Eyeshadow is easy yet it is hard because everyone's eye shape is different. There are hooded, deep set, close set, round, almond, monolid, drooping, protruding, Asian, Caucasian, winking, blinking, etc.
You name it, we all have those type of eyes. To make it worse, we have the combination of almond, hooded, and drooping; or the Asian rounded and hooded; or maybe the drooping deep set winking blinking. Whatever type eye you have, one description does not fit all.
However, understand from muscular and bone structure, all eye shapes are the same. What is different or difficult is knowing what parts of the eye are meant for the different effects like depth, contour, shape, and lift.
You may notice for those maturing that the same eyeshadow application you did in your twenties and such, one day looks totally wrong! It isn't just about the browbone, crease, and lid. It is more about being yourself and playing with eyeshadow in a way where it enhances your eye structure.
Understanding where and what parts of the eye will change shape with eyeshadow is one of the easiest and non-surgical ways to gain some mature and wise self-confidence.
I hope in this post, I can explain how eyeshadows can be a fun and important tool to enhancing one's windows to the soul!
Let's take a look back and start from the beginning. The question you would start with is "How do I put on eyeshadow?" Before, that question is answered. Let's take a look at the eyes on a simple drawing.
A very important point to remember: People don't look at you up close like you do when you apply eyeshadow. Therefore, your perspective is a bit askew. People see you from about a foot or two away and that is how you should judge your finished eye look from. This is especially important and helpful if you are mature and beautiful like me! *wink wink* (I look better from afar than up close!!!)
The Browbone and Orbital Ridge - Creating the Illusion of Lift
Lifting the eye or creating the 3D effect is similar to creating depth to the lid.
In the picture, I show you were the lifting occurs (shown with the blue arrows) from the sides of the eyes, specifically right at the outer end of the eyes. This makes sense because the eyes begin to droop as one ages. Even if you aren't aging yet, this is the area that will lift and sweep the eye around!
Let's continue lifting and contouring, after all, people see you from the front also. See where the blue line is? It is hitting the bone or the orbital ridge. This is much higher from your natural crease!
Lid of the Eye - Shaping and Depth
Out of weirdness, I often call the lid "the banana". You can imagine the reaction I get when this slips out of my mouth when I am talking makeup! However, you can see from the picture, the lid does resemble the shape of a banana! (You have the apple of your cheeks, why not the banana of your eye?)
Divide the banana into three parts: first part is from the side of the bridge of the nose to the beginning bulge of the eye, second part is the bulge of the eye, and third is the end of the bulge to the outer end right before it hits the bone (eye socket).
Replace that with some color to differentiate. I colored the center in red and the inner and outer parts in green. Let's extend the color onto the bottom lashline.
Remember this, the center (red) of the banana (lid) is always that, the center. Nothing is done to it to create a different shape. If you think of it as mathematical terms, it is the constant. The variables are the inner and outer end (green). These two areas can change the shape of the eyes. Eyeshadow placement can elongate the eyes or make them rounder. Notice that I say eyeshadow and not eyeliner. Eyeliner is just that, eye liner. It should line the eyes and not be used to shape the eyes. You don't want to look like you have two black circles outlining your eyes when your greet someone from afar!
The lid and the bottom lashline is also what I consider to be in geometric terms, the front plane. How eyeshadow is applied is what it will look like when people see you from a frontal view. However, you aren't a Flatsie doll (am I dating myself here?), therefore, it is important to create depth to the eyes at the same time.
Creating the depth (or what I call enclosing the lid) to the lid is really similar to creating the shape, only difference is the application of shadow is to a limited area. And, limiting this area is the important part.
Here, I show in purple where creating depth can occur. Notice that it is the inner and outer ends of the lid and bottom lashline with the exception of ignoring the inner bottom lashline.
See how the application differs from the shaping (green). The color shouldn't extend beyond the end of the bottom lashline and the end of your natural crease. In other words, the eyeshadow should only be applied to the roly-poly ball of your eye! On the bottom outer lashline, it is also limited which creates an emphasis on depth.
Putting It All Together
See how it all comes together? You might notice a space between the natural crease and the orbital ridge. This is the space that lifts the eye. The color used in this area depends on the end result; it can be lighter, darker, or the same as the brow bone color.
Take a look on how this applies onto other eye shapes.
This is just a quick summary of how the eyes can be shaped, defined, and lifted.
