Guys, I have breaking news.
It’s about eyeshadow application. I finally learned the trick on how to apply eyeshadow to my deep set/hooded eyes. My eyes have a very little of visible lid space. Just a small gap. So applying the dark eyeshadows on the ‘crease’, as typical, has never worked for me. Actually, the typical rules in general haven’t really worked for me. With deep set or hooded eyes – you have to do things a little differently.
And even though I’m a professional I’ve struggled with my own eye shape. Getting it sometimes right, but most of the time just kind of shooting in the dark, not understanding the logic behind my actions. Okay, I made it sound super serious. But it is! It’s life and death here – eyeshadow, life and death.
So let’s get to the visual part of it. I’m gonna teach you exactly how to apply eyeshadow for hooded eyes, deep set eyes, monolids or just for eyes, that have a little of visible lid space. This trick is also a bit universal, so it works for anyone, who wants to make her/his eyes appear bigger.
And might I just add, humbly of course, that this is the best eye shadow trick I have shared on my blog so far.
The ultimate makeup trick for deep set or hooded eyes
Forget about the crease
As you can see, with my eye shape, my crease is super low. Those grey dots in the first picture show you my crease. I’ve parted ways with it a long time ago – deepening my actual crease just makes my eyes look smaller and even though my eyes are just the right size, I don’t want them to be any smaller. So, forget about the crease.
Follow your natural bone structure
How to apply eyeshadow for any eye shape? Follow your natural bone structure – just like you do with contour and highlight. It’s no different from that really! It’s all about playing with the natural contours of your eye and putting the shadow where it naturally occurs. Which, in this case, forms right below my brow bone. These photos are a bit dark on purpose, because I wanted to show you the natural shadows that occur on my eyes. I marked it with grey dots in the second picture.
Find your natural shadow – it’s right below your brow bone
To get this absolutely right, you need to find the exact spot. You can find it with your finger – you can feel where the bone ends and the eye sinks a little. Or you can go to a room, where the lighting is a bit dim and see, where that shadow forms on your eye. You can see it super clearly that way, as you can see from these pictures. Lately I’ve actually taken my makeup brush, walked to our hallway (where it’s that dim lighting) and drew on that eyeshadow exactly where that shadow hits me. Then I’ve just gotten back to my makeup table – it makes the eyeshadow application so much easier, once I have those ‘boundaries’ on.
The reason this makes any eyeshadow look better, is because it looks more natural. Since we’ve been following our natural bone structure, the makeup kind of looks as if it belongs there. Right? Even the blending looks softer this way – almost as if the bone structure would give it an extra boost (spoiler alert: it does).
Here is a close up to show you exactly the trick. See how high you can actually pull up the eyeshadow? It’s nowhere near that natural crease or fold.
Now here is a very simple eye shadow tutorial using this trick.
Simple eye shadow tutorial for deep set & hooded eyes
- Contour the eye by following your natural bone structure. Use a matte shade. Create the ‘crease’ where a natural shadow occurs. That is where your color should be the darkest. Fill in the color in the outer corner and blend well, so that the contour looks soft and nice. Apply some color to your lower lashline as well, but it keep it subtle (unless you like the drama).
- Apply the lid color all over the lid all the way to the fake crease. Blend the edges carefully, so that, again, it looks soft and nice. But don’t let the shimmery color (if used) get to your crease area, because that color should be matte.
- Apply the inner corner highlight, liner, and mascara. I did a soft blended liner with black eyeshadow.
The best eyeshadow palettes
*Norvina palettes
*Urban Decay Naked Palettes
*Too Faced palettes
The base for my eyeshadow is always*Urban Decay Primer Potion. It keeps the eyeshadow locked in place all day.
The best eyeshadow brushes
*Zoeva
Zoeva is my absolute favorite brand for brushes. They’re high quality and make blending so easy!
*Coastal Scents 22 brush set
There are also affordable brushes, that are great. This set is what I bought for myself as my very first brush set and I still use it a lot.
I hope this post was as helpful to you, as it was for me to figure out this thing. Let me know in the comments!Â
And hey – happy Valentines’s day! I’m gonna do a little date night thing with Risto, eating dinner at home in a candle light. So cheesy, but so lovely.
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2018-02-14
I have the same problems with my eye shape so I think this will work really well for me. I’m going to try it! I apply above the crease to give the illusion of it being higher but I think following the bone structure will make it look a lot more natural!
http://ambeautyedit.com – Amy X
2018-02-15
Yeah, do try it and let me know if it works for you! <3
2018-02-14
I have small eyes and I want them to look a little open. I will definitely try this trick that you have shared. Thanks a lot. 🙂
2018-02-15
Glad you found it useful :>
2021-06-02
The best tutorial I’ve seen so far. Thabks for this!
2021-06-02
Happy to hear it, thank you!
2018-02-16
Hyvä vinkki ja itsekin oon kokenut tuon toimivaksi, sillä olen paininut samojen ongelmien kanssa. 😀
http://www.siirikiviharju.com
2018-02-17
Kiitos 🙂
2018-06-18
I wish you had used slightly less neutral colors in the tutorial to make it a bit more easy to see (what’s flattering isn’t always the best teaching tool…), but I’m definitely going to give it a shot! My current eyeshadow game has been needing some help on these seriously hooded eyes.
