Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Tips: Application for Different Eye Shapes

I've been experimenting with the "defining your crease" method on my eyes.
It was all right. It worked for some colours but when I go a little darker on the colours, it got messy. Still trying hard to grasp it.

I don't think it really suits all Asians' eyes (-gives face-).

But if you are interested, here's a pretty good read on it..


Bookmarked from here!

There are 6 basic eyeshapes:
  1. Almond/average Deep Set
  2. Prominent
  3. Wide Set
  4. Close set
  5. Hooded

Then i feel there are a couple more to add that i feel are also pretty basic that i will also throw in:
  • Small
  • Asian
  • Down set

Identification: Looking straight ahead with head straight forward (not tilted up or down) the classifications are as follows.

Almond/Average eyes: this also known in the beauty world as the "perfect eye shape". Basically the proportions of your eye are the ideal quantity of 1/3 lid and 2/3 brow area. So in the mirror if the amount of lid seen is 1/3 of the rest of the eye area above the crease you have almond eyes. Also there is little drooping of the upper or lower lid... like the shape of an almond!

Deep set eyes: with this type of eye, you commonly see that the eye is set back farther into the socket and the brow is extended farther out away from the face. The crease is deep set and often times when you close one eye the crease can still be seen.

Prominent eyes: Many text books call this shape "bulging" eyes but i greatly dislike that term... so i just like to say that with this shape your eyes are the most prominent feature of your face! Usually the eyes protrude from the socket slightly more than most eyes... a great way to determine if you have this eye shape is to place a pencil or brush vertically across your eyebrow and letting it rest on your cheek... if your eye can touch it (or in my case i cant even get the pencil to rest on my cheek without my eye being in the way) you have prominent eyes. In the same sense if your eye doesn't come close to touching the pencil (or your eyelashes bat it) then you have deep set eyes!

Wide set and close set eyes
: Basically everyone is a little wide set or close set... no one has perfectly spaced eyes... but the way you determine whether you are a little wide set or close set is to see if you can fit the length of one of your eyes in between your eyes. Odd sounding i know but take your pinky finger and hold it horizontally under your eye... it should be the same legnth from the tip of your pinky finger to the middle knuckle (not the one closest to your nail or the one closest to your hand) as your eye! then set that across your nose. Line up with the pink of one eye. If your knuckle overlaps the other eye, you are slightly close set, if you have space to spare you have wide set eyes!

Hooded eyes: Unfortunately we all need to know how to apply makeup to this shape generally because it's the shape of mature eyes... in other words as you get older your eyes will start to have this shape. This eye shape is classified as having a fold of eye skin that usually hides the crease diminishing the lid (when looking forward) or all together hides the lid and touches the lash line.

Other types:
Small eyes: usually the eye appears smaller in comparison to the proportions of the face... Usually these eye shapes have little to no crease.
Asian eyes: Not to be confused with small eyes. Asian eyes still have a crease however the lid area is half the size or width of almond eye shapes.
Down set eyes: Also known as "droopy" eyes, the outer corners usually tilt upward for most eye shapes, however with this eye shape the outer corners of the eyes slant downward in a "droopy" fashion... but never fear, this is one of the easiest and most dramatic of fixes!




Application Techniques:

Remember the one rule of thumb- lighter colors bring features forward and into focus, while dark colors push features back and diminish lines.

Almond: This eye shape can pull off any look however the most flattering look for this shape would be a smudged smokey look. Eyeliner on top and bottom smudged to blur and neutral medium shadows for the lid.

Deep set: This eye shape needs little contouring... so though you shouldn't wear too dark of shadows or go heavy with the liner, you can however pull off almost any color! For these ladies i'd suggest liners in many shades like gold, silver, blues and greens. Try to avoid a lot of blacks and dark browns. If you just can't part from the dark liner, be sure to only apply a very thin line to the lashes or just stick to the waterline. Remember the darker colors will only make deep set eyes look even more recessed than they are... light colors will bring them forward and balanced.

Prominent eyes: This eye shadow technique is all about making the lid more diminished. Darker eyesahdows are your friend and will minimize the "bulging-ness" of the eye. However use caution. NEVER go above the natural crease or you will end up with deep set eyes. Also with most prominent eye shapes, the under eye area can cast a shadow making it appear as though you have under eye cirlces, so be sure to stick close to the lash line.

Wide set eyes: with wide set eyes you want to create the illusion that your eyes are closer by creating a crease and liner that widens as it gets closer to the eye. So you want to stay away from cat eye looks and keep the crease color to a minimum at the outer edges of the eye.

Close set eyes: Application is just the opposite! Liner and crease should widen as you reach the outer corners of the eye. Cat eye looks are the perfect answer for this!

Hooded eyes: for many women the technique may seem daunting but as long as you keep to the rule, application will be a breeze! Keep lighter shades at the lash line and under the brow. Medium shades at the inner 1/3 of the lid... and forget the natural crease... apply darker crease colors only on the skin that seems to "hood" over the rest of your lid and blend well... this dramatically diminishes the part of the eye that seems to sag over your lid.

Small eyes: soft looks are the best when it comes to small eyes... dark colors just close the eye area and often lead to making the eyes look even smaller. Use brighter colors and contour with soft shades above the natural crease... this gives the illusion of open bright eyes.

Asian eyes: Liner is your friend! Just make sure its thinner in the center and widens at the outer and inner edges. Keep the colors bright and apply neutral shade for contour at the inner corners of the lid add dimension.

Down set eyes: Lift outer corners by applying shadows and liners that move in upward motion away from the downward edge of the eye... make liner much thicker at the ends and blend crease color into what would be a cat eye on most other eye shapes. add balance by contouring the inner corner of the lid with a darker shadow effect (unless eyes are also close set)



ETA: Now deep set eyes and hooded eyes most likely won't touch the pencil on the pencil method, however the main difference is determined on if the lid becomes covered by the skin above the crease... More often than not hooded eyes will cover 1/3 to over half of the lid when looking forward.

And remember ladies this all just a guideline! All eye shapes are beautiful and when make up is applied right every eye shape can be enhanced!


Other entries:
1. Tips: Eyeliner and Eyeshadow for Different Eye Shapes

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