An Expert Just Told Me Everything There Is to Know About Different Eye Shapes

When I was younger, I used to spend hours watching loads of makeup tutorials on how to do the most incredible eye looks. I was obsessed with shimmery eyeshadows and winged eyeliner, yet when I tried to recreate these looks on myself, they never quite turned out the same. As I got older (and more skilled in the makeup department), I came to realise that this was all down to my eye shape.

You see, just like when it comes to clothing, makeup should not have a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, it's important to tailor your makeup to suit your particular face shape, eye shape and so on. As it turns out, there are lots of different eye shapes out there, and makeup artists have a range of tips and tricks to make your eyeshadow and eyeliner work for you.

In order to find out what these tips and tricks are, including how to actually figure out your eye shape, I spoke to Aimee Connolly, makeup artist and founder of Sculpted by Aimee. Keep on scrolling for everything you need to know...

What Different Eye Shapes Are There?

"Each eye shape is beautiful, and knowing which shape you have can really help to accentuate and enhance your eyes when applying your makeup," explains Connolly. There are lots of different shapes out there, but some of the most common include hooded eyes, monolid eyes, almond eyes, round eyes, upturned eyes and downturned eyes.

1. Hooded Eyes

As you can see, Taylor Swift's eyeshadow has been applied to perfectly suit her hooded eyes.

2. Monolid Eyes

If you have monolid eyes, don't be afraid to have fun with your eye makeup like Michelle Yeo.

3. Almond Eyes

Winged eyeliner looks so good on almond eye shapes.

4. Round Eyes

Cameron Diaz has perfectly defined her round eyes with both her eyeshadow and eyeliner.

5. Upturned Eyes

If you have upturned eyes, you can really get creative with your makeup look.

6. Downturned Eyes

There are lots of ways to lift downturned eyes, and Katie Holmes' makeup is ideal for her eye shape.

How To Figure Out Your Eye Shape

So, now that you know the different eye shapes, how can you figure out what shape you have? "First, evaluate whether the crease of your eyelid is visible, says Connolly. "If it isn’t, it’s likely you have monolid eyes, whereas hooded eyes refer to when your skin hangs over your crease.

"Next, checking whether the tilt of your eye shape reaches upwards or downwards will confirm if you have 'upturned' or 'downturned' eyes.

"Finally, almond eyes refer to when the white around the iris isn’t visible, whereas if there is white below the iris, you likely have round eyes."

How To Tailor Your Makeup For Your Eye Shape

It is possible to tailor your makeup to suit your eye shape, and luckily for us, Connolly has shared all of her tips and tricks. "For monolids, a dense brush is better for greater precision on the lid. To define hooded eyes, avoid wing-tipped liner which might prove difficult to apply. Instead, opt for a creamy liner to tightline your eyes to add fullness to your lashes, alongside a light-coloured liner in your waterline to create the illusion of a wider shape.

"My top tip when applying eyeshadow is to always remember the darker the colour, the smaller the brush. This ensures you keep darkness contained in certain areas of the eyes that you want to define such as the lash line or outer corner.

"For smaller eye shapes like almond eyes, use a shimmery highlighter at the inner corners to brighten and open up your eye shape. Alternatively, the 'halo' technique of focusing darker shades towards the inner and outer corners with a lighter pop of colour at the centre will work best for accentuating round eye shapes."

Next Up: Trust Me—These Are the Best Under-Eye Concealers to Help Disguise Dark Circles