Best Eyeliner for Different Eye Shapes
How to Do Eyeliner for Different Eye Shapes
Eyeliner is a staple in makeup routines and can enhance your eye shape while providing more definition. Everyone has a unique eye shape. Yours might be round, almond, hooded, monolid, downturned or upturned.
Understanding your eye shape can help you identify eyeliners that complement your style and look. If you have smaller eyes, applying eyeliner under the bottom lashes can make them appear larger. Conversely, eyeliner in the waterline can make big eyes appear smaller.
The goal is to apply eyeliner to suit your face and enhance your natural beauty. Read on to learn more about common eye shapes and how to match the eyeliner you choose to your face and style.
Common Eye Shapes
- Round Eyes: Round eyes have a noticeable crease and appear rounder and more defined than most eye shapes.
- Almond Eyes: Like the name implies, almond eyes are almond-shaped, with a longer width and smaller eyelids slightly turned upwards in the outer corners.
- Hooded Eyes: Hooded eyes feature a small flap of skin covering the mobile eyelid under the eyebrow.
- Monolid Eyes: Monolid eyes have a barely noticeable crease where the eyelids connect with the skin below the eyebrow.
- Downturned Eyes: Downturned eyes have an outer corner pointing downward when you look in the mirror.
- Upturned Eyes: Upturned eye corners are the opposite of downturned eyes, meaning the outer corner of the eye points upward.
Matching Eyeliner to Your Eye Shape
Matching the eyeliner to your eye shape is all about optimizing the look or the style you want. You can open up hooded eyes, awaken downturned eyes, or accentuate almond eyes. While you can sport any type of eyeliner style with your eye shape, some styles accentuate eye shapes differently. It’s all about finding what works best for you!
The first step to matching the eyeliner style to your eye shape is finding quality products. You'll encounter eyeliners with all sorts of different features, formulas, and functions.
How to Apply Eyeliner to Almond Eyes
Accentuating almond eyes with eyeliner can be less challenging because many eyeliners work with this eye shape. You can try the ColorStay Micro™ Hyper Precision Gel Eyeliner, which is ideal for creating a smokey cat-eye look.
Start your eyeliner with a thin line from the inner corner and make it thicker as you move outward. If you want something attention-grabbing, you can tweak the style to create a more dramatic winged look.
You can also achieve a more subtle look using thin lines in the inner corner and a faint raised flick in the outer corner. Avoid dark shades along the waterline, as they can make your eyes appear smaller.
How to Apply Eyeliner to Round Eyes
If you have round eyes, you can go for the smokey or exaggerated wing style. The goal here is to elongate your eyes. Try using the ColorStay™ Liquid Eye Pens to create a thick winged eyeliner look.
Begin by lining the upper lash line, then play up the outer corners to add width. You can use an extended wing or dark smudge on the upper and lower lashes for added definition. Apply the eyeliner on the upper lid and lower lash line to add intensity.
Working with round eyes involves drawing attention to the outer corners. Draw your lines from about one-third from the outer corner. You can add a flick to widen the eyes and create an almond-shaped illusion.
How to Apply Eyeliner to Monolid Eyes
Monolid eyes lack a visible crease, so there's more room to be as dramatic as you want. One of the recommended styles is the extended winged appearance. You can use the ColorStay™ Liquid Eye Pens to outline the upper lid and smudge upwards.
Start with the inner corner, then expand the wing shape as you move outwards. Draw in an upward angle and make the eyeliner thicker. You can extend the liner as far as the eyebrow and exaggerate the wing with a flick.
Accentuating a monolid is all about definition, so you can work with more colors. Draw smooth, even lines and make them as thick as you want. Extend your lines and make them super exaggerated for more drama.
How to Apply Eyeliner to Hooded Eyes
A tightline or classic cat-eye will do wonders on hooded eyes. You can try the ColorStay™ Eyeliner, which is specifically designed for longwearing capabilities, ideal for the tightline look.
For a cat eye look on hooded eyes, start with the inner corner and glide along the lash line, dragging across the eye. You can make the line as thick as you want. The goal is to make your lines bold and obvious. Thin lines can be obscure when your eyes are open.
You can make the line thicker at the center and thinner at the corners to create a rounder appearance. Avoid applying bottom eyeliner which can make the eyes look more closed.
For a tightline eyeliner look, first reach for a long-wear liner like ColorStay™ Eyeliner. Carefully lift your upper lid with a light touch and sweep the eyeliner along the underside of your upper lash line from outer to inner corner. Repeat this process for the lower lashline.
How to Apply Eyeliner to Downturned Eyes
A dramatic winged eyeliner look is the recommended style for downturned eyes. This will create the look of lifted eyes, since the outer corner of this eye shape is lower than the center inner corner. Use a fast-drying eyeliner for downturned eyes.
You can use the ColorStay™ Liquid Eyeliner, which is optimal for the dramatic winged look. Start with a thin line along the inner corner and mid-area. Make the line thicker as you approach the outer corner and add a tiny 45-degree flick at the tip.
Use your eyebrow and the corner of your eye to determine the ideal length of the flick. Drag the eyeliner outward and upward, and exaggerate the flick for a more dramatic look. You can use a moist cotton swab to clean the edge for a more defined angle.
How to Apply Eyeliner to Upturned Eyes
Upturned eyes are already lifted, which makes them even easier to accentuate. The graphic cat-eye eyeliner look is the recommended style here. You can exaggerate the corners even further for a truly winged eyeliner look.
Use the So Fierce!™ Vinyl Eyeliner to achieve your graphic cat-eye look. Start with a light sketch from the inner corner through the crease, then finish with the lash line. Make your lines sharp at the inner corner and outer edge of the eyeliner.
You can play around with the design to match your mood or desired look. Make these feline eyes fierce by adding thickness at the edges or create an exaggerated winged liner. You can also use different colors or draw under the lower lashes to point downwards.
Eyeliner Tips & Tricks for All Eye Shapes
You can find eyeliner for round eyes, big eyes, monolid, hooded eyes or any other shape. However, some products are designed to work for all eye shapes. If you're not sure which option to purchase, try the universal choice. Two styles work particularly well with most eye shapes include:
- Smudged Eyeliners: A smudged eyeliner look offers a softer version of the smokey-eye eyeliner. The fade isn't as sharp and crisp. Instead, it looks faint and soft, making it ideal for daytime or nighttime wear. Use the ColorStay Micro™ Hyper Precision Gel Eyeliner for precise lines that can be smudged for your desired effect.
- Thin Eyeliners: With the right technique, you can use thin black matte eyeliners to produce neutral hues and create a distinct, timeless eyeliner look. Some people prefer thicker eyeliners for dramatic looks, but thin eyeliners can also provide a certain understated drama that accentuates most eye shapes.. A good choice for thin eyeliner looks is the ColorStay Micro™ Easy Precision Liquid Liner.
No single product or technique suits everyone. You can practice with different styles and eyeliners to find a suitable match for your eye shape. Although the goal is to compliment your eyes, you can experiment with all kinds of eyeliners and styles to express yourself. Just because you have larger eyes doesn't mean you always need to use an eyeliner for big eyes. Use our ultimate eyeliner guide to learn more about eyeliners and liner techniques.
