15 Fabulous Tips About How To Apply Eyeshadow on Hooded Eyes

If you have hooded eyes, you know that applying eyeshadow can be a bit of a challenge. But it doesn’t have to be! These tips will help you create flattering and dramatic looks with ease. So then, what are hooded eyes and just dow do you apply eyeshadow on hooded eyes?

This article was contributed by @celineinco

Hooded eyes are a completely normal eye shape that is inherited from your family and can become more prominent as we age.

While they are beautiful in their own right, it’s helpful to know the best ways to apply your eye makeup in order to help provide definition to your natural crease and make your eyes pop! Keep reading to learn about 15 different tips that will make all the difference when applying your makeup.

First, let’s find out of if you have hooded eye lids.

There are generally six types of eye shapes: almond, upturned, hooded, monolid, downturned and round. 

Here’s how you can tell if you have hooded eyes:

First, do you have a crease? If you don’t have a crease, there’s a high chance you have monolids. If you answered yes, does the skin below your brow bone touch the main part of your mobile lid when your eyes are open? If this is the case, then you have hooded eyes! The skin can range from only slightly covering your main lid to sometimes almost touching your lash line. 

If you want to get even more specific, you can draw a horizontal line across your eyes to find out whether your outer corners angle downwards or upwards. If they angle upwards they are upturned eyes, if they angle downwards, they are downturned eyes. Round eyes appear very open because they lack the taper on the inner and outer part of the eye unlike almond eyes which have an obvious taper.  

The following 15 beauty tips will show you exactly how to apply eyeshadow on hooded eyes.

#1 How to apply eyeshadow on hooded eyes – Start with a good eye primer.

Since hooded eyes can easily cause eyeshadow to transfer, start by taking an eye primer (I like to use RAL Prime Time Eyeshadow Primer) and apply it over your upper eyelid from inner to outer corner and over your entire brow bone. This will ensure that your eyeshadows will have something to stick to and will stay in place all day. Follow-up this step with a skin toned eyeshadow shade to set the primer so that your eyeshadows blend together smoothly.

#2 Eyes open or eye closed?

The goal when applying eye makeup on hooded eyes is to make the entire lid appear more prominent than it is while also making the hood look less obvious than it naturally is.

Although it may be tempting to apply your eyeshadows on with your eyes closed, applying eyeshadows with your eyes open allows you to accurately find your natural crease when looking straight ahead. 

#3 Apply the eyeshadow right above where you marked your crease instead of the natural fold of your eyelid.

First, choose an eyeshadow shade that is matte and only one or two shades darker than your natural skin tone. Next, take a fluffy crease brush and start working that eyeshadow in a windshield wiper motion just above where you marked your crease.

Applying your eyeshadow here as opposed to in the natural fold of your eyelid will allow you to see the color when your eyes are open (otherwise it will just get lost under the hood!).

#4 Brows 

As you may know, brows are the foundation to framing your face. With hooded eyes, you may feel like there really isn’t much space for your makeup look. If this is the case, shape and apply your brow products in a way that helps to provide more space under the brow bone.

You can do this by plucking hairs from the bottom of your brow, shaping your brow to have a slight arch, and going for a fluffier natural brow that won’t look heavy or weigh down your face. 

#5 What Eye Shadow Palette To Use

Having a mixture of colors in your eyeshadow palette will help you to apply shadow and light in an effective way on hooded lids.

You’ll want to pick shimmery lid shades that reflect light well, lighter matte crease shades and darker matte shades to help add depth and dimension to the eye. Having a good solid black or dark navy blue matte will come in handy when creating cat eye and other winged liner looks.

In terms of brushes, aim for at least one fluffy crease brush, one flat lid shader brush and a smaller angle brush for highlighting the inner corner and brow bone. 

For a quick and hassle-free set of shades specifically curated for your eye color, see RAL’s curated eyeshadows. 

#6 Minimize the upper brow bone?

Being that we want to take attention away from the hood on hooded eyes, it’s best to focus on applying your highlighter on the top part of your brow bone. This way the eye will be drawn up – bonus tip: add a wash of highlight along your temple (above your brow bone) to draw the eyes up even more!

#7 Eyeliner For Hooded Eyes

When applying eyeliner, there are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind. First, you’ll want to be careful not to add a dark or thick eyeshadow or eyeliner to the lower lash line as it will close your eyes off and make them appear smaller.

