Hooded eyes: depth where the crease really is
Read the eye with the eye open. Ask the client to look straight ahead, then look at the fold of skin above the lashes and at the space between the fold and the brow. On a hooded eye the skin from the brow area folds over the crease, so the crease you can see when the eye is closed is partly or completely hidden when the eye is open. The place to put depth is the fold that remains visible, slightly above the natural crease, not the crease you would draw on a different eye. Painting a cut crease on a hooded eye is the classic mistake: it looks dramatic in the mirror with the eye closed and disappears the moment the client looks at the camera.
Keep the lid light and place the depth at the outer corner and along the visible fold. A light shade on the inner two-thirds of the lid brings the eye forward, and a medium or deep shade in the outer third gives it shape without closing it. Avoid a heavy dark band across the whole lid, which makes the eye look smaller and the brow look lower. Blend upward with a small brush, then check with the eye open after every few strokes. If the depth disappears when the eye opens, it is in the wrong place; move it up a few millimetres rather than making it darker. The goal is a shadow that reads with the eye open, because that is how the client will be seen.
Liner needs the same restraint. A thin line close to the lashes, with a small upward flick at the outer corner, opens a hooded eye. A thick line eats the visible lid and makes the eye look heavy. If the hood is very low, skip the flick and tightline instead, which makes the lash line look fuller without taking space. Curl the lashes before mascara, and curl them properly at the root rather than at the tips. Lift at the lash line does more for a hooded eye than any shadow, because it opens the eye physically, while shadow only suggests depth. Mascara on the outer lashes adds to the lift, but keep the inner lashes light so the eye does not look crowded.
Hooded eyes also change with age, weight, and tiredness, so the same client may need a different placement at different appointments. Photograph the eye open and closed at the trial, and keep the photograph. If the client has a monolid or a very low brow, the visible space may be only a few millimetres, and the entire look has to be built in that band. Do not force a shape from a video tutorial onto an eye that does not have the space for it. The most useful skill with a hooded eye is knowing when to stop adding shadow and let the lashes and the liner do the work.
- 1. Ask the client to look straight ahead with the eye open.
- 2. Find the fold that stays visible when the eye is open.
- 3. Prime the lid and set it with a small amount of powder.
- 4. Place a light shade on the inner two-thirds of the lid.
- 5. Place the depth in the outer third and along the visible fold.
- 6. Blend upward and check with the eye open after every few strokes.
- 7. Tightline the upper lash line and add a thin upward flick if wanted.
- 8. Curl the lashes at the root and apply mascara to the outer lashes.
Salon example
Ritika, thirty-one, came for a sangeet makeup with a photograph on her phone of a cut crease she wanted. Her eyes were hooded, and the fold covered most of the lid when she looked straight ahead. I explained that the shape in the photograph would vanish when she opened her eyes, and she agreed to try a version built for her eye. We kept the lid light, placed a warm brown in the outer third and along the visible fold, and blended it upward with a small brush. I tightlined the upper lash line and added a short flick, then curled her lashes at the root. When she opened her eyes the depth was still visible, the lash line looked full, and the eye looked larger than it had with the darker shadow she usually wore. Her sister, who had the same eye shape, asked for the same placement at her own wedding. The photograph on Ritika's phone is still there, but she no longer wants that shape. At the trial for her own wedding she asked me to keep the light lid and the outer-corner depth, and to leave the rest alone.
Caution: Do not paint depth so high above the fold that it reads as a second brow when the eye is open; check the eye open, not closed, before you commit.
Deep-set and round eyes
A deep-set eye sits back under a brow bone that comes forward, so the socket already has shadow. The mistake is to add more darkness into that socket, which pushes the eye further back and makes the face look tired. Keep the lid lighter than the socket, bring the depth to the outer corner, and use a light shade on the brow bone and the inner corner. A small amount of light on the centre of the lid and just under the brow brings the eye forward without any shimmer that looks wet. If the client wants a smoky eye, keep the smoke at the outer corner and the lash line rather than filling the whole socket, and blend the edge softly so the natural shadow and the makeup merge.
A round eye is wide and open, and the aim is usually to lengthen it rather than to make it rounder. Extend the shadow and the liner slightly outward at the outer corner, keep the centre of the lid light, and place the deeper shade in the outer third. Do not draw a dark ring all around the eye, which emphasises the round shape and makes the eye look like a circle. A soft wing that follows the lower lash line outward gives length. Keep the lower lash line light in the inner half and slightly deeper in the outer half. If the client has round eyes and wants a dramatic look, length at the outer corner reads as drama; darkness above and below the centre reads as a panda.
Monolid eyes have no visible crease, so the colour has to be built in a gradient from the lash line upward. Work close to the lashes with the deepest shade, blend a medium shade above it, and keep the highest point light. When the eye opens, the gradient is still visible as a soft band, which reads clearly in photographs. Keep the liner tight to the lashes or draw a short wing that follows the eye shape; a thick line across a monolid takes away the little space there is. Curl the lashes well, because they carry the look. With close-set eyes, keep the inner corner light and place the darker shade outward; with wide-set eyes, bring a little depth to the inner corner and keep the outer extension shorter.
Asymmetry is normal and should not be forced into symmetry. Most faces have one eye slightly larger, one brow higher, or one lid that folds a little more. Work with the client's own shape, then check both eyes in a mirror at arm's length and in a photograph. Small differences disappear in a photograph; heavy attempts to correct them make both eyes look wrong. If the client wears glasses, the frames change the visible space, so do the eye makeup with the glasses on for the final check. If the client has a mature eye with a hooded lid and a deep socket, use less powder, more cream, and a light hand under the brow, because heavy products settle into the crease and the fine lines around the eye.
