How To Make Hooded Eyes Huge!

by BR Kellie

Hooded eyes: When one has excess skin that hangs from the brow bone, hiding the crease, while creating the appearance of less lid space.

Now that the technical explanation is out of the way... I am a lass with hooded eyes. I have a glorious amount of brow bone with a lot of skin attached to it. As I've aged, the skin has sagged, and the hood has become more emphasised. As an eyeshadow lover, this is a touch devastating as I love playing with colour, and with so little lid exposed all my joyful playing is for my benefit only, and that benefit only lasts for a short period of time as my eyeshadow tends to crease, muddy, or disappear due to my hooded eyes. Because of this I'm always on the lookout for new ways to emphasise my peepers, to give them a pop of pow, and after years of playing, these are the tips and tricks that I've found work for me...

It's Time To Prime

My lids eat up eyeshadow. Well, to be more accurate, my lids force my eyeshadow to migrate into the crease that no one can see, which is why a good eye primer is a must if you want to give your eyeshadow a chance of staying in place.

Shimmery Shades Are Your Friend

I don't have a lot of visible eyelid to work with, but what I do have is in my inner corner, and by applying shimmery shades there I can create a look that makes me appear more awake and less just-rolled-out-of-bed-after-two-hours-sleep.

Shimmery Shades Are Also Not Your Friend

If, like me, you have lots of lovely flappy foldy skin that you don't want to emphasise, do not place shimmery shades on it. Shimmery shades on bulgy, saggy skin is the equivalent of a giant disco ball in a small room. Instead, if I'm placing colour on the brow bone area, I stick to muted matte shades in order to create a shadow that helps the area recede rather than push it forward.

Don't Overline

As much as I love the idea of lining my entire lids, it's a no go as it leaves my windows to the soul looking even smaller. I might add a touch of dark eyeliner to the very outer area of my bottom lids and a small amount of lighter liner to my inner lower lid, but I rarely touch the upper lid as with so little lid space available I'd rather leave it for a darker matte shade of shadow. If I do I need to bolden the area I keep the eyeliner super thin, or I tightline.

Keep Your Eyes Open

While it's tempting to close your eyes while applying eyeshadow, by keeping them open and staring straight ahead you are more easily able to keep an eye on colour placement, which will help you create a look that works both with your brow's bone structure and your eye shape.

The Cheats Guide To Winging It

My hooded eyes are also downturned eyes, which has made creating a wing with eyeliner impossible since forever. However, back in my twenties I ended up quite by fluke creating the illusion of a wing with eyeshadow (something I didn't even know I was doing until my friend pointed it out). Basically, I would take darker matte shadows and use them on my outer edge, blending up just past the crease onto the brow bone. Then, using a sponge, I would swipe the excess away on an angle that matched the line of my cheekbones, which would create the illusion of the wing while helping emphasise the eye area.

Mascara Is Magic

At the end of the day, you can't beat a good mascara when it comes to opening up your eyes and making you look all bright eyed and bushy tailed. The more voluminous, the more lifting the better.

Of course, these are simply my wee ways of working with my hooded eye situation. They may not work for all my fellow hooded eyed sweet peas, but that's the joy of learning, right? We find what works for us and bypass what doesn't. 

So... do tell... in the interest of education, because more is more, if you've a hooded eye, what are your tips and tricks to making them pop? Let us know, because sharing really is caring!