8-Step Eye Makeup Tutorial for Hooded Eyes
Learn how to use makeup to flatter your unique eye shape.
If you have hooded eyes, you’ve likely noticed that certain makeup tutorials just don’t seem to work for your eyes. You can practice the same winged eyeliner technique over and over to no avail—and the same holds true for smokey eyes and other sought-after eye makeup looks. But don’t despair. With some minor adjustments to your techniques, you can master hooded eye makeup.
Here, we’ve created a guide to makeup for hooded eyes, complete with our best tips, tricks, and tutorials. You’ll learn all about applying eyeliner on hooded eyes, plus how to do eyeshadow and more. Keep reading for everything you need to know.
Hey everyone, it's Téa and welcome to the L'Oréal Paris Channel. If you have hooded eyes like me, I'm here to help. I'm going to show you exactly how to really enhance and make them pop. So with hooded eyes, you have some extra skin that covers your eyelid. So it does make it a little tricky for certain eyeshadow looks. So I like to start by applying a base for my eyeshadow. And I like to use a concealer that's close to my skin tone. Then you're going to take a sponge. You can also use a brush or your fingers. And I just like to blend this all over my eyelids. This is going to create an even base for your eyeshadow. I think this is very important if you have hooded eyes. Because with hooded eyes, especially mine, I notice a lot of shadow. It kind of creates the look of discoloration. So that's why I like to go in with a concealer to prime my lids just to make everything look the same color. So what you want to do next to prevent creasing and to set your concealer in place is to go in with a powder on top. So the one I'm using is the L'Oréal Infallible Up to 24 Hour Freshwear Bronzer I'm going to be using the shade 350. This has a soft matte finish and it's waterproof. So it's going to be perfect for keeping your concealer and your eyeshadow in place. With hooded eyes, you want to make sure your makeup is set into place and is going to stay there all day just because there's a lot of friction and rubbing with your skin. So we want to make sure we're using waterproof and smudge proof products. You're going to pick up the product on a fluffy brush, tap off the excess. And you want to lightly tap the product all over your eyelids. I'm using shade 305 because it's closest to the concealer that I use. You don't want to use anything too dark or too light. So next I'm going in with a little bit of a darker shade 450. And I'm going to be using this as my transition shade. For hooded eyes, one of my main tips is to apply your eyeshadow with your eyes open. That way you can see exactly where it's going to go. I was to apply my eyeshadow in what would be my crease, which is like right around here. It would be hidden underneath this skin right here. So I'm going to apply this shade right above my natural crease and just blend it all over my eyelid. You can also wing the shadow out a little bit by just pulling it towards your temples. This is optional, but I do like to focus on elongating my eyes since there's not really many options that I can do with hooded eyes. I do like to focus on bringing my shadow outwards just to add some more definition into my eyes. Another hack that I have is to use bronzer for eyeshadow. I love to do this. It's very easy to blend. It's also forgiving, so if you mess up, it's really easy to fix. For my next step, I'm going to go in with the L'Oréal Paris Infallible Fresh Wear Bronzer in the shade 550. Picking this up with a smaller, more detailed eyeshadow brush. I'm holding my mirror up so that I'm looking straight ahead. Wherever you see the crease, you want to apply the shadow right above it. I'm not going to take it in too far towards the beginning of my eye. I'm just going to keep everything out here and work on elongating my eyes and giving them more definition. If you need to clean anything up, you can go in with your lighter shade and just blend out the edges of the darker shade. Going back in with the L'Oréal Paris Infallible Fresh Wear Bronzer in the shade 450 and apply it to my lower lash line. You just want to lightly smudge this underneath your lash line. It doesn't have to be perfect because like I said, the bronzer is super easy to work with and very blendable. To make my eyes pop a little more. I'm going to use the L'Oréal Paris Paradise Le Shadow Stick in the shade 120 Magnetic Mauve I love these eyeshadow sticks. They're creamy. They glide on super easy. Let me just show you guys how easy it is to apply this. All you have to do is glide it on to your eyelid and it's really easy to work with. You can also build it up to your desired look. You're only going to apply this color from the front of your eyelids to the center