Just as skincare routines are different for people with different skin types, makeup techniques should be tailored to your facial features as well. Eyeshadow application can be the hardest aspect of makeup to nail, especially for beginners. The most crucial factor is, of course, determining your eye shape. One of these eye shapes is particularly common: hooded eyelids.
What exactly are hooded eyelids?
Credit: Depositphotos
Hooded eyes have excess skin folding down from the brow bone to the lash line. It obscures your crease, shrinks your eyelids and can make you look drowsy. Most people are born with this eye shape, but it could also actually be the result of your lid drooping with age when it loses its elasticity.
To determine if you have hooded eyelids, take a closer look at the crease in your eyelid. With your eyes wide open, check to see if the crease of your eyelid is visible or hidden. If the crease is hidden underneath the upper part of your lid or your brow bone, you have hooded eyelids.
Applying eyeshadow on hooded eyelids is a challenge well-acknowledged by anyone who has them. Frustrations include smudged eye makeup and little space between the brow and eye. But don’t give up on eyeshadow yet – when applied appropriately with these tips, you can use eyeshadow to your advantage to create brighter, more open eyes.
Tips to rock eyeshadow on hooded eyelids
1. Use bigger, softer brushes
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3NRgGIoPuZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Instead of using an angular brush to apply your eyeshadow, use a bigger and fluffier brush to achieve a more subtle, blended finish. Harsh lines will only further emphasise the hood on your eyelids, which is something you will want to avoid.
2. Use matte eyeshadows
Source: An Knook
Matte shades allow you to enhance the shape of your eyes without drawing the attention to the hooded part. On the other hand, shimmery eyeshadows highlight the part (by reflecting light) it is applied on. If you really want to add some glitter to your eyes, it is recommended that you keep these close to the eyelashes and away from the crease when possible. Limit application of shimmery shades to against the lash line, or on the centre of your eyelid.
3. “Cut” the crease with eyeshadow
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSZey5LFCcT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Forget your natural crease, and instead opt to make a fake one. By creating a new crease above your natural crease, you are ‘expanding’ your eyelid area, therefore making your eyes appear less hooded than they are actually are. You can create a fake crease by applying two different shades of eyeshadow; use a dark matte eyeshadow on your socket to add depth, followed by another eyeshadow in a lighter shade right above it.
4. Add light to the inner corner and underneath the eye…
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Rtdy2FQIQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
According to Liz Pugh, who has done makeup for celebrities like Victoria Beckham, Elizabeth Olsen, and Chrissy Teigen, it is important to understand light and shade for hooded eye makeup. By highlighting and contouring your eyelids, you can actually change the shape of your eye. Applying light-coloured eyeshadow to the inner corners of your hooded eyes, as well as a little on the under-eye area, will help to widen the eyes and add the illusion of space.
5. …and use a darker colour in the top outer corner
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7KHr5jl5CX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Leave the darker colours for the outer corners of your top eyelids so that you don’t run the risk of looking like you went too heavy with the makeup. Makeup artist to Sophie Turner and Carey Mulligan, Emma White Turle recommends keeping darker eyeshadow to the lower part of your brow bone and top of the crease, as this will create the illusion of depth.
6. Do smokey eye makeup looks
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj4Ncqdg_Gz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Having hooded eyelids is not all gloom and doom – you’ll be happy to know that people with hooded eyelids are considered the most ideal candidates for smokey eye looks. This look is actually quicker to create for you as there is a smaller area to blend out. It can help your hooded eyelids to open up and look less droopy – win-win situation! Just look at celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence and Blake Lively, two celebrities with hooded eyelids who are often seen sporting sultry eye makeup.
