How to Do Makeup That Suits Your Eye Shape

It’s great to know which color of eye shadows to choose. But if you also know what makeup is best for your eye shape, you can call yourself a professional.

To help you always look at your best, 5-Minute Crafts prepared this article where we’ll tell you in detail what makeup to choose for any eye shape.

Almond eyes

This eye shape can be called universal. Experts recommend to wing out the eyeshadow at the outer corners of the eyes which will visually lift the face.

• Method 1: Try applying a bright color to the crease of the eyelid, and apply the eyeshadows of deeper colors to the outer corner of the eye and wing it out toward the temple.
• Method 2: Use an eyeshadow in the same shade along the entire length of the eye, from the crease of the eyelid to the temple. Then apply a deeper shade to the outer third of the eye, from above and below.

Upturned eyes

This shape can be round or almond, but with pronounced upturned outer corners. Experts recommend emphasizing the natural beauty of this shape with cat eye makeup, and to wing out eyeshadows or eyeliner closer to the temple, as if extending the upturned eyelid line.

How to do cat eye makeup:

• Use a concealer or eyeshadow primer under your eyes and on the eyelids to create a smooth, even base for your makeup.
• Apply eyeshadow on top if you use it. If not, skip this point.
• Using a pencil or eyeliner, draw a short, thin line from the outer corner of the eye to the tip of the eyebrow at a 45° angle.
• With liquid eyeliner, draw a thin line along the upper eyelid, following the natural curve of the upper lash line from the inner corner of the eye to the outer corner. Do the same on the lower eyelid.
• Connect the upper and lower lashes with a smooth, curved line. Fill in any gaps with the eyeliner.

Downturned eyes

In order to make this shape more balanced, you need to visually lift the outer corner of the eye. This can be done using a combination of light and dark eyeshadows.

• Apply a lighter shade all over the lid and a darker shade over the crease. Apply dark eyeshadow with a thin brush from the middle of the upper eyelid along the lash line, as if lifting the outer corner of the eye. Eyeshadows can be blended to create a smoky effect.
• Brush your eyebrows upward.

Round eyes

If you want to make your eyes more visually elongated, experts recommend focusing the most intense color on the top lash line only. Avoid applying the same color to the upper and lower lash lines, as this will emphasize the round shape.

For the lower lash line, use a lighter shade of eyeshadow or just mascara. You can just draw a blurry line using eyeshadow or a pencil in a lighter shade of the same color as on your upper eyelid.

Protruding eyes

If you want to make your eyes look visually less protruding, it’s best to use the darkest and most matte shades in your eyeshadow palette, applying them as shown in the picture above. Use a black eyeliner or pencil for the upper and lower lash lines to enhance this effect.

Monolid eyes

With this shape of the eye, the eyelid itself either doesn’t have a crease, or the existing crease isn’t strongly defined. Use dark eyeshadows to define the upper and lower lash lines. Blend them slightly to visually lengthen the eyelid. You can also follow other tips from our article, for example, for downturned eyes.

Close-set eyes

These eyes can be of any shape — both round and almond, downturned and upturned. In this case, all this doesn’t really matter, the main thing is to create the illusion that your eyes are a little further apart than they really are.

Experts recommend applying lighter shades to the inner part of the eye, and darker shades closer to the outer corners. You can also add extra shimmer to the inner corner and focus your mascara on the outer edges of the eyes.

Wide-set eyes

These eyes sit a bit further from the bridge of the nose than average. To make facial features more balanced, makeup artists suggest using bright, dark, and shimmery shadows on the interior eye and lighter colors on the exterior. You can also clearly define the inner corners of your eyes with a liquid eyeliner or pencil.

Hooded eyes

If you have hooded eyes, you should go for matte eyeshadows. Makeup artist Bryan Cantor says, “For hooded eyes, I like to create a true smoky eye using the deepest shade near the lash line and on the lid, blending it into a mid-tone in the crease, and saving the lightest shades for the inner corner of the eye.

Another option is to apply a matte mid-tone from the lash line up into the crease almost to the browbone. This creates the illusion of depth, which is what hooded eyes lack.”