I saw several persons crying during the last weeks. I noticed if somebody just cries a little bit, there are just one or a few tears falling. First the eyes get red and shiny, than the first tear escapes. A lot of people lower their head an the tear runs down the nose. If there is a second tear it usually goes down the same tear track as the first. Just if somebody is crying harder and sheding more tears at the beginning you see the tears going different ways. At the beginning, before the wiping starts they are perfectly visible, glistening. after the persons starts wiping the tears the face is just wet and the tearstreaks are not visible anymore.

Sounds quite "scientific" but I like several visible tears on the face, not just the "wet mess".