Instead, only apply a thin eyeliner to your upper lashes, focusing on the outer half of the eye and draw your wing upwards. 

#8 Use More Lid Space

Adding a thin eyeliner to your upper lash line will not only give your eyes a more lifted look but will also leave room for you to see the eyeshadow you have placed on your mobile lid.

Creating your fake crease above your natural crease will also go a long way in providing more room for you to add color to your mobile lid when doing your eye makeup.

Even though you many not have as much lid space as other eye shapes, placing a shimmery eyeshadow on the mobile lid will make them appear larger.

Bonus tip: be sure to apply your shimmer shadow up past the hooded fold in order to help maximize the color payoff when looking straight ahead.

#9 Use The Straightline Technique

An easy makeup tip to lift the eye on hooded eyes is by using the straight-line technique. Simply grab a cloth or handkerchief and place from your nose to the outer corner of your eyebrow.

Next, look for the center of your eye and place your eyeshadow using a fluffy brush on the hood right about it and sweep across in a straight line, stopping at the cloth.

By creating a fake, defined crease above your natural crease, you will instantly lift the eye. Finish by connecting the same shadow from your lower lash line and you will have completed this lifted look. 

#10 Use This Disconnected Wing Look

In order to avoid the dreaded droopy wing line on people with hooded eyes, use the disconnected wing look.

Start by drawing a straight line from the outer corner of your eye upwards and outwards, stopping at your desired length. Next, draw the other part of the wing from the tip downwards towards your lash line, making sure to draw OVER your hood on the way with your eyes open looking straight ahead.

Your wing will look disjointed and odd when you look down, but will be straight when your eyes are open. Feel free to go back over the areas that are less pigmented, making sure to keep the disconnected line you originally drew intact. 

#11 Create a Cut Crease

Just like faking a higher crease with eyeshadow, a cut crease successfully fakes a higher fold on your eyelid.

Once you have added your initial transition shade, take some concealer to add contrast and outline your new lid then layer a light cream or white eyeshadow on top of your concealer.

Finish off with an eyeliner near your lash line to make your eyes pop!

#12 More Detail On a Cut Crease for Hooded Eyes.

If a cut crease is not your thing, consider creating a smokey liner. Not only is this an easier alternative to the disconnected wing look, it’s also faster and better suited for a daytime natural look.

First, you will want to stamp on a line starting from the outer corner of your eye with a dark eyeshadow of your choice. Next, take an eyeshadow that is one shade lighter and go over the same shape, focusing just to the inside of where you placed your first darker shade.

Blend the two together before adding your last lightest shade along the same line, but even further in so that you create a gradient from dark to light. Go back over your initial line with your darker eyeshadow to redefine if necessary. 

A cut crease can seem confusing at first, it’s hard to explain in words if you have never seen it. Angela Bright made a really good video tutorial explaining the details.

#13 Invest In A GOOD Mascara.

Being that your lashes may be able to touch your hood, it’s important to invest in a good waterproof mascara so that you don’t have to worry about your mascara smudging on your hood or brow bone.

You might even want to take it a step further by applying false lashes, as long lashes instantly open up hooded eyes and forgo the need for mascara altogether in your makeup routine!

#14 Your beautiful hooded eyes can rock any and all makeup looks!

As the saying goes, knowledge is power.

A lot of people have struggled for years wondering why their makeup doesn’t look as good as what they see in tutorials or on makeup models without realizing that the key may be simply finding tips and tricks for your specific eye shape.

Mastering these tips will undoubtedly take your makeup game from just okay to great!

#15 If you thought tips for hooded eyes were only applicable to people in their 20s, 30s, or 40s, that’s not true. 

Naturally as we age the skin on our eyelids tend to droop due to gravity, and with hooded eyes, applying eye makeup may seem like an even greater challenge to overcome. But have no fear, women with mature eyelids can rock bold and intricate looks just as well as anyone!

Bonus #16- Straight line your bottom eye-liner

Australian Makeup Artist Rae Morris suggests that we not round the eyeliner under our eyes, but instead to make a straighline across the lower lash line. You can see her suggestion at around the 30 second mark, and many more throughout this video about how to apply eye shadow on hooded eyes.

And you may also be interested in this article about Smokey Eyes and Lipstick Pairings