The Best Makeup Tip I've Learned This Year

Hooded Eyes

I've always had difficulty when applying eyeshadow on my outer corner and crease, but I never knew why.  It would smudge into strange shapes, and I could never apply it evenly.  Firstly, I wasn't using the right tools, but secondly, I wasn't applying the shadow correctly for my eye shape.

I'm blessed (NOT) with hooded eyes.  I am seriously allergic to everything, so the puffiness from allergies only exacerbates the hooding.  Recently, I learned what my eye shape was and I've been doing my eye shadow differently ever since.  It makes a HUGE difference.

This is a photo of just my eyes after a makeup trial for my wedding.  As you can see, when looking straight on, there is very little movable eyelid (the eye lid that is covering my actual eye ball).  I also do not have an obvious crease, shown below, with my eyes closed.

In order for my makeup to actually look good, I've now learned there are several things I must do:

1. Do NOT apply dark eyeshadow to the movable eye lid.  Since dark colors make things on your face look sunken in (contoured), you do not want to make your movable lid more sunken in by applying a dark color.  Now, I will do what is shown above and apply a lighter color to the inner corner of my eye, a medium shade to the middle of my movable lid, and a darker corner on the outer part of my lid to make a gradient of color.

2. DO apply a darker shade to the 'crease' (or in my case, the area where one's natural crease would be).  This makes me eyes look more defined, and less puffy.

3.  Do NOT apply a shimmery highlight shade to my brow bone.  I can both understand this and disagree with this point.  Highlight/shimmer shades tend to bring facial features forward.  Since your eyes are naturally hooded/slightly puffy, you do not want your brow bone to also appear more prominent.  I personally don't think it's THAT big of a deal, as long as you don't apply a TON of glittery, shimmery highlight.

4. DO focus on your lashes.  My lashes have always looked better when they are super volumized and curled, and now I realize why.  Women who have hooded lids need their eyelashes to stand out more to make them appear less puffy/more awake.

Celebrities with hooded eye lids that I use for reference include Blake Lively and Cat Deely.  Blake's eyelids are actually much worse than mine.  Her movable eyelid is practically non existent when her eyes are open.

Pixiwoo are two British sisters who give amazing makeup tutorials on YouTube and have greatly helped me better my makeup self.  Here is a great blog post they wrote (with links to many of their YouTube videos) on how to do makeup for different eye shapes.  Here is an excellent post on different makeup tips for eye shapes.  Hopefully you will have normal eyes and not have to make adjustments, but if you have a different eye shape, it's definitely to your benefit to learn how to properly apply your makeup.