All eyes are the same in terms of the anatomy, yet they aren't the same in terms of shape. Yet beauty books tend to generalize eye shape to the point where if you don't have the certain eye shape mentioned, then there really is no eyeshadow hope for you.
The following posts are from my defunct and my ever-loved Into the Palette blog. Some may have seen the information and some may have skipped over them. For the sake of keeping my blog cohesive and informative, I am posting how I see eyes when it comes to eye makeup.
Orbital Ridge
Oh yeah, you know it! I find the orbital ridge important and a very underrated area when it comes to conventional beauty books. This post may be rehashing what I said before but repetition is the only way to learn!
The orbital ridge is the most important area when it comes to eyeshadow application.
Anatomical Picture of Orbital Ridge
The orbital ridge is really where your lid color should reach up to. Anything lower and your eyes will look smaller. If you are wondering where your orbital ridge is, it is the bone right below your eyebrow. It will slope downward into the eye socket.
The following show the orbital ridge area on different eye shapes.
Basic Eye Shape
Hooded Eyes
Mature Eyes
Asian Eyes
Now that you understand the orbital ridge and the area it covers, this is the area which many tend to just color with the brow bone highlighter. It is right in a way, yet it is unfinished. This is a broad area and leaving it just highlighted will make it look puffy and the lid small. This area needs its division to make the eyes look bigger. Within this area is the bone which the skull in the beginning shows.
Due to ethnicity, the slope of the orbital bone may differ but every eye shape has an orbital ridge.
Basic Eye Shape
Hooded Eyes
Mature Eyes
Asian Eyes
And it is this ridge which will guide you to the placement of the eyeshadows. Once you understand what I have written above, all the eyeshadows will fall into place!
Best way to apply eyeshadow to the orbital ridge is to tilt the head back slightly and look into the mirror (or just lied down).
Do not raise your eyebrows because this is just stretching the muscular structure. The orbital ridge is the bone or skeletal facial structure. You want to find your orbital ridge bone and emphasize its slope!
Applying eyeshadow onto the orbital ridge will look similar to the pictures below.
Basic Eye Shape
Hooded Eyes
Mature Eyes
Asian Eyes
*Special thanks to Aldona, Brelki, Kim, Jane, Cathy, Lorin, Joy, Jessica, and Susan.*
