Discovering I have hooded eyes - the makeup application implications

Hey, everyone! So, I bet you've come across at least one article in your life which talked about something called 'hooded eyes'. When you think of hooded eyes you probably visualize someone whose eyes are sunk far into the back of their skull or whose brow bone droops down over them. Guess what? So did I until very recently. Until I realized that I have hooded eyes...

I was noticing that when I was applying shadow to my eyes, even when carefully following the detailed instructions of a YouTube beauty guru, that my eyeshadow was concentrated almost entirely around my crease and could barely be seen on my lids.

I tried to mimic the shape and technique of these beauty champions but I kept finding that all the work around the 'crease' made my eyes look smaller and like I didn't know how to blend properly.

I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong - my devotion to the instructions of Chloe Morello (my favourite YouTuber) rivaled even the most fervent church-goer's adherence to the ten commandments. I remembered seeing a video pop up in my search feed which talked about how to apply eyeshadow to hooded eyes - out of frustration I clicked on it.

It changed my life. Ok, not my life but definitely my approach to applying makeup to my eyes! I'm disappointed to admit that I had it stuck in my brain that hooded eyes were something which were ugly and to be 'ashamed' of. In reality, like all features they are unique and beautiful. If you are really unhappy with them there are tricks you can use to make them look less hooded too. A good example of what 'hooded eyes' can look like are Gigi Hadid's eyes. If they're cool on a supermodel then they're cool on you too!

The most useful tip I learned for applying makeup to hooded eyes was to apply shadow slightly above my natural crease and to use straight motions rather than curved ones when applying the product. A really great example is by Wayne Goss who calls this approach the 'Straight Line Technique'. If you suspect you might have hooded eyes then I highly recommend watching this video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_utWAvBVhwY

Below I have included a picture which I think quite obviously shows how my eyes are hooded - particularly on the right hand side, you can see how my brow bone is very prominent and creates almost two creases in my eye socket and a super unhelpful shadow.

While having hooded eyes doesn't bother me, it is useful to be aware of when applying eyeshadow. Knowing where to put the product on my lid for the best results is great and seeing how much better my eyshadow looks has been an invaluable learning experience for me.

I've recently ordered some new stuff from Makeup Geek and Colourpop so hopefully I will have a few reviews and new looks for you soon. Very excited to try it all and play around with it!

Chloe Morello's YouTube (in case you're interested): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLFW3EKD2My9swWH4eTLaYw