The Walk of Frame

I recently flipped through a semi-current BeautyTextbook, and bee-lined straight to the Makeup Section. I am always fascinated with the advice that beauty literature provides for the makeup industry . On advising what to consider to determine makeup for a client, the textbook states: “When applying makeup, you must take into consideration the structure of the face; the color of the eyes, skin, and hair; how the client wants to look; and the results you can realistically achieve.” I 100% agree with these points. However, I do feel that there are a few VERY important additional factors that need to be included: Hair STYLE, Client’s wardrobe (neckline, colors) and if she wears glasses. Since the talented Anna Duncan of Revolution H. Salon works her hairstyling magic for a living and the stylish Amanda King of White Lili Boutique knows fashion like the back of her hand, I want to facilitate & educate my expert makeup tips for gals that wear specs.

There are really two ways to address the “makeup-to-glasses” ratio: Revolving the makeup around the glasses OR revolving the glasses around the makeup. Since beauty products are versatile, I recommend adjusting the makeup around your favorite pair of specs! We’ve teamed up with West End Eye Care to provide simple tips on how to adapt makeup based on the style of specs. Let us take you down “The Walk of Frame.”

For gals that sport rectangular frames like these Tory Burch TY2025 pair, be sure to balance the face with a sculpted set of eyebrows. Since rectangular-shaped frames are longer than they are taller, there is plenty of space for arched brows to make a statement. On our model Amanda King, we used a dark brown brow pencil to create a nice shape, but then diffused the product with a Spooly Brush, to keep the hairs groomed and looking natural.

Curious about the “eyeliner rule” for ladies that wear specs? The thinner the frames, the thinner the liner, and the thicker the frames, the thicker the liner. This will scale facial features in proportion to the glasses. Model & Blogger of Miss Kortney Lane opted for medium-width frames in style “Fulton” by Lily Pulitzer, so the eyeliner reflected that scale. We applied a black gel liner with a Detailed Eyeliner Brush to achieve a nice, crisp wing.

If the glasses are neutral tones (black, brown, grey, taupe, or tortoise) there is opportunity, to play up the lips with a bright color. The key is to keep the eye makeup relatively simple at the same time. Model, Sally Thompson chose a classic two-toned pair of Burberry BE2166 specs, so a bold red lip helped balance the face. We first lined the lips and then coated lipstick on top.

To prevent lashes from grazing the lenses every time the eyes blink, curl the lashes to lift them upward instead of outward. Also be sure to apply mascara one layer at a time, to make sure any additional lash volume does not interfere with blinking with glasses on. Model & Blogger, Kathryn Byers of  Chic & Shimmer  picked out a versatile, classic-shaped frame in style “Leticia” by Kate Spade. She had amazingly long lashes, so we used smudge proof mascara, to prevent any transfer onto the lenses.