5 Best Eye Makeup Tips for Extremely Sensitive Eyes

If you shop through these links, I receive a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

I’m sharing five very helpful eye makeup tips if you have extremely sensitive eyes. If you read my Life Lately post, you know I’ve been really struggling with ocular rosacea. My eyes are more sensitive than I think they’ve ever been! It’s been a very frustrating and annoying occurrence since I take pictures for a living. Plus, it has prevented me from doing a lot of beauty posts in the last six months I would have loved to do!

So, I will probably focus more on fashion content as I’ve traditionally done. Today’s post is an exception though. And I do have one more helpful eye makeup post for sensitive eyes on the calendar this month too. Haha.

Of course, we are all different. What works for one person may not work for someone else. This is especially true for those of us that have extra sensitive eyes. However, I’m not going to focus on a lot of specific products today. These are just general eye makeup dos and don’ts for those of us with sensitive eyes. Plus, they’ve really helped me as I deal with ocular rosacea.

Wear Only Black Mascara

I would say this first tip of wearing only black mascara is easy for most of us to follow. I’ve never worn anything but black until recently. I switched to a black-brown mascara briefly since as we get older black can be very harsh to wear.

If you don’t have sensitive eyes, changing out your black mascara for something softer like brown is a great makeup tip! However, if you have super sensitive eyes or deal with ocular rosacea, this is a big no-no! The more the pigment is changed the more sensitive you might be to it.

This can also be said of eyeshadows too. So, neutral eyeshadow shades are your friends more than bolder colors when it comes to very sensitive eyes.

Skip the Eyeliner

Another thing I’ve been doing is skipping applying any kind of eyeliner. It just feels a lot less irritating not applying a lot of makeup right up next to my eyes. Again, I feel as I’ve gotten older that traditional eyeliners look kind of harsh on me anyway. Instead, I had been using dark eyeshadows to lightly line my eyes, but I’m not even doing that now.

Less can be more as we get older, and the same definitely goes for rosacea or sensitive skin and eyes. It’s better to use less products.

I don’t know if ditching any kind of eyeliner will be a definite change for me, but it does feel better to skip this step for now.

Apply Products Carefully

When it comes to any kind of eye products, someone with sensitive eyes needs to be careful with how they apply them. Plus, you need to have clean hands.

I was getting lazy with my eye creams and just smearing them all over my eyelids without much thought. Now, I carefully and gently pat eye cream around my eyes, paying particular attention to not getting it too close to my lash line.

The same goes for applying any brightener or concealer under your eyes. I have always used my finger to apply concealer and will continue. I personally have a lot better control over the product and how close I get to my eye that way.

If it doesn’t bother you or you don’t have very sensitive eyes, using a beauty blender or soft brush is a great way to apply concealer. And I really love the look of applying concealer with a sponge, but I usually end up hitting my eye with the corners. So, I skip these altogether.

Use Mineral Eyeshadows

Mineral makeup is a great choice for those of us who have rosacea. The eyes are no different. I’ve had no issues with this eye palette, and it continues to be my favorite for everyday.

Some other general things I look for are oil free / noncomedogenic products. This is especially important dealing ocular rosacea. Also, fragrance can be a big irritant for those who have sensitive eyes and skin, so look for fragrance free products.

Wash Off Your Eye Makeup Every Night

I admit if I was really tired at night, I would skip washing off my makeup sometimes. I know that’s such a bad habit! Well, that habit is definitely broken now! Keeping your eyes clean is very important with ocular rosacea or having sensitive eyes in general. I’ve been using this cleanser without any irritation. I also love CeraVe products, and this cleanser. If I’m not wearing makeup, I use these soft cotton pads with only water to clean my eyes.