because it's kind of hard to see on the outer corners so you don't want to apply anything there. You can just stick to the front of your eyelids. I always like to go a little bit higher just so you can see the product when I open my eyes. This is also going to make your eyelids look a little bit bigger so I love applying it above my crease as well. What I like to do is take my fingers and just blend out the edges. You can see how it makes my eyes pop a little bit more and look more dimensional. One of my favorite steps in my eyeshadow is highlighting my inner corner and my brow bone. I'm going to go in again with the L'Oréal Paris Paradise Le Shadow Stick in the shade 245 Aluring Rose. What I'm going to do is take this shadow and apply it to the inner corner of my eyes. You can already see that it brightens up my eyes so much. I do this step faithfully every time I do my makeup so it's one of my favorites. You can just blend that out with your fingers. Moving on to eyeliner. Eyeliner can be a little difficult for hooded eyes. You don't want to make it too thick because it'll make your eyes look smaller. One of my favorite ways to define my eyes without making them look too heavy is to tight line. I'm going to use the L'Oréal Paris Infallible Grip up to 36 hour Gel Mechanical Liner in the shade Intense Black. I'm going to go ahead and tight line my eyes. To tight line, all you have to do is lift your eyelids up a little bit and create a line underneath your lash line. This enhances and defines your eyes without taking away from them or making them look too dark and heavy. Since we don't have a lot of room on our actual lids, this is a great way to apply eyeliner because it's very subtle but it really does help define your eyes. I love that this eyeliner stays put. If I close my eyes, you can see it's not transferring to my water line. Next, I'm going to line my upper lash line. To do that, I'm using the L'Oréal Paris Infallible Grip Precision Liquid Eyeliner in the shade Black. This eyeliner is smudge resistant and waterproof and it lasts literally all day which is perfect for hooded eyes. For your upper lash line, you want to stick to really thin lines. There's not a lot of room to work with so the thinner the line, the better. What I like to do is just press the eyeliner along my lash line in small sections. We're literally just tapping the eyeliner onto our eyelids. This way you don't mess up and create a line that's too thick. It gives you that perfectly thin line that we're going for. I like to wing my eyeliner out. You want to start a little bit below your lash line. I'm going to start my eyeliner here and just slowly bring this out. The main thing is that you want to make sure you're looking forward with your eyes open. You can see exactly where your skin hangs over your eyelid at the outer corners. For the wing, you're basically just creating a very thin line and winging it out from your bottom lash line. Create another thin line on top and connect it with your upper lash line. For the final step, we're going in with the L'Oréal Paris Lash Paradise Mascara in Blackest Black This mascara gives my lashes so much length and volume and it's also smudge resistant. When I apply mascara, I always like to look down into a mirror and just wiggle the brush While you wiggle the brush, you can close your eyes and that's going to coat your lashes even more. It's also going to help you avoid getting mascara on your upper lids. I don't really like mascara on my bottom lashes. I just take my fingers and separate my bottom lashes so that they have a little bit of mascara but they also look nice and fluffy. Alright, and that's it this is the final look If you guys are interested in any of these products, make sure you head to lorealparisusa.com and all the links will be listed in the description below.
What Are Hooded Eyes?
Hooded eyes are characterized by an extra layer of skin that hangs down from the brow bone, covering most or all of the eyelid. As a result, certain eye makeup looks can be more challenging to execute. Because you have less visible eyelid space than other eye shapes, your eye makeup may appear hidden when your eyes are open. However, this shouldn’t limit you from trying different makeup looks. There are plenty, including a cut crease, that can seriously flatter hooded lids. It’s all about using techniques specifically meant for hooded eyes.
How Do I Know If I Have Hooded Eyes?
To check if you have hooded eyes, grab a mirror and examine your eye shape. If, when your eyes are open, you don’t notice a crease and the skin beneath your brows droops towards your lash line, you likely have hooded eyelids. If you can’t see most of the makeup on your eyelids when your eyes are open and looking forward, this is another good indication that you may have hooded eyes.
