How to Apply Eyeliner for 11 Different Eye Shapes

Yes, there are many different types of eye shapes—all beautiful!—and yes, you want to accentuate yours with liner, but the question is how? Ahead, makeup artist Jaleesa Jaikaran explains it all.

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If your eyes are almond… they’ll be pointed at the inner corner, a little more round toward the center, and slightly tapered and lifted upward at the outer corner.

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Opt for an eyeliner with a creamier consistency and trace your lash line before slightly smudging it with a out for a soft, dreamy finish. Since this eye shape tends to be most symmetrical, it can handle any liner look, but the easiest technique is to follow the natural shape of the eye, while building thickness towards the outer third half, Jaikaran explains.

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If your eyes are downturned… they’ll be slightly angled downward at the outer corners. Still not sure if this is your shape? Imagine an invisible horizontal line going through the center of your eye. If the outer corner drops lower than the “line,” you have this shape.

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Using a bright pencil liner, draw on a very thin cat-eye, flicking the end up toward your temples to create a little lift at the outer corners of your eyes. Keeping the tail short also helps the look remain visible when you smile. Oh, and leave your lower lash line bare, so it doesn’t compete with the liner on top.

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If your eyes are wide-set… there will be more distance between the inner corners. If the space is larger than the width of one of your eyes, yep, this is your shape.

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Keep the color concentrated at the inner corners on your top and bottom lash lines, minimizing any product applied at the outer corners to help create more balance and draw the focus inward.

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If your eyes are asymmetrical… they can be slightly different in shape, as in one might be larger than the other—a common trait, since everyone’s face is asymmetrical to some degree.

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Using a lighter-colored eyeliner pencil (Jaikaran used a taupe shade here), trace along your lash line from your inner to outer corner. Then, if (and only if!) you want to create more balance between your eyes, on whichever eye is smaller, apply a thicker amount of that same liner to the outer corner to make it appear wider.

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If you have round eyes… you’ll typically be able see some of the whites of your eyes along the bottom of your iris when your eyes are open and there will be an evident crease.

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Opt for an elongated look (to keep your shape from looking too circular), which you can achieve with extended wing liner. Be sure to keep the line thinner at the inner corners and thicker at the outer corners.

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If you have big eyes… they’ll typically be larger in proportion to the other features on your face.

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Since big eyes can pull off a lot of different liner looks because of their size and shape, you can experiment with more unconventional looks, like this double-winged eye. To recreate it, make one flick that extends out from your upper lash line, and then draw a second tail from the corner of your lower lash line. (Just opt for liners with depth, versus super light shades, to keep from altering your shape, making it appear even larger.)

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If you have small eyes… they’ll appear smaller in size compared to the rest of the features on your face (i.e. your nose and mouth). You may also notice a short amount of space between the tips of your lashes and your brow bone.

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With small eyes, opt for a lighter color or even a metallic hue, like gold, which reflects light and makes your eyes look brighter. And skip liner on the lower lash line, which can shrink your eye shape.

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If you have monolids… this eye shape simply means you don’t have a discernible crease and that your eyelid is on the flatter side, Jaikaran explains. You may also notice that your brow bone is less prominent as well.

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When lining your top lash line, start off with a thin line, using a liquid liner at the inner corner, making it significantly thicker as you extend past your outer corner. That way the look remains fully visible when you open your eyes.

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If your eyes are hooded… you tend to have less eyelid space and may even notice that your upper eyelid covers your crease when your eyes are open.

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Go for a thicker liner toward the outer corners, making sure the liner is as close to your lashes as possible—thin, simple lines can get easily lost when your eye is open (due to less eyelid space) and any liner that’s too heavy may make the eye look small. If you’re creating a cat-eye, like Jaikaran did here, it’s important to make the wing look thicker at the outer corner before filling it in, so it keeps its flick shape your eyes are open.

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If you have close-set eyes… the space between the inner corners will most likely be less than the width of one of your eyes.

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The secret for close-set eyes is to start your eyeliner at the middle of the lid and extend it out further than your eye in a straight line, which you can do on both the top and bottom lash lines. Then, use a bit of shimmer in the inner corner and on your brow bone to brighten them.

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If you have deep-set eyes… it’s less about shape with deep-set eyes and more about their positioning, which happens to be set further back in your socket. Because of this, your brow bone can often appear stronger and overshadow your eyes, hiding your lids.

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Trace a thin line as close to your lashes as possible, keeping any of the liner’s thickness toward the outer half of the eye. Then, create another thin line along your bottom lash line—again, thickening the liner slightly toward the outer half, since applying liner in a thick manner at the inner corners can create the illusion that your eyes are even deeper set.

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Makeup: Jaleesa Jaikaran; Assts: Shaleira Smith and Lakeisha Dale; Nails: Kayo Higuchi, Asst: Marie Barokas; Hair: Jerrod Roberts; Photographer: Ruben Chamorro; Fashion Stylist: Kathy Lee; Beauty Director: Carly Cardellino; Creative Director: Abby Silverman; Senior Visuals Editor: Raydene Salinas Hansen; Designer: Katie Buckleitner; Videographer: Robert Mroczko; Camera: Rob Mroczko; Editors: Emily Wilson and Olivia Akien; Production Assistant: Scott Kidwell

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