Eyeliner for Every Lid Type: Hooded, Monolid & Deep-Set Eyes

The best technique-based guide on how to apply perfect eyeliner on hooded eyes, deep-set eyes, and monolids, with quick and easy-to-use tips and tricks.  

The first time I tried to apply some winged eyeliner, it took me over 10 minutes. Then, when I stepped back to admire the result, everything disappeared. My own eyelid had hidden my makeup. 

The betrayal!

This peekaboo situation was because I had hooded eyes. The hood makes my eyes look beautifully deep, but it took me a long time to figure out how to adapt my eyeliner application to my eyelid shape. While the type of eyeliner I used mattered, technique made a bigger difference. This guide is for anyone with monolids, hooded, or deep-set eyes. It describes how to recognise the eyelid shape. Then, it breaks down the steps for applying eyeliner on hooded eyes and deep-set eyes. It also has a section on how to apply monolid eyeliner. 

Monolids, deep-set eyes, and hooded eyes can exude a sophisticated allure and intense mystery. That’s why they’re so often found in high fashion editorials and on our screens. Mastering the right hooded, deep-set, and monolid eyeliner techniques helps enhance their natural charm. 

How to Tell What Kind of Eyelids You Have

The secret to nailing an eye makeup look every single time is to figure out the eyelid shape first. All the makeup techniques and tutorials must be adapted to that shape. A hooded eye eyeliner can be quite different from a monolid eyeliner. 

Here’s how to find out what your eyelid shape is:

Stand in front of a mirror placed at eye height in a well-lit space. Relax your face and shoulders. Make sure your eyebrows are not raised, and your eyes are fully open, not scrunched up. Now look straight ahead and examine your eye and eyelid carefully.

Here’s an easy table to quickly find your eyelid type:

Do I have Monolids?

Can you see a crease above your eyes? If not, then just like almost 50% of all Asians, you may have a monolid. A monolid is the type of eyelid where the eye and browbone are almost on the same level, and there is a stretch of smooth skin between the eyebrow and the lash line with no visible crease. Common in people of East Asian descent, monolids make excellent canvases for a dramatic cat’s eye or elongated, winged eyeliner.

How to Apply Eyeliner on Monolids?

Monolid eyeliner can be incredibly versatile. Don’t believe me? Try out these tips:

• Dip a small, stiff, and completely flat brush in some brown eyeshadow to map out your wing. Simply stamp the brush on your upper lash next to your outer corner, either parallel to your eye, or tilted slightly upwards or downwards. 
• Step back and look into your mirror straight ahead with your eyes fully open but relaxed to see where the mapped line is sitting. Use a Q-tip to erase the map and try again until you’re satisfied. 
• For a dramatic wing, map the flick a little before the outer corner of your eye on your upper lash line. Next, draw a straight line from the highest point of your upper lashline to the end of the wing. 
• Draw your eyeliner over the mapped out area, filling in the wing until you’re happy with the result.
• Now line the rest of your lid from the inner corner to the wing. Keep this line as thin as possible. 
• Be sure to get eyeliner in between the lash hairs so no skin is showing. 
• Remember that your eyeliner will look much thicker with your eye closed, and that’s okay. 
• For a ‘puppy eye’ look, line your eye and extend your eyeliner downwards, following the natural line of your upper eyelid.

Do I Have Hooded Eyes?

Can you see a crease? If yes, then look at the eyelid. Is there a fold of skin under your eyebrow that is hiding most or all of your eyelid when your eye is completely open and looking straight ahead?  If yes, then you probably have hooded eyes. Some people are born with hooded eyes, and others develop them as they mature. Their eyelid is most visible at the inner corners. It can often feel like hooded eyes don’t leave you with much real estate to create interesting eye looks, but with the right techniques, you can create any kind of look you desire.

How to Apply Eyeliner for Hooded Eyes?

You need to use lid space carefully when applying any kind of makeup on hooded eyes. 

• Start your eyeliner application by looking straight ahead and holding your eye open in a normal, relaxed position. You need to see what part of the eye will be most visible. 
• See where your hood folds and how much space you have for eyeliner and wing placement.
• Working in short strokes, use your eyeliner to draw a very thin line from the inner corner to the outer corner.   
• For a more dramatic eye, make the line thicker as it reaches the outer corner. Avoid drawing over the hood. 
• For a wing, flick the eyeliner at the outer corner upwards so that it points to the end of your eyebrows. Make sure your eye is still open and looking straight ahead. Connect the wing to your bottom lash line so your wing looks like the ‘<’ shape and fill it in.

For a more graphic eyeliner look, use the ‘T’ method. 

• Draw a vertical line from your crease to your lash line at a point that’s close to but not exactly on your outer corner. The taller your line, the bigger your wing. 
• Make a dot on the lash line in the center of your lid.
• Now make a horizontal line from this dot to the top of your vertical line and extend it past the outer corner until you have a ‘T’ shape. 
• Connect the outer arm of the ‘T’ to your outer corner to complete the wing, and then simply fill in the space. 
• Note that when you close your eye, your straight eyeliner will look like a bat wing, and that’s okay. 

Do I Have Deep-set Eyes?

It is easy to confuse deep-set eyes with hooded eyes. Both have creases, and both seem to have very little visible eyelid. However, deep-set eyes are set far back in the head, and the brow bone casts a shadow over both the lid and the under-eye area. Sometimes, as a person matures, the skin of the brow can droop a little, creating a hood as well. This can make applying eyeliner challenging, but the right technique is rewarded with a result that's mysterious and intense.

How to Apply Eyeliner for Deep-set Eyes?

Remember the hooded eye techniques? A lot of the same rules apply for deep-set eyes. 

• Since the brow bone creates a natural shadow on the lid, always begin your eyeliner from the middle of your eye, right above the iris. 
• Apply a thin line above the lashline from the middle of your eye to the outer corner. 
• Do not extend this line to the inner corner. 
• Make the line a little thicker at the outer edge to give the illusion of thicker lashes. 
• For some types of deep-set eyes, applying eyeliner on the bottom lash line will make the eye appear downturned. You may not want that. 
• For a small wing, extend the upper lash line towards the end of your eyebrow, making a ‘<’ on top of the other corner of the upper lash line. 
• You can also use the ‘T’ method on deep-set eyes. 

FAQs

Do I need to prep my lids to apply eyeliner?

Monolids, deep-set, and hooded eyes have a very mobile lid, and some may have an oily skin type. It is important to prep the eyelid with an eye primer and apply a concealer or foundation for a clean, even base to neutralize any shadows. 

Can deep-set eyes also have a hood?

Some deep-set eyes also have a hood. Or they develop one as they mature. Adapt your makeup routine to apply more product over the hood so it is more visible. 

What kind of eyeliner should I use for monolids, deep-set, or hooded eyes?

A quick-drying, smudgeproof, waterproof, and transfer-proof formula is important to make sure the product does not transfer. You will also need an eyeliner with a very thin and precise applicator for increased control. Make sure you use gentle removal techniques to prevent damage to the skin around the eyes. 

Can I use a pencil eyeliner for monolids, deep-set, or hooded eyes?

Most eyepencils smudge easily, so they are not very suitable for eyeliner looks on these kinds of eyelids. However, they are great for tightlining and for creating smudged and smoky looks, especially when combined with concealer and eye shadow. 

Can I draw more graphic looks on my monolids, deep-set, or hooded eyes?

Yes, you can! Draw the look on the space that is visible with the eye open. If you brush up and set your eyebrows with brow gel, you can use the space directly under them as well. 

Conclusion 

If you’ve been struggling with your eye makeup, then finding out what kind of eye shape you have could be the eureka moment you’ve been waiting for. 

Use the tips in this guide to understand your eyelid shape and then adapt your makeup techniques so you can apply the right kind of eyeliner for hooded eyes or deepset eyes. 

Armed with the right product, as well as the tips and tricks in this guide, you’ll never be frustrated by eyeliner again.

Choose the best waterproof and smudgeproof eyeliner for monolids, hooded, and deep-set eyes!

Haya Beauty offers a Waterproof and Smudgeproof Eyeliner with a quick-drying and halal formula that is perfect for mobile and overlapping lids. It also has a very precise and thin brush-type applicator for extreme control, so you can experiment to your heart’s desire. 

Sources

1. Seminars in Plastic Surgery: Asian Blepharoplasty - A review of the history of Asian Blepharoplasty, the difference between Asian and Caucasian eyelids, and a discussion of the two surgical techniques employed for the procedure.  
2. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology: Updates on Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty - A review of the Blepharoplasty surgery with details on preoperative workup, the surgical procedure itself, postoperative care, and complications.