Identifying your eye shape can assist you in developing makeup techniques that complement your natural features.
Types of Eye Shapes
There are various eye shapes, each with its own set of characteristics.
1. Almond: Almond eyes are distinguished by the fact that the iris touches both the bottom and top portions of the eyelid. Almond eyes grow larger and wider toward the outside of the eye. Both the tear duct and the outer end of the eye come to a point, resembling the shape of an almond.
2. Monolid: A person with a monolid eye shape does not have a distinct eye crease. Instead, they have a smooth eyelid that extends all the way down to the lash line.
3. Round: As the name suggests, round eyes are round throughout the entire shape of the eye. Round-eyed people have white on the top, bottom, or both sides of their iris.
4. Protruding: Protruding eyes, like round eyes, are large and circular, with the inner and outer corners not pointing inward. Protruding eyes appear to bulge outward from a profile angle.
5. Downturned: Downturned eyes have the outer corners pointing toward the cheekbones, giving the eye a soft appearance. The inner corners of downturned eyes appear to turn up because the outer corners of downturned eyes angle down.
6. Upturned: Upturned eyes are the polar opposite of downturned eyes in that they angle up in the outer corners. This eye shape, also known as cat eyes, pairs well with the cat eye makeup look.
Close-Set vs. Wide-Set Eyes
The distance between each eye can also be used to classify the various eye shapes. If the distance between your two eyes is greater than or less than one eyeball width, you have wide or close-set eyes.
Wide-set: People with wide-set eyes have more space between their left and right eyes than the average person. The distance between wide-set eyes is usually greater than one eyeball width.
Close-set: Close-set eyes have less space between the left and right eye than the average person. Close-set eyes are separated by less than one eyeball width.
How to Identify Your Eye Shape
You only need a mirror and the following steps to determine your eye shape:
1. Position a mirror at eye level. With your chin aimed straight ahead, look into the mirror. This will evenly distribute your eyes across the mirror, allowing you to determine your eye shape.
2. Find your crease. Look for your eyelid crease before examining the inner and outer corners of your eyes. You have monolid eyes if there is no visible crease. If, on the other hand, you have a distinct eyelid crease, proceed to the next step to determine your eye shape.
3. Try to imagine an invisible line running through the center of your eyes. Making an imaginary line across your eyes will help you determine where your eyes should be in relation to the rest of your face. Examine the inner and outer corners of your eyes and use the line to determine whether the corners point up or down. Downturned eyes are those that turn downward, whereas upturned eyes are those that turn upward.
4. Look at the white part of your eyes. Round, almond, or protruding eyes are those that do not point up or down but remain straight. Continue to imagine a line across the center of your eyes while looking straight into the mirror. You have almond eyes if you cannot see the whites of your eyes above or below your iris. The whites surrounding the eyes are visible in both round and protruding eyes; however, protruding eyes bulge out of the sockets more than round eyes.
Makeup Ideas for Every Eye Shape
Because each eye shape is unique, using makeup that complements your eyes will help to enhance your natural beauty. Use the following tips to draw attention to different eye shapes:
Almond: Use a thick layer of eyeliner on the lower lash line to draw attention to the outline of your almond-shaped eyes. Blend darker shades around the outer edges of the eyes and lighter, shimmery shades toward the inner corner. You can also enhance the appearance of almond eyes by applying a smokey eye, smudging your lower eyeliner, and blending your dark and light eyeshadows together.
Monolid: Highlighting monolid eyes with eyeliner on the lower and upper lids. Create a cat eye look with liquid liner, drawing the eyeliner past the outer corner of the eyes to lengthen the eyes. Make a crease with dark eyeshadow by swooping it across the lid and building the colors vertically toward the brow bone.
Round: Round eyes can be enhanced by applying eyeliner along the waterline and mascara to the top and bottom lash lines. Use a dark shade along your crease and light shades across the majority of your eyelid for an eyeshadow look. Smudge the outer edges of your eyeshadow to create a smokey eye for a nighttime look.
Protruding: The key to protruding eye makeup is to focus on elongating the outer eye, making the eye appear longer. Applying dark eyeshadow shades in the outer edges and a light shimmer in the inner corners of the eyes is one way to achieve this. This will make the eye shape longer and more defined.
Downturned: Lift downturned eyes with a winged eyeliner and a layer of mascara across your top lashes. This will give the appearance of raised, more open eyes. You can also experiment with your eyeshadow palette, focusing on the orbital bone.
Upturned: Draw a cat eye across your top lids to draw attention to the natural shape of your eyes. To achieve a cat-eye effect, run a makeup brush from the tip of the nose to the outer corner of the eye. Using the makeup brush as a guide, draw an even cat eye along your upper lash lines by applying a thin line of liquid eyeliner along the edge of the brush.
