Eye Shape

How To: Flatter Your Eye Shape

“Your eyes are the window to your soul.”

It’s a total cliché, but so true. Your eyes tell the tale of who you are with every twinkle, every crease, and every glance. So play them up and you play up your very soul!
If you’re looking to enhance your eyes, there are literally hundreds of ways to do it. But a great place to begin is with learning how to flatter the unique shape of your eye.
But first, let’s go back to the fundamentals for a minute.

In its most basic form, makeup is simply tricking the eyes. We can recolor what we would rather not have and bend light to reshape what we want to change. Highlighting certain areas brings them forward, while shadowing others pushes them back.

With that said, if you want to make your eyes look rounder, larger, and brighter, always highlight in this manner: Apply a lighter shade to the inner corner of your eye, the center of your eyelid, and along your brow bone. Drawing attention to these areas and “bringing them forward” is flattering to all eyes.

Flattering Your Eye Shape
There are two things you need to keep in mind when looking at your overall eye shape:

The distance between your eyes
The natural shape and set of your eyes

By taking both of these traits into account, you can find the most flattering look for your particular eye shape.

Identifying the Distance

The width of your eyes will help you determine where to place the darkest shadows on your eyes. You can use shadows to “push” your eyes together, move them apart, or keep them at exactly the same distance.

How To: Flatter Your Eye Shape Image

If your eyes are “one eye width” apart from each other, they are balanced.

If Balanced: Maintain the balanced distance of your eyes by applying a darker shade at both corners of your eyes, with a lighter shade on the center of the lid.

If they are less than “one eye width” apart, they are close set.

If Close Set: Try expanding the width between by applying the darker color to the outer part of your lid only.

If they are more than “one eye width” apart, they are wide set.

If Wide Set: Reduce the visual difference between your eyes by applying the darker color to the inner part of your lid only.

Identifying the Shape

Deep Set

How To: Flatter Your Eye Shape Image
Settled deep into the skull, the placement of your eyes creates the illusion of a more prominent brow bone

 Try brightening the natural shadows cast over your eye by dusting a neutral or warm metallic over your lid. Draw attention up to your powerful brows by highlighting just under your arches.

 

Upturned

How To: Flatter Your Eye Shape Image

Taking the form of the classic almond shape, this eye shape tends to have a natural lift at the outer corners of the eyes. This shape in general is easy to work with, but it can emphasize the lower lash line.

To even out the lash lines and achieve a balanced look, try adding a darker lining to the outer corner of the lower lash line.

 

Downturned

How To: Flatter Your Eye Shape Image

This shape is characterized by a slight droop of the outer corners of the eyes. Lending a soulful look to the face, it’s made for the cat eye.

Go with the classic cat eye that angles up towards the end of your brow. This will take advantage of your natural eye curve, while visually lifting the outer corner.

 

Monolid

How To: Flatter Your Eye Shape Image

With a flat surface and little or no crease, the monolid tends to have a less defined brow bone. But this shape has more lid space than any other, giving you lots of room to experiment.

To bring out the best of your eyes, try creating more definition and dimension by building a gradient of shadows. Start with the darkest at your lashes and end with the lightest at the place where your socket ends and brow bone begins.

 

Hooded
How To: Flatter Your Eye Shape Image
With an extra layer of skin that folds over the crease, hooded eyes appear to have smaller lids.

This sultry shape can be enhanced by applying a darker shadow over the crease and blending it up past the crease and towards the brow bone. Apply a fine liner right up against your upper lashes to thicken the base and intensify your natural smolder.

 

Prominent
How To: Flatter Your Eye Shape Image
Set forward in the face, prominent eyes tend to be large and with more visible eyelid space. Take advantage of your large eyes by making sure your visible lid does not overpower your look.

Try applying darker tones to your eyes, with the darkest on your lid, a medium shade in your crease, and the lightest highlighting your brow. Smudge the darkest shadow under your eyes as well to help balance out the look.

 

These tips will help you to draw the best from your own eyes. Don’t worry if none of the descriptions match exactly. Just choose the one that seems closest and start there. Nothing is set in stone. Experiment and see what works best for you!

 

This article is the first in a two part series. In our next issue (September/October 2014), look for more ways to enhance those gorgeous eyes!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Erin Rogers Pickering is a gluten-free wife and mother living just outside of New York City where she teaches watercolor workshops. Find Erin’s work in her online store ErinGoPaint on www.etsy.com and follow her illustrated gluten-free journey at www.theglutenfreeillustrator.blogspot.com.

Afton Jones discovered that the reason her eyes swelled and watered at random was due to gluten in her mascara, so she went on the hunt for glutenfree makeup. Upon finding that no accurate resources existed, she created her own. Visit Afton on the web at www.glutenfreemakeupgal.com.

Tags: Afton Jones Erin Pickering Magazine Makeup
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