It can also be helpful to look at pictures of celebrities with hooded eyes and compare them to your own eye shape. Or, you can use an eye shape chart or graphic, like the below, to help.
Techniques for Hooded Eye Makeup
Once you know you have hooded lids, it’s time to learn some tips for applying makeup on hooded eyes.
Apply makeup with your eyes open
One of the reasons makeup for hooded eyes can be challenging is because it looks so different when your eyes are open versus closed. But, if you apply your makeup with your eyes open, there won’t be any surprises. You can precisely apply eyeshadow and eyeliner, knowing that it will be visible when your eyes are open. Plus, applying makeup with your eyes open can help prevent smudging or transferring. Speaking of which…
Opt for long-wearing, waterproof formulas
When you have hooded eyes, it’s not uncommon for makeup to smudge and transfer onto your upper lid. Avoid this by using smudge-resistant and waterproof eye makeup formulas like L’Oréal Paris Infallible Grip Precision Felt Waterproof Eyeliner, L’Oréal Paris Infallible Grip Mechanical Gel Eyeliner, and L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Original Waterproof Lengthening Mascara.
Tightline your upper waterline
Your eyelids may be hidden, but your waterline should be visible. Use this to your advantage and tightline your upper waterline. A darker shade can help your lashes look fuller, while a white or nude liner will give your eyes a more open, wide-awake look.
Stick with thin lines
When you do apply eyeliner to your lids (and not just your waterline), keep the lines thin. Heavier lines are more likely to be completely obscured and can also make your eyes look smaller.
Use the right tools
Small blending eyeshadow brushes are essential for hooded eye makeup because they allow you to be precise and blend in small areas.
Don’t reach for dark shades
Dark eyeshadow can make your hooded eyes appear heavy. When doing eyeshadow for hooded eyes, reach for lighter shades and spend your time blending upwards and outwards to give your eyes a more lifted look. If you want to use a darker shade to create a smokey eye, blend it with lighter shades to make sure the dark shadow isn’t all you can see when your eyes are open.
Avoid super heavy lashes
Dramatic lashes can be very fun, but paired with hooded lids, they may make your eyes look droopy. Opt for a light, wispy style instead to visibly lift your eyes. Even better if you pair the lashes with a lengthening mascara formula, like the aforementioned L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Original Waterproof Lengthening Mascara.
How to Do Makeup for Hooded Eyes
To put some of the above tips to good use, grab your makeup bag and follow this step-by-step, hooded eye makeup tutorial.
Step 1. Prime your lids
If you have hooded eyelids, smudged eyeliner is likely a common occurrence. To prevent this, reach for a long-wearing eye primer, and make sure to apply it to your lids and your brow bone area.
Step 2. Fake a crease
Using a pencil eyeliner like the L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro-Last Waterproof, Up to 24HR Pencil Eyeliner, draw a fake crease above your natural crease. This line should go from the outer edge of your eye toward the inner corner. Arch the line to create a semi-circle shape—this will help make your hooded eyes appear bigger.
Step 3. Blend it out
Before your drawn-on crease fully dries, use a small fluffy blending brush to soften the line, blending it in an upward motion toward your brow bone and the outer corner of your eye. Keep the bottom edge of the line precise, as this is the defining characteristic of a cut crease.
Step 4. Trace over your line
With your eyeliner in place, blend a matte eyeshadow like L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Monos Eyeshadow in Matte-ison Avenue, Matte It Up, Mix and Matte, or Matte Chill on top. Blend the shadow upward, creating a diffused effect.
Step 5. Add some shimmer
Matte colors are great for hooded eyes but a little bit of shimmer applied to the visible lid can help brighten your eyes. Try it out with L’Oréal Paris Brilliant Eyes Shimmer Liquid Eye Shadow Makeup in Diamond Drop.
Step 6. Highlight your inner corner and brow bone
Reach for a light eyeshadow like L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Monos Eyeshadow in Little Beige Dress to brighten the inner corner of your eye, and the area right beneath the arch of your brow. Highlighting the brow bone can help further open up your hooded eyes.
