By Tara Heath

Your eyes are one of the first features people look at when they meet you but you might not realize that your makeup habits are causing your eyes to lose their sparkle. Here's how to look after your eyes so that they’re healthy and gorgeous.

Don't Be Hasty

You might be in a rush to get your makeup done before going to work, but be careful as it's really easy to get an eye injury if you apply makeup too quickly. When applying eyeliner or mascara to your eyes, you want to take your time to prevent jabbing your eye and possibly scratching your cornea with a pencil, applicator or mascara wand. Don't even think of applying makeup while driving or riding in a car as a passenger as a sudden jerk or stop can cause injuries.

Stay Away From the Waterline

The 'waterline' is the skin between your lower eyelashes and your eye. This is a common area where people apply eye liner but it's dangerous because you're applying makeup too closely to your eye so it can get into it really easily and cause scratches or irritation. Leave a bit of a gap between your eye and where you apply eye makeup to be safe and avoid such problems.

Work With Expiration Dates

Expiration dates are on makeup products for a good reason: after that date, bacteria gets into the makeup and if you use the products you can get eye infections such as conjunctivitis or pinkeye. Throw out any makeup products that are passed their expiration dates. If expiration dates are not listed on them, your makeup products will let you know how long you have to use them before throwing them out, so make a note of the date when you opened a product to remind you to bin it within the amount of months listed on the product, such as ‘6 months’ or ‘12 months’.

Never Share It!  

Sharing is caring - except when it comes to makeup! Avoid sharing makeup with your friends. Even if they don't have any eye infections, every time they use makeup products on their eyes, they're transferring bacteria to and from their skin, which will then get applied to your skin.

Ditch the Glitter Products

Eye makeup that contains glitter is popular to give your eyes more radiance, but those pieces of glitter are not healthy for your eyes. They can get into your eyes and scratch them, and this is even more dangerous if you wear contact lenses as the glitter can get trapped between the lens and the surface of your eye.

Wash Your Makeup Off Before Bed

You should never go to bed before washing off your eye makeup because while you sleep your eye products can enter your eyes, causing irritation and even infections. Excess makeup can clog the glands around the eye and you can damage your eyelashes if you sleep with mascara on because the product clumps on your eyelashes, making them break easily.

Wearing eye makeup is an easy way to accentuate the beauty of your eyes, but it can bring you problems if you don't use it correctly. Make safe cosmetic application your priority to prevent eye infections and conditions. Your eyes are the window to your soul - keep them clear and beautiful.