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Crying, too much salt intake, fatigue and alcohol are all causes of eye puffiness. There are several tricks to alleviate puffiness, such as applying cold spoons or cucumber slices to your eyes and using concealer. However, mascara and eyeliner also can help you disguise puffy eyes if you use certain application methods. De-emphasize your puffy eye areas by drawing attention away from them with makeup.

Upper-Eyelid Puffiness

Apply makeup only to your lower lash area if your upper lids are puffy. Emphasizing the least puffy areas of your eyes draws attention away from the puffy areas. Applying makeup to both draws too much attention to your eyes.

Line your lower lashes with a neutral-toned eyeliner, such as brown or taupe. Bring the eyeliner out past the corner of your eyes to make them look wider. Smudge the eyeliner for a softer look.

Apply a black or dark brown mascara. It's more natural-looking than a blue, for example, so it won't call attention to puffy eyes. To de-emphasize upper-eye puffiness, use only one coat of mascara on your top lashes and two to three coats on your lower lashes.

Under-Eye Puffiness

Apply eyeliner and mascara to your upper eyelids. This draws attention away from the puffy area beneath your eyes and toward your upper lids.

Use a neutral-toned eyeliner for your upper lash line. Line your upper eye lids only. Draw the eyeliner out to the corner of your eyes for a "cat eye" effect. Or, use eyeliner in the crease of your upper eyelids to give them extra definition and emphasis. Smudge the eyeliner to blend it.

Give your upper lashes at least three coats of mascara. Again, black or dark brown mascara is best because it looks natural. Curl lases with an eyelash curler for a more dramatic effect.