Every eye shape is beautiful — and no one eye shape is in need of makeover. But as anyone with hooded eyes knows all too well, most eye makeup tutorials were NOT created with our eye shape in mind. Hooded eyes are unique because the upper eye lid tends to be fleshier and can cover the lower eyelid, leaving you with less space (or so it seems) to apply eyeliner and eyeshadow. The moment a makeup artist or influencer begins to talk about piling dark eyeshadow shades onto the lid, you already know that’s not happening for you. As a result, having hooded eyes in an almond eye world can feel a little lonely. But more and more makeup artists are including hooded eye tips and tricks that really work to make the most of your gorgeous shape, while opening up the eye area a bit more for the illusion of more awake, more alert eyes.
This isn’t about changing your eye shape — it’s about enhancing it. And this is the number one easy eye makeup hack (along with a few more for good measure) that works like magic on hooded eyes.
Apply eyeliner only to the outer half of the eyelid
Eyeliner is a tool that you love to hate when you have hooded eyes. You watch as everyone else perfect their winged eyeliner and then, when you give it a whirl, all of the eyeliner you applied disappears the second you open your eyes. Worse: it creates a totally black eyelid crease that can make your eyes appear more closed up.
Don’t hate on the eyeliner — keep yours and improve your technique by only applying eyeliner to the outer half of the eyelid and then sweeping your line out and up to elongate your eyes. “Draw a thin line along the outer half of the eyelid and wing it out slightly,” says Makeup Artist Madeline Hall at Hourglass Waist. “The eyeliner draws attention to the outer corners and center of the eyelid, creating the appearance of a more lifted and open eye shape.”
If you struggle to create a perfect line, you can follow another great tip and first draw your line and wing using a white eyeliner pencil. Erase any mistakes with a bit of micellar water and a Q-tip. When you think you’re ready to move onto a deep, bold color, grab your black, brown, or colorful liquid or gel eyeliner (nothing like a little purple or green to make eyes pop) and go over your stencil so that it stands out. Eyeliner stamps are also a great, cheap tool to use — they are double-sided eyeliner pens that feature a wing shaped stamp on one end. Just give the side of your eyes a little stamp and you’re done.
Apply a light-colored eyeshadow on the inner corner
Light colors open up your eyes, while darker colors bring on the drama and emphasize your eye shape. So when you are creating your outer-eyelid eyeliner, don’t forget to also apply a light-colored eyeshadow on the inner corner of your eyes to make your lids appear larger and more open. “Apply it to the inner corner of the eye and blend it out towards the center of the eyelid,” Hall says. “The light-colored eyeshadow brightens up the inner corner of the eye.”
You can even use a dab of highlighter on the inner corners of your eyes to create even more brightness.
Make friends with shimmery eyeshadow
Hold the glitter for just a second. As tempting as it might be to throw sparkle over your entire eye (it will draw in light and emphasize your lids, right?), that’s a recipe for a messy eye makeup look. The trick when befriending shimmery eyeshadow is to go slow — use it in moderation — and apply it strategically.
“To use the shimmery eyeshadow, apply it to the center of the eyelid and blend it out towards the outer corners,” Hall instructs. In other words, just a little dab of shimmer — you can even use your fingers — is enough to create lightness in the center of your eye, drawing attention to your iris.
Make this hack work even harder for you by choosing a shimmery shadow in a color that complements your eye color. For brown eyes, that can mean green, gold, purple, and blue. Green eyes look amazing in copper. Brown and taupe work beautifully on blue eyes. And hazel eyes will stand out with a bit of shimmery green, purple, or bronze.
