Eye Shape: How to Determine Your Eye Shape in 4 Steps

There are different types of eye shapes, each with distinct characteristics.

• Almond: A defining feature of almond eyes is that the iris touches both the bottom and top portion of the eyelid. Almond eyes also become larger and wider toward the outer portion of the eye. The tear duct and outer end of the eye both come to a point, mimicking the shape of an almond.
• Monolid: Individuals with a monolid eye shape do not show a distinct eye crease. Instead, they have a smooth eyelid as the brow comes down to the lash line.
• Round: As the name implies, round eyes are consistently round throughout the entire shape of the eye. Individuals with round eyes show the white on the top, bottom, or both sides of their iris.
• Protruding: Like round eyes, protruding eyes are large and circular, as the inner and outer corners do not point inward. From a profile angle, protruding eyes appear to be bulging outward.
• Downturned: The outer corners of downturned eyes point toward the cheekbones, giving the eye a soft look. Since the outer corners of downturned eyes angle down, the inner corners appear to turn up.
• Upturned: The opposite of downturned eyes, upturned eyes angle up in the outer corners. The lift of this eye shape—also called cat eyes—pair well with the cat eye makeup look.

You can also categorize the different eye shapes by the distance between each eye. If the space between your two eyes is more or less than one eyeball width, then you also have wide or close-set eyes.

• Wide-set: Individuals with wide-set eyes have more space between their left and right eye compared to the average person. Typically, the space between wide-set eyes is more than one eyeball width apart.
• Close-set: The opposite of wide-set eyes, close-set eyes have less space between the left and right eye than the average person. The distance between close-set eyes is less than one eyeball width apart.

To determine your eye shape, you only need a mirror and to follow these steps:

1. 1. Place a mirror at eye length. Look directly into the mirror with your chin aimed straight ahead. This will position your eyes evenly across the mirror, so you can determine your eye shape.
2. 2. Locate your crease. Before examining the inner and outer corners of your eyes, look for your eyelid crease. If you have no visible crease, then you have monolid eyes. On the other hand, if you have a distinct eyelid crease, follow the next step to identify your eye shape.
3. 3. Imagine an invisible line across the center of your eyes. Creating an imaginary line across your eyes will help determine how your eyes fall in relation to the rest of your face. Look at the inner and outer corners of your eyes, and use the line as a guide to see if the corners point up or down. If your eyes turn down, then you have downturned eyes, whereas if your eyes angle up, then you have upturned eyes.
4. 4. Look at the whites of your eyes. Eyes that do not point up or down but remain straight are either round, almond, or protruding. Continue to imagine a line across the center of your eyes, and look straight ahead into the mirror. If you do not see the whites of your eyes above or below your iris, then you have almond eyes. Round and protruding eyes show the whites surrounding the eyes; however, protruding eyes bulge out of the sockets more than round eyes.

Every eye shape is unique, so applying makeup that best fits your eyes will help emphasize your natural beauty. Use the below tips to highlight different eye shapes:

• Almond: Accentuate the outline of your almond-shaped eyes by using a thick layer of eyeliner on the lower lash line. For eyeshadow, blend darker shades in the outer edges of the eye area and lighter, shimmer shades toward the inner corner of the eye. You can also highlight the look of almond eyes by creating a smokey eye, smudging your lower eyeliner and blending your dark and light eyeshadows.
• Monolid: Adding eyeliner to the lower and upper lid highlights monolid eyes. Elongate the eyes by creating a cat eye look with liquid liner, drawing the eyeliner past the outer corner of the eyes. For eyeshadow, create a crease by swooping dark eyeshadow across the lid, building the colors vertically toward the brow bone.
• Round: You can complement round eyes by applying eyeliner along the waterline and adding mascara to your top and bottom lash lines. For an eyeshadow look, use a dark shade along your crease and light shades across the majority of your eyelid. To create a nighttime look, smudge the outer edges of your eyeshadow into a smokey eye.
• Protruding: The key to makeup for protruding eyes is to focus on elongating the outer eye, so the eye appears longer. One way you can do this is by applying dark eyeshadow shades in the outer edges and a light shimmer in the inner corners of the eyes. This will extend the shape of the eye, creating a defined look.
• Downturned: Lift downturned eyes by applying a winged eyeliner and layer of mascara across your top lashes. This will create the illusion of a raised, more open eye look. You can also play with your eyeshadow palette, concentrating on adding eyeshadow to the orbital bone.
• Upturned: Highlight the natural shape of your eyes by creating a cat eye across your top lids. To create a cat-eye look, hold a makeup brush along the point of the nose to the outer corner of the eye. Use the makeup brush as a guide, applying a thin line of the liquid eyeliner along the edge of the brush to draw an even cat eye along your upper lash lines.

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