Hooded Eye Makeup: Techniques That Stay Visible

What hooded eyes are

Skin from the brow bone or upper lid folds over the crease and covers part of the mobile lid when your eyes are open. Some people keep a sliver of lid in view and others see none. The hooded eyes guide has a 30-second check if you're unsure.

Why makeup behaves differently on hooded lids

• Hidden color. Shadow blended into the crease sits behind the fold.
• Transfer. The fold presses against the lid and stamps liner and shadow onto itself.
• Creasing, from oil and movement.
• Vanishing wings. A wing drawn with the eyes closed lands in the wrong place once they open.

Prep that prevents creasing

Wipe the lid clean and apply a thin layer of eyeshadow primer. Dab on a thin layer of concealer, set it with a matte powder, and give it a minute to dry. Heavy creams under the fold are what make it slide.

Matte and satin formulas hold. Wet shimmers slip.

Eyeshadow placement for hooded eyes

1. 1Hold a mirror at chin level, open your eyes, and look straight ahead. Keep them open for every step.
2. 2Find where the fold sits. Place a matte transition shade, a soft brown a shade or two deeper than your skin, directly above the natural crease and blend upward.
3. 3Sweep a lighter satin or matte color across the visible lid, then a deeper shade at the outer corner, angled toward the end of the brow.
4. 4Build in thin layers. Two light passes read better than one heavy pass and transfer less.
5. 5Close your eyes to check the blending, then open them again to check visibility.

Matte and satin give structure. Save shimmer for the center of the lid or the inner corner, because shimmer on the fold catches light and points at the hood.

Eyeliner for hooded eyes

• Draw a thin line close to the lashes. A thick line gets swallowed or smudges onto the fold.
• Tightline. A pencil rated for the upper waterline defines the lashes without adding visible line to the lid. Follow the product directions, since the waterline is sensitive.
• Choose waterproof or long-wear formulas, or set pencil with a matching shadow.
• Weight the outer third, where the lid has the most room.

Winged liner for hooded eyes

1. 1With your eyes open, look straight into the mirror and find the end of your lower lash line.
2. 2Imagine that line continuing up past the outer corner toward the end of your brow. That's the wing's direction.
3. 3Mark the wing's tip with a dot where you can see it with your eyes open.
4. 4Connect the dot to the lash line with short strokes and fill in the triangle.
5. 5Let it dry completely before you blink hard.

If the wing disappears, it landed below the fold. Angle it a few degrees higher or draw it shorter and thicker. If it transfers onto the fold, set it with powder and shorten it.

Mascara and lashes for hooded eyes

Curl first, then use waterproof mascara on the outer lashes. Lift at the outer corner opens the lid. False lashes with the longest hairs at the center or outer third open the eye too, and a thin band keeps them from pushing into the fold. Lashes that touch the fold will smudge mascara onto it, so let each coat dry.

Brows for hooded eyes

A slight lift at the arch creates room above the lid. Tidy stray hairs along the lower edge lightly and leave the shape intact, since a bare lower edge can make the hood look heavier.

Five hooded-eye looks

• Natural definition. Transition shade above the crease and tightlined upper lashes. One coat of waterproof mascara.
• Soft smoky eye. Dark brown blended upward from the outer corner and smudged along the lower lashes, with a lighter shade over the visible lid.
• Subtle wing. Thin line, short wing aimed at the brow tail, drawn with your eyes open.
• Reverse liner. Skip the upper lid line. Define the lower lash line and sweep it up at the outer corner, so nothing sits under the fold.
• Colorful lower lash line. Neutral shadow above, then a bright teal or plum smudged along the lower lashes.

Taylor Swift's red-carpet liner is a reference for a defined outer corner. Event lighting, expression, and makeup make portraits unsuitable for measuring lid coverage.

Common mistakes

• Blending shadow into the crease with your eyes closed, then wondering where it went.
• Thick liner across the whole lid. It prints onto the fold by lunch.
• Skipping primer.
• Heavy shimmer on the fold itself, which spotlights the hood.

Products worth using

• Eyeshadow primer. Any one works if you apply it thin.
• Small dense brush. For placing the transition shade precisely.
• Gel or waterproof pencil liner, set with shadow.
• Waterproof mascara.
• Setting spray, if your lids run oily.

Frequently asked questions