EASY Everyday Eye Makeup for HOODED EYES

easy hooded eyes makeup

Most of us with hooded eyes don’t need winged liner, dramatic eyeshadow, and false lashes on a daily basis. Yet most hooded eyes tutorials show this. This will show you REALISTIC everyday eye makeup for hooded eyes if you don’t have much time but still want to look your best.

While, this is pretty thorough, the full video tutorial at the end that contains all the steps. It’s fairly short and contains do’s and don’ts in a well-explained manner. It’s truly so much easier to learn makeup techniques by watching them than by seeing photos. I hope you take some things away from this post. But do head over to the video after to get each step because it’s already helped so many people in the short duration that it’s been up!

Hooded eyes tips
Subtle tweaks make the left eye appear slightly more downturned than the right

 Disclaimer

**The images in this post are taken directly from my short video tutorial at the end of the post. So if they’re not extremely sharp, that’s why! You can skip straight there to see it in action with easy to follow instructions or click to have it open up in YouTube so you have all the product links in the description as well. Whatever you choose, I think you’ll find it beneficial.**

DO I HAVE HOODED EYES?

Well, I know I have hooded eyes! But do you know if YOU have hooded eyes? It’s a common misperception that if your entire mobile lid (the eyelid that opens and closes over your eyeball) isn’t invisible and covered by the hood (the crease of the eye up to the brow bone), when looking straight ahead then you can’t possibly have hooded eyes.

That simply isn’t true!

There are many degrees of hooded eyes. You can have severely hooded eyes where you see no mobile lid when you look straight into a mirror, thus making it extremely difficult to line the eye (aside from tightlining).

And there are moderately hooded eyes.

Moderately hooded eyes come with several options. One can have all of these options or just one or two…

  • The crease shade you just applied seems to disappear when your eyes are opened and looking straight forward.
  • Your hood appears heavier towards the outside of the eye than the inside…you may have some visible mobile lid towards the inner eye and less towards the outside of the eye.
  • Some days your eyes seem more/less hooded than others.
  • The crease/fold extends down past the outside corner of your eye, often making flicked or winged liner difficult.

Let’s talk about what we can do no matter what type of hooded eyes you have…

The Forgotten Step

First things first…before we even THINK about shadow, we want to address concealer. One of the most common mistakes people make is NOT applying concealer (and corrector if you use that too!) underneath the OUTER corner of the eye. They concentrate on the dark circles and inner corner and completely forget about the outer part of the eye!

makeup for hooded eyes

makeup for hooded eyes
L: Outer corner not concealed R: Outer corner concealed

As we get older, we develop some redness and discoloration there. Neglecting this one tiny area can drag that outer corner down and make our already hooded eyes appear even more droopy!

Prepping the Eye

Primer. Primer. Primer. I cannot stress using eyeshadow primer enough! (This one is my favorite!) It not only evens out discoloration and disguises veins, it helps our shadows apply more smoothly and evenly, last longer, helps prevent creasing, and makes colors more vibrant! If you’re skipping this step and have hooded eyes, start today!!

hooded eyes makeup tutorial

STILLLLL Prepping!

Primer alone just won’t cut it! Priming and NOT setting that primer well with either a neutral shadow or a loose powder is a common mistake that leads to creasing, eyeliner, and mascara smudging/transfer or patchy eyeshadow application. Set that primer!

Where’s my shadow??

The most important thing you can do when applying shadow and liner is to

LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD INTO A MIRROR.

There may be times when you need to look or glance down to do things. But always always always check back in that mirror to see what your makeup looks like with your eyes open!

Placing a transition shade that’s a shade deeper than your skin tone (it can even be peach or slightly pink!) into and above the crease (almost up to the brow bone) will create a shadow onto that hood so it’s not so pronounced and heavy. Light protrudes and darkness retracts.

