THE EYES HAVE IT

HELLOOOOOO my lovelies!

So today I wanted to talk about eye shapes. Why? Well as a makeup artist I believe that determining your natural eye shape is just as important as finding the most flattering colors for your lids and of course – matching your shade of foundation! Knowing how to apply eye shadow and liner for your eye shape, will help you better translate trends and techniques to fit your face. So read on to discover tricks for your eye shape – so you can make the most of your peepers!

Wide set eyes are usually more than one eyeball width apart. To bring them closer together you can:

• Use a  highlighter shade on the central portion of your upper lid
• Rim your top and bottom lash line with a black liner as close to the inner tear duct as possible
• Use a mascara comb to swipe all of your tiny lashes from mid eye to nose

Downturned eyes have a slight dropping on the outer corners. To pull the eyes upwards appear upwards you can:

• Creating a sexy cat’s eye shape (this is the perfect shape for it) to do so apply a liquid liner along the top lid and extend outward and upward at a 45 degree angle – this will create symmetry and add va-va-voom!
• Blend a dark shadow from the edge of the eye inwards to the visible crease
• Firmly curl the outer lashes and reapply mascara on the outer lashes

Close set eyes are less than one eyeball width apart.  To create the illusion of more space you can:

• Using a light eye shadow on the inner corners of your eyes – I suggest trying frosty white or sparkling nude hues.
• Adding an extra coat or two of mascara or placing some  individual lashes, 1/2 or 1/4 corner strip lashes to the outer corner to pull the focus outward
• If applying eyeliner, ensure it goes from thin to thick as you apply it from your inner to outer eye corner on your upper lash line and it extends a little bit beyond your outer eye corner

Deep set eyes are usually large and set deeper into the skull, creating the illusion of a more prominent brow bone. The eyelid can also look as thought it goes way back into your head. I would suggest trying to:

• Brighten up the natural shadowing by dusting on a beige or warm metallic hue on the lid (think peach!) this will help the eyelids to ‘pop’ open and bring the eye forward
• If you have this shape you will probably have a prominent brow bone, so, you can apply a contour colour onto here rather than in the crease.
• More than likely the ends of your lashes graze your lids, so, be sure to apply waterproof mascara to prevent smudges

Hooded eyes feature an extra layer of skin that droops over the crease, causing the lid to appear smaller. To draw the focus upward:

• Diffuse darker shadow over and out past the crease.
• Tight line the top waterline to intensify and enlarge your eye shape and thicken the lash base, which also can disappear under the lid fold. 
• Use a light highlight shade on brow bone and inner corner along lash line

Protruding eyes create the appearance of projected lids in the eye socket area. On the up side, the bulge gives you plenty of lid space to play with! To keep the lid from overpowering your look:

•  Blend darker tones all over your eye because dark tones recede space and size (pushes the lid back), smokey eyes work great with this eye shape.
• Apply thick liner along your upper lash line to further diminish some of the space.
• You can also use a slightly lighter shade for the crease, and blend outward towards the brow bone.

 Mono lids (asian eyes) are usually flat on the surface and don’t have much of a crease if any and the Brow bone is less defined. To create definition and the illusion of dimension on your flat surface:

• Using a gradient of eye shadows, dark to light. Shading the darkest colour the closest to the lash line, the soft neutral hue in the middle and the shiny colour at the brow bone
• Always curl lashes for a lift and you can add some individual false lashes for extra flare
• When lining your bottom lash lines, remember to smudge it out. But be careful – wherever you put darkness is where your eye is going to follow. If you only put it in the lower rim, it makes the eye seem smaller, but if you add liner to the lower lash line and smudge it out then it brings those outer edges forward, so it makes the eye appear larger.

This eye shape is often large, and open-looking – the width and height is nearly the same. Personally I think these eyes are actually quite adorable and can be quite beautiful if you use your makeup correctly: 

• Using a two to three eyeshadow shades apply the lighter eyeshadow from your lash line to your brow bone (your entire lid). You can also apply a bit of this eyeshadow under your lower lash line. Apply the darker shade in your crease and create a V shape on your outer eye corners. 
• Ensure you extend the color upwards and outwards until it almost touches the outer tip on your eyebrow curve at about a 45 degree angle. This will help in create an illusion of an elongated eye thus reducing the round appearance of your eyes.
• When using eyeliner I highly recommend tightlining your eyes and/or applying the liner to create a cat eye effect.
• When applying mascara, you need to put more emphasis on your outer third of your upper eyelashes with less mascara on your middle and inner eyelashes.

 

 

The best way I can describe am almond-shaped eye is very simple, the inner corner of the almond-shaped eye resembles that of the tapered point of an almond and rounds up and out to a slightly upturned outer corner. People of many different ethnicities may have almond-shaped eyes so:

• Feel free to experiment with different eye shadow placement, but a classic eye will always serve you well. Work with three shades and place the lightest shade on the inner half of the lid, the darker shade on the outer half and the crease, and the lightest shade on the brow bone
• Because the almond-shaped eye can pull off almost any eyeliner look – I would suggest for everyday makeup, use eyeliner to highlight that great shape. Put eyeliner on the outer half of the upper and lower lash line to make your eyes look large and romantic. Make sure to use light strokes and apply lightly toward the middle, getting darker and heavier toward the outer edge.
• I would suggest considering a more angled brow rather than one with a rounded arch. 

I put this together to help explain and showcase the different types of eye shapes out there and give some tips on how to make the most of what you have. You may even realise that you’re a combination of two or more (like me).

However I want to leave you with one final thought: