Should I use shimmer on hooded eyes?

Yes, on the part of the lid that stays visible, which is the centre and the inner corner. Keep the hood and the crease matte. A fine shimmer or satin finish shows on the lid without catching light on the fold.

What eyeliner is best for hooded eyes?

A waterproof gel or liquid liner, drawn thin and close to the lashes. Tightlining the upper waterline with a pencil defines the eye without using any lid space. Draw any wing with your eyes open so it skips the fold.

Can I see a look on my own hooded eyes before I try it with real makeup?

Yes. Upload a selfie to TryOnMyLook and pick one of our looks, or add a screenshot of a look from Instagram, TikTok or Pinterest. In about 20 seconds you get your own face with only that makeup added, and your eyes stay as they are.

Makeup for your features

Makeup for hooded eyes

Hooded eyes have a fold of skin from the brow bone that covers part or all of the lid when your eyes are open. Shadow placed in your natural crease disappears under that fold. So do your eye makeup with your eyes open, looking straight into the mirror, and put colour where you can still see it.

The pictures below show our looks on two women with hooded eyes, one with green eyes and one with blue. Compare a soft blend like Soft Glam with a sharp Cut Crease on the same lid. Then try any of them on your own selfie and see how much lid each one leaves in view.

Looks on hooded eyes

19 looks

Eyeliner and eyeshadow tips for hooded eyes

Blend a matte mid-tone brown or taupe a few millimetres above your natural crease, with your eyes open. The depth then shows above the fold instead of hiding under it.
Keep shimmer to the centre of the lid and the inner corner, and keep the hood itself matte. Soft Glam follows this, with matte taupe through the crease and champagne shimmer only on the centre of the lid.
Draw liner thin, or tightline the upper waterline with a pencil. A thick line on a hooded eye covers the little lid space that shows.
For a wing, look straight ahead and draw the flick from the outer corner up toward the tail of the brow, skipping over the fold. It looks broken with your eye closed and straight with it open, which is how people see it.
If you want a Cut Crease, carve the line above the fold, not in your real crease. Drawn in the real crease, the line disappears the moment you open your eyes.
Prime the lid and use a waterproof gel liner and long-wear shadow. The fold presses on the lid all day and moves soft pencil and cream shadow up onto the brow bone.

Questions

Should I use shimmer on hooded eyes?: Yes, on the part of the lid that stays visible, which is the centre and the inner corner. Keep the hood and the crease matte. A fine shimmer or satin finish shows on the lid without catching light on the fold.
What eyeliner is best for hooded eyes?: A waterproof gel or liquid liner, drawn thin and close to the lashes. Tightlining the upper waterline with a pencil defines the eye without using any lid space. Draw any wing with your eyes open so it skips the fold.
Can I see a look on my own hooded eyes before I try it with real makeup?: Yes. Upload a selfie to TryOnMyLook and pick one of our looks, or add a screenshot of a look from Instagram, TikTok or Pinterest. In about 20 seconds you get your own face with only that makeup added, and your eyes stay as they are.