- 1. Look at the eye from the front, the side, and with the glasses on.
- 2. Decide whether the socket is deep, the eye is round, or the lid is flat.
- 3. Keep the centre of the lid light for deep-set and round eyes.
- 4. Place the deeper shade in the outer third and blend outward.
- 5. For monolids, build a gradient upward from the lash line.
- 6. Tightline or use a short wing rather than a thick liner.
- 7. Curl the lashes at the root before mascara.
- 8. Check both eyes at arm's length and in a photograph before finishing.
Salon example
Ritu, twenty-seven, had round eyes and wanted a smoky eye for a friend's cocktail party. Her usual method was a dark shadow all around the eye, which made her look surprised in photographs and closed the eye in the middle. We kept the centre of her lid light, placed a soft charcoal in the outer third, and extended it slightly beyond the outer corner. I lined the upper lash line and added a short wing, and kept the lower lash line light in the inner half with a little definition outside. Her lashes were curled at the root and mascara went mostly on the outer lashes. The result was still a smoky eye, but it lengthened her eye instead of circling it. She sent a photograph from the party at midnight, and the eye makeup had held without smudging under the lower lash line. Her friend asked for the same look, and I used the same principle on a completely different eye shape. On the friend, who had a monolid, the same charcoal sat close to the lash line and faded upward, and the wing was shorter and straighter.
Caution: Do not line all the way around a round eye with a dark pencil; the ring makes the eye look smaller and rounder than it is.
The waterline, glitter and contact lenses
Tightlining means placing colour between the upper lashes at the root, not inside the eye. It makes the lash line look denser and is safer than a pencil dragged along the lower waterline, which sits against the eye itself. The lower waterline is sensitive, and a pencil there can block the small glands along the lid margin or transfer bacteria if the pencil has been used before. Sharpen the pencil before each client and wipe the blade. If the client has sensitive eyes, dry eyes, or contact lenses, skip the lower waterline entirely. A little shadow pressed into the lower lash line gives definition without touching the eye, and it removes cleanly at the end of the night.
Loose glitter does not belong on the waterline or anywhere near the eye. The particles are small, sharp, and impossible to control once they are wet, and they can scratch the surface of the eye or get trapped under a lens. Pressed glitter, applied with a damp brush on the lid and kept away from the lash line, is a different product and a different risk. Even then, keep it on the lid and not in the inner corner, where it migrates. If a client asks for glitter tears or glitter liner along the lower lash line, offer a fine metallic shadow instead. The look can be close, and nobody will need to rinse an eye in a bathroom at midnight.
Mascara is the product most often shared and the one most likely to carry infection. Use a disposable wand for every client, and never re-dip a used wand into the tube. Do not pump the wand, which pushes air and bacteria into the product. Curl the lashes before mascara; curling after mascara can break the lashes and pull out clumps. Waterproof mascara is the right choice for tears, humidity, and long events, but it needs a proper removal plan, because rubbing a waterproof formula off the lashes at night is how people lose lashes. Tell the client which remover to use and how to let it sit before wiping. For contact lens wearers, the lenses go in before makeup, and no loose powder goes near the eye.
Eye cosmetics carry particular safety concerns because the eye is a delicate surface with its own tear film. The US Food and Drug Administration publishes guidance on cosmetics and eye-area products at https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics, including advice on not sharing eye products and on stopping use if irritation appears. In the salon, the practical rules are simple: sharpen pencils, use disposable wands, keep products closed, replace anything that smells or has changed texture, and never use a product on a client if it has been used on someone with an eye infection. If an eye waters continuously, swells, or turns red during the service, stop, remove the product with a gentle cleanser, and refer the client to a doctor.
- 1. Ask about contact lenses, sensitive eyes, and past reactions before starting.
- 2. Sharpen the eye pencil before the client and wipe the blade.
- 3. Tightline the upper lash line only, with a clean pencil or a fine brush.
- 4. Keep loose glitter away from the eye and never on the waterline.
- 5. Use a disposable mascara wand and never re-dip it.
- 6. Curl the lashes before applying mascara, not after.
- 7. Choose waterproof mascara for tears and humidity, and plan the removal.
- 8. Stop and refer if the eye waters, swells, or reddens during the service.
Salon example
Zoya, twenty-nine, wore contact lenses and had a wedding to attend in the evening. She wanted glitter along the lower lash line, a look she had seen online. I explained that loose glitter near a lens is a risk, and offered a fine metallic shadow pressed into the lower lash line instead, kept a few millimetres below the rim. She agreed. We put her lenses in before any eye makeup, used no loose powder near the eye, and tightlined the upper lash line with a clean pencil. The metallic shadow gave her the sparkle she wanted in photographs without any particles sitting on the eye. Halfway through the evening she sent a message saying her eyes felt fine, which is not a message I take for granted. At the end of the night she removed the eye makeup with a balm, let it sit for a minute, and wiped gently downward with a cotton pad. She kept the lenses in until the makeup was off, then removed them with clean hands. The sparkle in the photographs came from a pressed shadow, not from loose glitter, and nobody had to rinse an eye that night.
Caution: Never place loose glitter on the waterline or along the inner rim of the eye; it can scratch the eye and become trapped under a contact lens.
This is a Nandu Nai textbook. It is a private brand book, not a government licence, and it does not give the right to give medical treatment.