Step 7. Create a cat eye
To create your wing, start by drawing a line that extends from the outer corner of your eye, then draw a very thin line across your upper lash line. Connect this line to the wing for a seamless cat eye.
Editor’s tip: A double wing is a great way to wear cat eye eyeliner if you have hooded eyes. To give this look a try, simply add a thin wing just beneath the one you already created.
Step 8. Define your lashes
Bring your look together with a few coats of waterproof, lengthening mascara.
How to Do a Smokey Eye for Hooded Eyes
A smokey eye is a timeless makeup look associated with sultry drama, dark shades, and expert blending. When you have hooded eyes, a few adjustments need to be made to ensure the look doesn’t overwhelm your eyes.
Step 1. Blend a light brown shade all over the lid
Start by swiping a shade of brown eyeshadow across your lid. You can also use a bronzer, like the L’Oréal Paris Infallible Up to 24H Fresh Wear Soft Matte Bronzer. Keep a light hand and blend upward for a soft, gradient effect.
Step 2. Line your upper and lower lash lines with gel eyeliner
Using the aforementioned L’Oréal Paris Infallible Grip Mechanical Gel Eyeliner in Brown Denim or Intense Black, line your upper and lower lash lines. We recommend this eyeliner for smokey eyes because the gel formula glides across the lids without skipping or tugging and easily smudges to create dramatic eye looks.
Step 3. Smudge the Lines
Smudge out the lines you created on the upper and lower lash line (the eyeliner we recommended has a built-in smudger, but a cotton swab or small makeup brush can work, too). At the outer corner of your upper lash line, smudge outwards and upwards to create a soft wing shape. Be sure to work quickly because you have a limited amount of time to smudge your liner before the formula sets.
Once you finish blending, swipe your eyeshadow brush across your lids to help further blend out any harsh lines.
Step 4. Apply mascara
Finish with a generous coat of mascara on both your upper and lower lashes. We love L’Oréal Paris Voluminous Panorama Washable Mascara for getting a volumized, fanned-out lash look.
How to Apply Eyeliner for Hooded Eyes
Learning how to make eyeliner work for your hooded eyes is essential if you want to elevate your makeup looks. The good news is—it’s a lot simpler than you might think.
Step 1. Create your wing
With your eyes open, look straight forward into a mirror and draw a wing on the visible part of the skin. Angle the wing upward (not just out) for a more flattering effect. We recommend using an extra fine tip liner, such as the L’Oréal Paris Lineur Intense Brush Tip Liquid Eyeliner, to get a more precise finish.
Editor’s tip: Keep in mind, everyone’s eyes are different. This means what works best for one person with hooded eyes may not work for everyone. You might need to try multiple techniques to find your favorite. Another popular option for hooded eyes is “batwing eyeliner.” For this technique, you draw the wing outward from the outer corner—as you normally would—but at the tip, drag the wing inward toward your crease. This creates a batwing shape when the eyes are closed, and a perfect flick when they’re open.
Step 2. Line your lash line
Create as thin of a line as possible across your upper lash line, pressing the eyeliner into your lashes. Connect the line to your wing, being careful not to thicken it too much.
How to Apply False Lashes for Hooded Eyes
Just because you have hooded eyes doesn’t mean you can’t wear false eyelashes. Similar to eyeliner, you just need to make a few tweaks to the standard application method.
Step 1. Choose your lashes
For hooded lids, you want to avoid thick, densely packed false eyelashes as they can completely obscure any visible lid space you may have. Instead, go for longer, thinner lashes.
Step 2. Customize the shape
A full strip lash can make your eye area look slightly droopy. To avoid this, you can trim your lashes down (or use individual lashes). Applying them to just the outer corner will have an eye-opening effect.
To get the right length, hold the lash up to your eyes, and cut the strip so it’s half the length of your natural lash line.
Step 3. Apply the lashes
Apply a small amount of glue to the lash strip, and wait for it to get tacky. Then, close your eye, and line up the lash strip with your lash line, starting at the outer corner of your eye. Press it into place and ta-da.
Next Up: How to Get Thicker Eyebrows With Makeup in 3 Simple Steps
Photo Courtesy of L'Oréal Paris
