Eye shadows for different eye shapes

Before applying eye shadows, study your eyes very carefully so that in steps that you follow you can determine the most flattering placements for your make up. While there are endless variations on eye shapes, the following four types are the most common.

Proportioned: lid and brow area is approximately equal.

On the proportioned eye area, the lid and brow bone are balanced. Usually you have bit more brow area than lid, but the lid shows. Here you will highlight under the arch of your brow, contour the shape of the orbital bone above the crease, and use a soft shade on your lid to enhance your eye color. If you have a lot of lid that shows and a lot of brow area, you will follow the same principles, but you won’t use bright colors.

Little or no lid showing: more brow area.

This type of eye has little or no lid showing, with a wider brow area. Asian eyes should consider themselves in this category, as should those with hooded eyes or prominent orbital bones. You will apply a pale highlighter to the lid to bring it out and a darker contour shade above the crease to help create balance.

Little or no lid showing: small brow area

This eye has very little space on which to apply eye make up. On this type of eye you will apply a light shade on both the lid and brow area. Your goal is to visually expand the area between your eye and eyebrow area.

Prominent lid: small brow area.

Here a lot of lid shows and is often a larger area than the brow bone. You will use a medium neutral shade on the lid to push it back and expose more of the iris, a paler color on the brow and orbital bone to lift and open that area.