Eye makeup trends are all very well but what if your eye shape doesn’t suit them?
That’s the case for many people with hooded eyes, where much of the products you apply can be hidden or smudged.
What are hooded eyes?
Hooded eyes are an eye shape where there is excess skin that folds over into the lash line. It means when your eye is open and looking straight forward, the eyelid space can’t be seen because from the crease to lash line is hidden.
Looking in the mirror, if the skin droops down from your brow bone towards your lash line, you likely have hooded eyelids.
It’s a very common eye shape and has often been considered very sexy, with some of the world’s most famous women (think Emma Stone, Bella Hadid, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lawrence and plenty more) also having the eye shape. Hooded eyes often become more prominent with age.
One downside is that it doesn’t give you much surface area to play with, when it comes to makeup application. Keeping products, especially eyeliner and shadow, in place without smudging can also be a real challenge.
The good news is, careful and targeted application techniques can help you make the most of the eye shape you have.
In fact, although surgery to minimise the upper eyelid (known as Blepharoplasty) is common in Hollywood, Jennifer Lawrence recently revealed she had been accused of going under the knife, when in fact it was her makeup artist’s application skills that changed the way she looks.
In a conversation with Kylie Jenner for Interview magazine, Lawrence credited her makeup artist Hung Vanngo’s skills for making an impact.
“I think it’s incredible what makeup can do because I work with Hung, who overlines the lip, and I call him a plastic surgeon, because everybody in the last few months since I’ve been working with him is convinced that I had eye surgery,” she said adding, “I’m like, ‘I didn’t have eye surgery. I’m doing makeup.’”
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Hooded eye makeup tips
Prep the eyelid well with primer
The biggest issue for people with hooded eyes is smudging. Remedy this by prepping the lids with a mattifying eyeshadow primer and a light dust of translucent powder to minimise any transfer that may occur between the layers of your lids. You can also use a matte eye shadow stick or cream eyeshadow with good saying power, like MAC Cosmetics Paint Pots or MECCAMAx Zoom Shadow sticks, as a base, blending with your fingertips.
Apply makeup with your eyes open
Apply your eye makeup, especially eyeliner, looking straight into the mirror and avoid pulling eyelids taut.
Use small brushes as they allow you to blend out your makeup in a compact area of space. Larger brushes can apply too much colour, leading to heavy-looking hooded eye makeup.
Extend eyeshadow above your crease
Blend eyeshadow from your lashline, all the way up extending above the crease, (curve where the socket is), so that the colour can be seen when your eyes are open and looking forward. This is higher than many tutorials for eyeshadow application for other eye shapes. Blending with a clean, fluffy eye blending brush like MAC Cosmetics 224S Tapered Blending Brush will help with a seamless finish after colour is applied.
Blend the colour upwards and ever-so-slightly outwards at the corners toward your brows to give your eyes a more lifted look that mimics a cat-eye shape without using liner.
Try to avoid using too many eyeshadow colours
Instead keep things simple and avoid complicated eyelid contouring. If you want a slightly smoky look, apply a soft mid brown all over your lids. Use a gel pencil liner to line your upper lashline then go over the liner with an eyeshadow in a deeper colour, smudging the liner gently. The powder shadow will help set the liner and give a slightly smoky look.
Use a fine eyeliner
“On hooded eyes, keep your eyeliner application as thin as possible,” advises celebrity makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury.
“For eyeliner to be visible on hooded eyes, the focus should be on precise, well-defined placement that accentuates the look of the eyes without getting lost,” she says. “Apply your eyeliner in a thin line, as close to your lash-line as possible for best results.”
She points out applying more product also increases the risk of transfer onto other parts of the eye, so keep your liner clean and concise.
Choose colour carefully
Don’t go too dark as it can make eyes look heavy. Choose mid-tones shades like taupe and brown hues.
A lighter shade can help eyes look more open, but avoid applying overly frosted hues that reflect light, all over the lid as they can make the lids appear puffy. Instead, apply just a dab above the iris in the center of your lid or you could try adding a touch of shimmer shadow to the very inner corner of your eye by your nose. This highlight can give the illusion of eyes looking brighter.
Apply a light liner to your waterline
Victoria Beckham has declared applying a nude or white gel eyeliner to the inner waterline, or rim, of her lower eyelids her favourite trick for looking refreshed and awake.
Apply mascara to your bottom lashes
Use an eyelash curler and then give a good coat or two of mascara to upper lashes.
Many people avoid putting mascara on their bottom lashes but it can help makes eyes look bigger, bolder, and more full.
Don’t forget your brows
Defining and filling in your brows plays plays a crucial role in balancing your face. Use a fine pencil to fill in any gaps and strengthen the inner ends, and slightly extend the tail if you need to.
