Tips & Tricks That Make Applying Eyeliner To Hooded Eyes Easy

Not all of us have been blessed with miles of lid space on which to play makeup artist — but that doesn't mean you have to throw out your fave liner or give up on rocking a perfectly crisp wing. Whether you love a full-glam smokey eye or are just trying to level up an everyday look, a liner style tailored to your eye shape and some application tips from the pros are all you need to make this step of your makeup routine a breeze. No finicky stamp tool or expensive products required.

We enlisted expert professional makeup artist and licensed esthetician Jade Griffin of Queen Productions for some tips and tricks to making your hooded lids work for you instead of against you. The main hurdle we're working around here is that aforementioned lack of lid space. "Applying eyeliner to hooded eyes is challenging because the excess skin folds over the majority of the lid, leaving less visible space to work with," Griffin tells us exclusively. But never fear, there are plenty of ways to switch up your application. Here are some things to keep in mind that'll help you turn your lid canvas into a masterpiece.

First things first: pop those peepers open. We know, we know, it's basically second nature to close the eye you're working on and crane your head or hold the skin still while you're going to town. But that could actually be making your life (aka your liner application) more difficult. "I recommend drawing on your liner with your eyes open to ensure proper placement," Jade Griffin shares in our exclusive chat.

The next time you have your pencil or liquid liner in hand, give it a go and try looking into the mirror straight on while doing your eyeliner. It might take a little practice, especially if you're used to squeezing your eye shut while applying liner, but it really can make all the difference in the end result. When you apply liner to your eye while it's open, you'll be able to see exactly what parts of your lid are visible and stick to those areas. This way, you won't be met with a complete and total surprise when you open your eye and that wing goes wonky!

Smudged eyeliner is a common struggle for people with hooded eyes. Think about it: When you draw on your liquid or pencil liner with your eyes closed, you inevitably have to take a peek to see how things are looking. When your eyes snap open and your hood covers some or most of your lid, all of that movement is just begging to ruin your hard work. Close your eyes again, and you'll have a blurry wing or a messy cloud of inky liner smeared across your lid. And hey, we love a messy look — the lived-in smoky eye is making messy glamorous, if you ask us — but that's not always what you're going for.

To avoid smudging your hard work, reach for an eyeshadow primer to prep your canvas. This gives you a solid base that will help your liner and shadow stick from the get-go. Concealer will also work in a pinch. Give that liner some time to dry and set before moving on to the rest of your makeup look. In our exclusive chat, Jade Griffin recommends "using a waterproof formula to prevent smudging and transfer." This will increase the staying power even if your lid does rub against your liner here and there. Here are some more of our best tips for applying makeup when you have hooded eyes.

Jade Griffin shares with Glam exclusively that "applying too much product can easily cause lines to look much thicker than intended when the eye is open." Keep it subtle, and consider altering the length of your wing to open up the eye. "A short, angled wing can create an excellent lifting effect for this eye shape," Griffin tells us. Heck, you don't even have to do a wing if you're not feeling it! One of the pro makeup artist's favorite tips for hooded eyes is "tightlining the upper lash line to avoid taking up limited lid space."

Ruby Hammer, who has done makeup for hooded eye icons like Helen Mirren and Kate Moss offers similar advice, cautioning against closing off the eye with too much eyeliner. "When you draw a thick, heavy band of black eyeliner across your upper eyelid, it consumes whatever precious space you have, visually shrinking the eye and making the lid look heavy," she told Good Housekeeping. Tightlining really is the way to go in order to make the most of your lid space. "To achieve rich, sultry definition without sacrificing a single millimeter of eyelid real estate, you must master the tightline," Hammer said.

If subtle isn't your thing, that's just fine. "The secret to defining a hooded eye isn't a steadier hand or abandoning eyeliner altogether," Ruby Hammer explained to Good Housekeeping. "It's all about strategic placement and employing clever optical illusions that work with your eye shape, not against it." A sharp batwing liner is big, bold, and perfectly suited to your eye shape, taking full advantage of your crease to make a swoopy "bat wing" line appear perfectly straight while your eye is open.

To achieve the look, draw the lower edge of your wing as usual, flicking it outward at your desired angle. For the next stroke of your liner, draw a horizontal line from the tip of the flick toward your eye, right over your crease. Fill in the open space, and there you have it — a fun, graphic wing with the sharp edge that so often eludes us those of us with hooded eyes. Need some reference images before you break out the liner? Check out our best inspo for nailing the batwing eyeliner look.