2018-06-18
Yeah, me too. I’m thinking of updating this tutorial with darker colors! I hope this helps you x
2022-06-22
Hi- can you tell me what eye shadows you used for this look?
2022-06-30
Hi! Yeah, I used Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette.
2018-09-02
Thanks for sharing this! I found it helpful. I have almost no visible lid when my eyes are open, so I have been frustrated trying to figure out how to have fun with all these cool eyeshadows I see people using!
2018-09-02
So glad it worked for you!
2018-09-22
I’m going to try this. I have very hooded eyes with no lid space. Do you have a video where you demonstrate this technique?
2018-09-22
Not yet, but I’m thinking of doing one. 🙂
2019-01-05
Thank you, this was indeed helpful. 🙂
But as a very critical person I want to tell you that your eyes are beautiful and your lids have just the right size, bigger would be too much. 🙂
2019-01-07
Glad you found it helpful! Yeah I think all eye shapes are beautiful. Thank you. 🙂
2019-01-11
Fantastic! I will give it a try this weekend:) And if you are ever in Luxembourg, I would gladly pay for a makeup lesson from you.
2019-01-14
Thank you so much! Hopefully it works for you. And thanks for the offer, that’s a huge compliment! 🙂
2019-01-21
This is the single most helpful eyeshadow tutorial for hooded eyes I’ve ever found. THANK YOU! I’ve seen so many people creating beautiful looks, and the way you’ve found to adapt them to those of us with hooded eyes is kind of life-changing. I can’t wait to play with my eye shadow palettes again!
2019-01-21
This comment just made my day. Thank you! I’m so glad you found it useful.
2019-02-12
This is the best tutorial I’ve seen. I’ve been intuitively doing mine above my crease my whole life and lately I was trying to put it IN the crease because that’s how everyone does it and it never looks right. Now, I’m gonna stick with above like you said. Hey, do you do video tutorials? I’d def follow you!
2019-02-13
Thank you so much! Videos are something I’m constantly thinking about, but it just doesn’t feel natural to me… But I could do a few and see how it goes. 😀 Thank you for the support!
2021-08-23
Edit: I do videos quite often on Instagram – > @charlottaeve 🙂
2019-02-20
Looooooved this tutorial! I have struggled forever with my hooded deep set eyes! You are a God send!
2019-02-20
Thank you, happy to hear it!
2019-08-04
I have a bit hooded and really deepset eyes. It’s a great tutorial, I want to try it. But above my crease immediately there is my brow bone. Should I do something different?
2019-08-12
Try and leave the tiniest gap between your eyebrow and the eyeshadow, so that the color doesn’t start straight from the brow. Hope this helps!
2019-10-04
Thank you so much! I have deep-set eyes and have never been able to figure out eye makeup. Even when I’ve gotten it done by pros for weddings and such, the dark colors or where they put the eye shadow just kind of over crowds my eyes. And whenever I do my own, it looks like someone punched me 😛 Can’t wait to try this tutorial.
My lids are a little wider on the inside corner of my eyes than on the outside, which also makes it tricky for eyeliner. Any suggestions for that?
2019-10-07
Glad you found it useful! 🙂 I would try balancing out the lid by making the liner a little thicker on the inside corner? Or contour the lid from above to make it match with the rest of the lid.
2020-01-16
Great!! What colors did you use in the palette? Looks beautiful!
2020-01-20
Pretty sure I used at least Coconut Creme, Mousse, Butter Pecan, Truffled and Pink Sugar. But my palette is the Semi Sweet version, which is no longer sold. Similar options can be found on the original palette though 🙂
2021-05-07
Thanks! I’ve been watching a lot of videos on YouTube about hooded lids, but this is more helpful since I think my eyes are really deep set too. I was already trying to go above the crease, but now I realize I have to take this even further (dear lid crease – I’m breaking up with you!). I wear glasses as well, so any added tips you have for that would be much appreciated. 🙂
2021-05-07
So happy to hear that you found it helpful. My mentality is that all makeup is suitable for glasses. Though I understand that glasses can hide the makeup a bit.. I will try and come up with some more makeup tips for glasses.
Currently I have these posts:
3 simple makeup tips for glasses wearers
Classic makeup for glasses wearers
Thank you for commenting! 🙂
2021-12-22
This tutorial was very helpful. Merry Christmas to you! x
2021-12-22
So happy to hear that, thank you! Merry Christmas 🙂
2023-11-22
[…] my eyes are deeper set, I follow a specific technique of applying eyeshadow. Essentially, put a lighter color on the inner half of your eyelids, and a […]
2024-01-18
Your posts are a godsend… I am 28 years old and after years of thinking eye makeup just didn’t look good on me, found out I have deep-set eyes thanks to your posts and now the way I am doing my makeup…. it finally looks good! Thank you so much for sharing, your techniques are unlike anything else I’ve been able to find online.
2024-01-26
Wow, thank you! This comment literally made my day <3
2024-11-24
This isn’t working for me I’m just thinking of throwing out all my eyeshadow pallettes. I have no visible lid, is just the fold. I tried the shadow trick and the shadows does not appear, I also tried the following the bone structure and the bone “ends” when the crease starts. Idk. This my sign to give up on makeup.
2024-12-03
Then maybe this particular tutorial wasn’t for you, but I would say you can most definitely still wear makeup and enjoy it. 🙂