Anyone with hooded eyes knows what a challenge eyeshadow can be. We don’t have much lid space to work with, and our hard work easily becomes distorted when we open our eyes. If I were to place a transition shade directly in my natural crease, for example, you’d only be able to see it when my eyes are closed. When open, it would be completely hidden by the hoods of my eyes.
My own eyes are naturally very hooded, a trait was passed down from my mother (who has beautiful eyes). Still, I’m not going to lie, I’ve found it hard to accept this cosmetic fate of mine. After all, I love doing eyeshadow, and I so badly want my work to be more visible. Over time, though, I’ve learned some tricks and techniques that I rely on for making hooded eyes stand out in a flattering way, and I wanted to share them today.
1.) Don’t place eyeliner all the way across your lid.
Instead, try placing your liner only halfway across your lid. While fully lined lids can make non-hooded eyes more pronounced, it often closes off hooded eyes, making them look smaller. If you must do full liner, be sure to keep the line really thin, especially as you go toward the inner corner. However, I really recommend the half-liner technique. It emphasizes the outer portion of the lid, making the eye look more uplifted.
2.) Place your highlight shade halfway across your lid from the inner corner outward.
Just as designating liner to the outer portion of the lid lifts it up, placing your highlight shade farther across the mobile lid makes the eyes look wider and more awake. This is not to say you have to place a shimmery highlight over most of the lid to make hooded eyes look good; it’s just the easiest way to create the illusion of having more lid space. A staple champagne eyeshadow, like Stila’s Kitten, works beautifully.
3.) Make sure the eyeshadow on your lower lash line connects perfectly with the eyeshadow on your upper lash line.
This is especially important for those who have hooded and down-turned eyes. If the eyeshadow placed on the upper lash line ends even slightly below the eyeshadow on the lower lash line, the eyes will look more down-turned . To prevent this, try waiting to apply foundation and concealer until after beginning the lower lash line. Any fallout or misplaced eyeshadow can then be wiped away to create a perfect connection between the upper and lower lash lines. After completing your base makeup, the lower lash line can be blended out using a light transition shade or, perhaps, bronzer.
4.) Bring the transition color up high, close to your brows.
One of the most frustrating things about hooded eyes is that you can’t really see all the eyeshadow you’ve placed when your eyes are open. Bummer, right? For this reason, I’d challenge you to take your transition shades higher. Not just a little above your natural crease, but a lot. For me, this means almost to the brow. This may seem overly bold, but when you open your eyes, you’ll actually see all of your hard work.
5.) Brighten up your lower waterline.
Placing a nude liner, such as HoneyDude by ColourPop, in your waterline will open up your eyes and make them look brighter. Any light or pastel color will do the trick. Just be careful with pinks, which can draw attention to any redness in your eyes. Personally, I love using a periwinkle liner in the lower waterline. It makes the blue in my eyes pop, while giving me that wide-eyed look. Prance, by ColourPop, is the perfect periwinkle.
And, that’s it! However, I want to stress that rules are meant to be broken. After all, makeup just gets washed off at the end of the day. I use techniques that are considered wrong for hooded eyes all the time, and sometimes they even work! But, if you have hooded eyes, are in a hurry, and need to get your eyeshadow right the first time, these techniques will do.
Anyway, we’re all so very different, and what works for me may not work for you. Let me know in the comments if you have any favorite tips for hooded eyes. I’d love to hear them!
And to all our American readers, Happy Thanksgiving!
xoxo Kelli
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