Bigger Really IS Better (in makeup, that is...)                              Back to columns list

Nicole Beckett

January 20, 2005

In Hollywood there is a general rule of thumb that actors and actresses who are deemed the most attractive sport larger than average heads...literally. From Marilyn Monroe to Jessica Simpson, stars throughout the ages have been coveted for their larger than life assets (above the neckline, of course). It seems we are attracted to all features jumbo size. This is why magazine editors often use subtle graphics to enlarge the head and facial features of their cover girl before sticking it back onto her body for a cover look.

Whatever the obsession with bigger is, makeup is the easiest way to enhance your looks for a larger than life appearance. For the scoop on how to get bigger eyes, higher cheekbones and plumper lips, I enlisted the help of MAC makeup artist Tonya Binkley with these four simple words: Super Size me, please!

For super size eyes, using a lighter eye shadow toward the nose and a darker color at the outside corner of the eye is just the beginning. Binkley suggests using liquid eyeliner on the top lid, increasing the width above the iris. Then use a pencil eyeliner on the bottom lid right under the lashes and blend with a Q-tip toward the outside corner of the eye. Finish the look off by curling your eyelashes and adding mascara to the top lashes. Three coats is status quo as long as they don't clump up.

Most of us weren't born with Helena Christensen cheekbones and don't have the pain tolerance for plastic surgery. So what's the solution when you're in the mood for better bone structure? Contouring. Binkley suggests using a darker blush shade along the hollows of your cheeks topped by a lighter shade on the apples of your cheeks. Subtly blended, the two blushes will give you a much more sophisticated look. For a night out, try highlighting the apples of your cheeks with a clear shimmery powder for extra pop. A word from the wise: less is always more with blush unless you are really skilled. It's better to look underdone than to look like an extra on the set of Dallas.

To get plumper lips, relive your kindergarten days and color outside the lines. Binkley suggests applying foundation over your lips to clear out their natural lines. Using a lip liner pencil with a similar shade to that of your lipstick, draw in fuller lips by following the outer edge of your lip line. As you come to the corners of your mouth, smoothly bring the pencil back inside your lip line. The key is to increase the height of you lips, not the width. I cannot stress this enough: If you mark the outside corners of your lips, you will look like you ran away from the circus. Once the lip liner is complete, apply lip color. To make those lips even poutier, put a slightly lighter shade of lip color in the middle of your lips and add gloss.

Now that you've super sized your assets, you'll realize what people say is true: Bigger really is better. Let's just hope you can handle it.