Here, I have taken three different hooded eyes. First, what are hooded eyes? Good question. I always think of Kenny from South Park when I hear this. Basically, the orbital ridge will lap over the crease, hiding the depth of the eye.
The difference between an Occidental (Caucasian or anyone other than Asian descent) and Asian is the crease or the area where the eyeball and bone structure of the eye meet. On an occidental when the eye is tilted or looking down you see the crease. On an Asian that area is visible but the depth of it is shallow. When the eye is looking straight ahead, the depth of the eye is hidden in all the eyes. You could say the BIGGEST difference would be the layer of fat on the eye area that Asians have that prevent a deep fold to occur. All Asians have this and some remove that layer and they end up with some weird flatness of the eye which in time has to be corrected when one gets mature.
You can see the different shapes of hooded eyes from three of my volunteers. Jane, Jessica, and Joy. The three "J" ladies!
Jane's eyes are hooded like Renee Zellweiger and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Jessica has the monolid Asian eye and Joy has the "crease". Yet there are other Asian shaped eyes that are different from these. If you are of Korean descent or even American Indian descent, you see your eyes aren't like these but you still have the same structure. I am going to take these three and show you in the various pictures the parts of the eye which will make understanding these eyes much easier for eyeshadow application.
Browbone
This is a basic. It is the area (shown in white) that is supported by the bone beneath and is right below the eyebrow arch. Since this area is a boney area, the light will reflect off this no matter what. Choosing to highlight this area is a matter of preference. The area is the same on all eye shapes.
Orbital Ridge
The orbital ridge (outlined in red) is the area that starts to slope into the fleshy or eyeball area of the eye which turns into the "crease". This is the area that is pretty important in terms of creating shape to the eye. Mostly it is an area of contouring which can change the shape of the eye because it can change the depth and the perception of the eye shape when people look at you. In movies you will see this area is always contoured especially on men you seem to have different shaped eyes from one movie to the other. On Jane, the depth is deeper and that area will fold over onto the lid thus hiding the real crease. On Asians this area creates the "westernized" eye look.
Lashline or Eyeline
Shown in purple from lashline to a little above it is the area where the eyeliner is placed. On an Asian that looks to be pretty much a lid space on some. I know some Asians skip the eyeliner for this reason. I cannot emphasize enough how important eyeliner is especially on Asian eyes. Many Asians say, no one will ever see it. (No one sees my underwear but I know I have it on!) Eyeliner is important because it defines the eye area and separates the lashline from the rest of the eyes which for an Asian definition is important. Put it this way, you put on your makeup inches away from a mirror which looks defined BUT people see you from afar and when you have no eyeliner on, from afar your eyes are lost!
Lid
I think this is the area many people including makeup artists become lost when it comes to Asian eyes. You see the area on Jane pretty much even though she has hooded eyes, the lid and the orbital ridge are separated by a "valley". You see the depth. On Asians it is there but when it comes to makeup application the area becomes lost because of that extra layer of fat that smooths it out. What is important is you or the makeup artist has to feel that area out, divide the fleshy from the skull browbone. When that is done, the Asian has a lid area that is the same as an occidental eye.
I pretty much divided the area in three because it can go from natural to glam by what you do in those three. The first looks like the lashline. Sometimes, the lashline alone is emphasized. Go above it and it gives more of a natural look. Go above that for fashion and glamour. Does it have to be the same color? No, can be different. Whatever you like.
Crease
I left this area last because I find it interesting anatomically. As I explained in the orbital ridge, Jane's will fall onto the lid thus hiding the actual crease or depth of the eye. On an Asian that area will not fold over. For some there may be an indentation and for others it will just stay flat.
Now what all three eyes have in common is the option to emphasize that area and also the difficulty to make it look good without looking too harsh. That is where experimentation comes in. On Jane, she can emphasize but I am thinking she doesn't want her eyes to look heavy and tired. On Asians, this is where you choose to westernize the eye.
I have shown the basics of the eye and they are pretty much the same. What is different is how the muscular structure of different nationalities changes the eye. However the application principle is the same. Once you know the different areas, the creativity can begin.
Special thanks to Jane, Jessica, and Joy