We want that shadow there to make the hood like it’s receding instead of protruding. Even on minimal makeup days, I take 30 seconds to do this one simple step because it makes a HUGE difference in how awake and open my eyes look!

how to apply eye makeup for hooded eyes
Transition shade applied. the hood looks slightly less heavy than….
eye makeup for hooded eyes
…using no transition shade and just applying shadow applied in the crease.

If I attempt to use just a crease shade, it all but disappears when I open my eyes and look straight ahead.

Shadow issues

Going back to that primer… If you didn’t take the time to apply and set your shadow primer earlier, you may have some blending issues when you go in with shadow on your lid and in your crease.

Highlighting

Another common shadow mistake made by many is with highlighter. Using a tiny brush and highlighting directly underneath the brow bone (and blending into that transition shade) is all you need to do when you have hooded eyes. Many people take a fluffy brush and place too much highlighter under the brow bone and down onto the hood, thus taking away any shadow that’s necessary for that hood to appear recessed. When you highlight the most pronounced part of the hood, it emphasizes the hooded eyes and drags the eye down even further.

Eyeliner: A Realistic DON’T!

This is my realistic “don’t” eye using a pencil and closing my eye, the way many do. Most people also reach for pencil to line. It’s not as subtle as shadow, takes more time and transfers more easily too. I smudged it along the lashline from the inner corner to the outer corner and extended it just slightly past my outer corner…

how to apply eyeliner

hooded eyes makeup

It looks pretty good when my eye is closed right?

Eyeliner for hooded eyes

But when I open it, you can see that the liner is slanted slightly down instead of out and the corner of the liner is below the outer corner of my eye instead of next to or slightly above it where it should be. This is a common mistake that pulls down the outer corner of the eye and can make the eyes appear more droopy, especially once mascara is added.

Do: Eyeliner for Hooded Eyes

This is the part where I’d say to go watch the video because I show two super easy methods for genuinely easy hooded eye eyeliner that’s easy to do in a rush or daily. I recommend using a good quality shadow and an angled brush. I have some other easy techniques on my channel using different types of brushes but this one is very quick and simple.

how to apply eyeliner for hooded eyes

The first technique involves using your outer corner and brow tail as your guide.

how to apply eyeliner

Simply place a dot or a tiny dash in the same direction as your lower lash line as if it’s continuing on into infinity. Place that tiny dot/dash slightly above where the lash line ends. This gives more lift than placing it right at the lash line. (This is seen better in the video).

how to apply eyeliner

Next press and lightly smudge the liner brush against your lash line. I only do the outer 2/3 of my eye because it elongates and lifts my eye more so than when I go all the way to my inner corner. You’ll smudge and meet that dot/dash and blend the two together. It takes less than 30 seconds. Done!

Eyeliner for hooded eyesThere are some people that are simply too hooded for that dash/dot and that’s OK! If that’s the case, just do the smudging or tightline and you’ll get definition from that.

I continued (post-mascara) with a technique to show you what to do if you have a fold but want to do a flick or winged liner for your hooded eyes.

Winged liner for hooded eyes

You can see here, I simply stamped the brush down directly over that fold.

Winged liner for hooded eyes

When I closed my eye there is a gap.

Winged liner for hooded eyes

I then fill the gap in and build that line up however thick I want that flick to be that day. This is my “professional” wing. Again…30 seconds and done!

hooded eyes makeup
A close-up of the “don’t” eye after mascara.
Hooded eyes
The “don’t” eye from a distance
Hooded eye tips
The “do” eye from a distance

The Finale

Curl those lashes! Nothing lifts the eye more than curled lashes! It truly does make a huge difference! Finding the right eyelash curler for your particular eye shape can take some trial and error, but it’s worth it.  I’ve tried a ton and this has been my fave for 20+ years. I also like this one. Other popular ones are curved too much, causing them to press too hard at my eye corners in order to reach the middle of my lashes.

