ARE YOUR EYES CLOSE-SET?

Close-set eyes mean the space between your pupils is smaller than one eye width. It's a striking, intense look — but it also means every lash choice you make can either open up your face or squeeze it together. If you've ever looked in the mirror and thought your lashes make your eyes look like they're touching, you're not crazy.

THREE MISTAKES THAT MAKE CLOSE-SET EYES LOOK WORSE

• Heavy lashes at the inner corner. Volume at the inner corner pulls the eyes even closer together.
• Thick fluffy strips. A dense, curtain-like lash hides attention from the outer corner and emphasizes the middle.
• Trimming the outer corner too short. When you cut away the length that should pull your eye out, you lose all the lift you need.

THE TWO FEATURES THAT ACTUALLY HELP

1. Length at the outer third. You want your lashes to flow from the center to the outer corner, with the longest points beyond mid-eye. This pulls the eye visually outward.
2. Light and wispy texture. A wispy lash with varied lengths feels less dense, so the focus stays on the lifted outer corner instead of the center of your face.

It seems backwards, but the only fix is to stop trying to make both sides meet in the middle. Let them fly outwards.

HOW TO TEST A LASH STYLE BEFORE BUYING

Hold the lash strip against your eye without glue. Look straight ahead. If the longest parts are positioned at the center of your eyes, skip it. If you see a clear diagonal lift from the middle to the outer corner, that's your sign. Also, check the inner corner: it should be very low profile, almost invisible.

WHAT LASH LENGTH IS SAFE FOR CLOSE-SET EYES?

Medium length is ideal — round 10 to 12mm on the outer edge. Anything longer can hit annoyingly close to your brow bone if you have a shorter eye.

CAN I WEAR CRISS-CROSS LASHES WITH CLOSE-SET EYES?

Yes. Criss-cross lashes actually soften the transition between the center and outer edges. They work even better than horizontal band styles because they don't form a rigid line that makes the eyes look boxed in.

SHOULD I TRIM MY FALSE LASHES?

Always. Place the lash against your eye from inner to outer corner. If it extends beyond the outer corner, trim from the outer end. Trimming from the inner end can ruin the architecture of the style.

Once I got this right, my close-set eyes suddenly looked like they were in the right place. PHANSTA LASHES makes a knockout wispy style that pulls the eye out in all the right ways. Shop PHANSTA LASHES

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