I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 12. When I first turned four-eyed, I thought it was pretty cool and grownup. As I entered my teens I got all self-conscious thanks to the ‘geek’ stigma attached to being bespectacled. I constantly saw the world through stiff, dry contact lenses. Times have changed and goggles are more of a fashion statement now; my view on wearing glasses has had a 360 degree turn.

Girls with glasses are cool! Make the most of your frames, and read on for tips to take your style quotient behind goggles many notches up.

It’s All About the Eyes

When wearing glasses, the eyes are the focus of your face. Here is a list of makeup cheats that are guaranteed to make your eyes look bigger, brighter and more beautiful behind frames.

Line the Lids: Always line the top lids to add definition. Opt for gel liners rather than wax-based ones that tend to smudge easily.

Waterline Woes: never line the waterline (the base of the eye) when wearing glasses. It makes the eyes look raccoon-like and smaller. Opt for a nude liner on the waterline; it makes the eyes appear larger. A dab of eye-shadow on the waterline looks lovely for a night out.

Mascara is a Must: a coat or two of mascara really opens up the eyes. Let it dry before wearing the frames. Always use waterproof mascara, and opt for volumizing formulations. You might like to try Paese’s brand new ‘Blacker Than Black’ mascara (retails at AED 99).

Curl Them Lashes: eyelash curlers are a bespectacled girl’s best friend. Curled lashes really does make the eyes pop.

Conceal Shadows: wearing glasses adds shadows around the eyes. Apply a yellow-toned concealer in the inner and outer corners of the eye.

Shimmer: add dabs of highlighter at the corners of the eye to add drama and depth.

Say No to Neons: on your lids that is. Behind glasses, ultra bright colors look far too garish (and you’re getting this from color-obsessed me!). Leave the ultra-bright colors for your lips.

Brush Them Brows: a girl with glasses needs to keep her eyebrows in shape at all times. Glasses frame your face but eye-brows frame your glasses. Fill the eye-brows so that they are visible over your glasses. You might like to try L’Oreal’s Brow Artist Genius Kit: for AED 90 you get brow wax that shapes and provides a 12-hour hold, and a palette of color to fill in and define.

Do Some Lip Service

Goggle girls should love their lippies!

Be Bold All Over: unlearn the rule that says you can only wear bold makeup on the eye or the lip (and never both together). This does not apply to bespectacled girls. Go smokey-eyed, wing out that cat-eye further and paint those lips a bright, happy red!

Bold Bright Lips: if you’re too chicken to go all-bold, keep eyes minimal (think nude shadow, thin liner and a few flicks of mascara) and go for the brightest shades of fuschia, red and pink. With goggles, you can carry off bright lips from day to night. I love my bright Lush lippies; more details on these beauties can be found in my earlier post here.

Hairstyles Ideas for Girls with Glasses

Bun It Up: pile up the hair on the crown of the head and neatly secure it into a bun. It adds height, looks very chic, and keeps the hair off the face to give more glory to those gorgeous frames.

Be Messed Up: tussled, wavy hair that hasn’t had a blow-dry is a super-easy look to achieve, and has a youthfully playful look. This look works best with hair-lengths that extend beyond the shoulders.

Sleekly Tied Up: this look works well with formal attire. Add zing to this clean sleek look by shaping the middle parting into zigzags. Funky chunky frames look best with this style.

The Frame Game

Sometimes the choice of makeup you choose is greatly dependent on the style of frames you wear.

Classic Frames: Accentuate the eyes. Practice longer, bolder cat-eye flicks. By day, keep the lips neutral. For a night about town, try smokey eyes and paint the pouts vixen red.

Nude Frames: I love the look of clear frames. I bought mine online from Bonlook. When wearing nude frames, ensure your makeup does not overpower the frames. Choose a neutral palette for the eyes that compliments (rather than predominates) the frames, and you can choose to go bold with the lips.

Colored Frames: Coordinate colored frames with your makeup. A light sheen of aubergine eye-shadow will add drama to a pair of purple frames; a bright red lippie looks hot with red frames.

Frame Size Matters: the bigger the frame, the bigger your palette! Work on the wider area, experiment with smokey-eye looks.

Frame Thickness: the thicker the frames, the thicker the eyeliner should be. Vise versa, thinner frames look best with thinner liner.

Bespectacled Fashion Icons 

Remember these are just guidelines. There are no rules when it comes to dressing up. Go with what works best on you, and own it. Here are 3 phenomenal bespectacled style icons who have managed to turn their frames into signature their very own looks:

Bobbi Brown (Makeup Guru and the founder of the Bobbi Brown makeup brand).

Jenna Lyons (Director of the very fashionable brand J.Crew). I love her taste in fashion, and have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to her!

Iris Apfel (94 year-old fashion icon who is still turning heads today). Read more about her here.