Brows   |   January 14, 2022

Eye shapes can differ drastically from person to person. Different eye shapes work well with different forms, applications, and shapes of eyeliners. Here are a few common eye shapes and what you can do to best apply your makeup:

• Rounded eyes 

Rounded eyes tend to have a very evident eyelid crease. If you are not sure about the shape you can also look to see if your iris touches the bottom lashline. If it does not then you have rounded eyes but if it does then you probably have almond eyes. If you want to make the shape less round and draw-out attention to the sides of your face, consider doing a long-winged eyeliner. Keep the liner thinner in the inner corners and thicker on the outside, so as to cancel out the rounding. Due to the crease, try to keep the liner towards the edges of your eyes and do not take it too high. 

• Downturned eyes 

If the outer corners of your eyelids are lower than the inner corner of your eyelids, then you have downturned eyes. The style that best accentuates this shape is thin, winged eyeliner. Only do a slight upturn for the wing of your eyeliner. This will help to counteract the slight droop of the outer eye and make them look larger. Keep the tail of the wing short so that it does not get smudged or disappear when your eyes crinkle during laughing or smiling. It may be best not to use eyeshadow or eyeliner on the lower lash line as this can make this shape look smaller. 

• Hooded eyes 

Hooded eyelids have the least space to experiment with because any liner or eyeshadow is not very visible when the eye is open. If you do a dark liner, be sure to keep the line very straight or very curved in a crescent moon-like shape, so it will not go into the crease of the eye. Keep the liner as close to your lashes as possible for the best results. Hooded eyes have less space between the eyebrows and the lash line so consider opting for bold eyebrows. This will straw attention to your eyes and well-groomed eyebrows can create more space for eyeshadow and eyeliner.

• Big eyes 

You may have this shape if you can clearly see the eyelid and if your eyes are relatively the biggest feature of your face – compared to your nose and mouth. All types of eyeliner will suit this type because there is a lot of surface area to experiment with. Consider trying more arty liner styles like layered liner, stacked liner, the negative space look, floating liner or dots.

• Monolids

You have a monolid if your shape has no real crease in the lid. Monolids can be accentuated by keeping the inner corner liner really fine and dramatically thickening it as it swoops outwards. This helps with the visibility of the eyeliner when the eyes are opened and gives a fuller effect. Another way to achieve a fuller effect is by blending out the eyeliner. Monolids have more space for shaded eyeliner and can create a nice blend with your eyeshadow. 

• Almond eye

Almond eyes naturally taper outwards and are pointed in the inner corner. The two eye shapes round towards each other, giving them their “almond” look. Since this shape is the most symmetrical, you can use almost any eyeliner shape. However, a more smudged look that is directed outwards can accentuate the natural symmetry. For a fuller effect consider having the last third of your eyeliner thicker, or do winged eyeliner. This tends to look the best on almond eyes because there is enough eyelid space to draw the liner to the corner and outer edges. 

Whatever your eye shape, there are a variety of ways to accentuate your facial features and get the makeup look you want.