friendly!), I could even apply it in the morning only to find it look almost as amazing in the evening and that’s with a single application.

Nothing is more attractive than long lashes!

3- Use a pencil eyeliner instead of a liquid eyeliner

Adding eyeliner even on a bare face can add a pop to the eyes. But there’s no time for makeup drama here either. Eyeliner is definitely tricky when you’ve never applied it before.

You’ve got to keep your hand steady. Don’t worry though because once you do it a few times, you’ll have it mastered.

Again, I recommend practicing when you don’t have anywhere in particular to go. Trying out eyeliner for the first time 20 minutes before your hot date is going to show up is a really bad idea.

You know the saying they have about anything that can go wrong will? This would be a living example of it.

Traditional liquid liner is one of the trickiest things to apply. This is why I advise you steer clear of it for now, especially on a bare face. Instead, a liquid felt tip is a lot easier to work with and gets results.

It’s not as precise as liquid brushes can be, but it’s a lot easier. Pencil eyeliner, of course, is the easiest.

Choose your eyeliner and follow these tips to be a master of eyeliner:

• Get as close to the lash line as possible. This will give your eyelashes the illusion of looking more dense and full. This technique is known as tight-lining.
• Connect the dots. Make it easier by making little dots from the outer corner to the inner corner, then connect them. A stiff slant brush can even help you blend those dots into one soft line that will go great on a bare face.
• Check your liner tip. The tip of the eyeliner you use should be thin yet blunt. This allows you to have impeccable precision to create the perfect shape.
• Put the freeze on it. To keep your pencil eyeliner on point, you can freeze it before you sharpen it. This keeps it from getting crumbly.

4– Skip mascara on your bottom lashes

Even big-time beauty mavens will skip out on mascara on the bottom lashes. It can actually open up the eyes more when you do. Applying mascara to your bottom lashes makes your eyes look smaller.

And when you’re wearing a bare face, mascara on the bottom lashes can make dark circles seem more visible. Beyond that, it’s easier to smudge.

When you have a full face of makeup, you can take steps to set it in place and keep it from melting away. On a bare face though, skipping mascara on the bottom lashes is best.

The only exception to this is if you’re a very natural blonde. Your lashes look barely-there anyway so enhancing both the upper and lower lashes will do best to make your eyes stand out even on a bare face.

For those with darker hair, you can safely skip those bottom lashes. Try it and you’ll see it makes a big difference!

5– Use your fingers to conceal your dark circles

Even if you’re going for a bare face, concealer can be the miracle worker you need to look effortlessly flawless. The first step is choosing a concealer made for your skin type.

Just like with using the right moisturizer for your skin type, it will make all the difference in how it works with your face.

Using your fingers to apply your concealer helps warm it up and melt it into your skin. You don’t want it settling into any little lines or wrinkles you might have around your eyes.

This will just make them stand out and ruin your look. You should choose one that has a lightweight texture, like the famous Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Multi-Use Concealer.

When you’re doing a bare face, it’s important to use the right shade of concealer. When you’re doing a full face, going about 2 shades lighter than your skin tone and your foundation will brighten up dark circles and shadows on your skin.

But when you’re doing the bare-faced thing, you’ll only render yourself with a ghostly appearance.

For a bare face, you should use a concealer that matches up with your skin tone. Your goal is to look natural and flawless, not like you’re ready to go trick or treating on Halloween.

6– Don’t forget your eyebrows

Eyebrows are everything to the face! They frame your features which is why having them shaped properly first and foremost is critical to your look.

Some women have naturally thick eyebrows that just need a little preening to manage. Other women have overdone it and have sparse eyebrows.

For those blessed with big brows, consider having them professionally shaped at least once in your life. An expert can help you discover the right shaping for your face’s shape and to best bring out your eyes. Then it’s easier to maintain the look.

For those of you with thinner brows though, whether by genetics or by overplucking, you can use an eyebrow serum like LiBrow (Amazon link) to help get them beefed back up.

Apply it before bed every night, it’s a great alternative to microblading and only costs a fraction of its price. Remember the 2000s? Everyone used to pluck their brows only to regret it later when thicker, fuller brows became hip again! If you’re a trend victim, give it a try!

Until they fill in more though, you can fill them in yourself. A brow gel with fibers is an excellent way to get your brows to look fuller fast.

My go-to brow gel is Gimme Brow+ by Benefit (Amazon link), and I absolutely LOVE it! You know what they say, good things come in small packages, and this baby is no exception! It contains teeny, tiny microfibers that adhere to skin and hairs (more so the latter, which is a good thing right?!) to give your eyebrows that beautiful, seamless definition. It brushes on like mascara.

Simply brush it through and it will give you a natural boost to your eyebrows. When you’re wearing a full face of makeup, you can use brow pencils and powders, but when you’re wearing eye makeup on a bare face, you’ll look ridiculous with too much stuff on your eyebrows.

Conclusion

You can definitely wear eye makeup on a bare face, though you shouldn’t just wash your face and throw makeup on. Step one is adding a moisturizer to keep your skin hydrated and protected.

During the daytime, that moisturizer should include sun protection, or you should be sure to add it on top of your moisturizer if you’re going to be outdoors. This will keep your skin looking youthful and healthy as you age.

The key to adding eye makeup on a bare face is keeping things simple. You don’t want to be too bright or showy which can create an unfinished look.

By focusing on enhancing a few simple things, particularly the lashes and brows, you can have a beautiful bare-faced makeup look with eye makeup that looks natural and carefree!