Again, I highly recommend watching the video because it has a couple of more steps and is a little more specific than I can get in a blog post tutorial. I hope you enjoy it. I know hooded eyes can be so difficult to deal with! If you found this post helpful or the video helpful, please share it with people you know could use it or anywhere you feel it could help people! XOXO

eye makeup for hooded eyes

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23 Comments

  1. November 30, 2023 / 10:58 am

    HOW TO APPLY MASCARA ON LOWER LASHES WITHOUT GETTING MASCARA ON THE SKIN UNDER THE LOWER LASHES THAT MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE YOU HAVE APPLIED TOO MUCH EYELINER AND YOU CAN NOT TELL YOU EVEN HAVE LOWER LASHES.THIS IS MY BIGGEST PROBLEM APPLYING MASCARA.

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  3. Janette
    June 24, 2023 / 8:44 pm

    Hi Stephanie, do u wet the sponge when you blend the eye concealer?

    Thank you

  4. April 6, 2022 / 12:02 am

    Great by all means and a very informative blog regarding beauty. keep sharing worthy info like this , Good stuff !

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    • January 2, 2023 / 11:02 pm

      Best post on simple hooded eyes techniques and solutions yet. So helpful to see do’s and don’ts side by side! Thanks for EXPLAINING why techniques do or do not work. Thank you!

      • Stephanie Marie
        Author
        February 8, 2023 / 4:03 pm

        Thank you!

  5. Jazzy
    January 13, 2022 / 5:33 pm

    Wow you have such a pretty face 😍

  6. Tory Graham
    December 13, 2021 / 4:46 am

    This is an excellent tutorial for hooded eyes. I have a fully hooded eye and wear glasses. Lately, I’ve had a lot of trouble. I also prefer to line with a brush and shadow. As a new mom of 2 I just don’t have time to get ready like I used to. I love your fresh, easy look and will be trying it out this week. Thanks

  7. Mary Fencil
    April 25, 2021 / 12:36 am

    Definitely will try your tips! I love eye makeup but a little goes a long way on me. I tend to look like I have too much on. Your tutorial is gonna make me look good! Thank you!

  8. Cecilia González
    September 22, 2019 / 11:17 pm

    All my life I never had hooded eyes until my early sixties. At almost 65, I still take good care of my skin and am often mistaken for late 40’s. Thanks for the with this most recent makeup challenge and for. many invaluable tips! You are gorgeous and could easily pass for late 20’s , truly you could! Wd love to see do your Mom’s make up! My daughter introduced me to Skinceuticals Ferulic Acid and wondered if you have tried it. Except for the smell of hotdogs ( that dissipates as soon as it dries ) I love how my skin has improved with using this product! She is a makeup artist in ATL and like you takes amazing care of herself! Thanks for all your help and suggestions! I love your channel! ??

    • Stephanie Marie
      Author
      October 6, 2019 / 11:31 am

      I haven’t tried their Ferulic Acid but have other vitamin c’s that work really well for me. Thank you so much!

  9. Elizabeth Maranilli
    June 14, 2019 / 7:33 am

    I have been using the don’t eye approach for a awhile without even realizing it!! Thank you

  10. Shannon
    July 30, 2018 / 2:25 am

    Thank God I found your channel! I have hooded eyes and I’ve been looking for a good tutorial. This is the best ever! I’m going to watch all of your videos if my 3 little ones let me?

  11. Dena Davenport Thomas
    March 27, 2018 / 7:02 pm

    OMG! I’ve been hunting for a tutorial that works for me. I am so happy with how my eyes look after following your tips. Thank you!

  12. Brandy
    February 14, 2018 / 2:16 pm

    I just found your channel a couple days ago and am now on a binge watch! Similar coloring, deep set eyes and over 50. So happy to find you!! Thank You

    • Stephanie Marie
      March 11, 2018 / 11:45 pm

      Thanks so much!

  13. Kim Meyer
    January 12, 2018 / 9:41 pm

    This is the best and easiest eyeshadow tutorial ever. I can’t tell you how many hooded eyeshadow tutorials I’ve looked at in the past week. I wish I had come across you to begin with. You nailed it!

    • Stephanie Marie
      February 2, 2018 / 12:46 am

      Thank you Kim! 🙂

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