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10 Genius Makeup Tips for Hooded Eyes

Open up drowsy-looking lids with these techniques (and don't worry, no eye makeup trend is off limits)
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For Wide-Awake Eyes
Lack of lid space can close in hooded eyes, making you appear tired (even if you're on your third cup of coffee). Fake a good night's sleep with strategically placed highlighter, à la Blake Lively.

How: Blend a pretty champagne shade like Nars Single Eye Shadow in Abyssinia in the inner corner of your eyes and across your lid, bringing the shade up toward your brow bone. Be generous with the shade at the inner corners to bring light (and the illusion of space) to that area. Apply a little on your lower lash line as well. Add a few coats of lengthening mascara to your top and bottom lashes to help open up and define your eyes.

Photo: Getty Images

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For an Instant Eye-Lift
To combat the downturned look of hooded eyes, all you need is the flick of a felt-tip liner. Extend and lift the liner on the upper lid a bit higher than you normally do, creating a sexy cat eye, like model Liu Wen did here.

How: Powder your lids to create a dry, creaseless canvas for the eyeliner. Then, pull the skin of your lid up to give you a little space to work with.

Run the liner in a fine line along your lashes, stopping a few millimeters from the outer corner of your eye. Hold the lid up for a few seconds longer, allowing the formula to dry so it doesn't leave a mark on your lids. Release, and then flick the liner up toward the tail of your brow, starting where you stopped your line earlier. You'll get greater precision with a firm, felt-tip applicator (we recommend Pur Minerals Double Ego Dual-Ended Eyeliner, $21) than you will with a gel or powder.

Keep the wing short for a subtle lift, or lengthen it for a more feline effect. Finish with a coat of mascara.

Photo: Getty Images

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For Smoldering Smoky Eyes
Smoky eyes are tough to execute for most mortals, and they can be especially tricky for people with hooded eyes. Hooded lids eat up shadow, so you'll need to apply it slightly above the lid to create a crease where there isn't one naturally. Top off the look with some falsies like Catherine Zeta-Jones did to open your eyes way up.

How: Blend a medium-toned brown shade like M.A.C. Eye Shadow in Sable, $16, onto your lid, and look straight ahead into a mirror. With your eyes open, you'll be able to see when the shadow starts to become visible. Blend the brown shade up past your socket, towards your brow bone. Don't worry -- you've got plenty of room up there. This shadow technique contours your socket into looking like a crease, lending a sultry, defined vibe to your look.

Next, blend the same shadow along your bottom lash line. Rim your water line and upper lash line with a deep grey liner, and use a light champagne shadow to highlight just the inner corners of your eyes to keep them from looking closed-in.

Finish the look with a volumizing mascara on your top and bottom lashes. Add a set of medium-length false lashes (Ardell Lashlites, $3.99) to make your eyes appear even bigger.

Photo: Getty Images

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For a Natural Daytime Look
Sparkle-lovers, rejoice: For most women, shimmery shadow can be aging, but on hooded eyes, it has the opposite effect. Gleaming eye makeup wakes up this eye shape by creating the illusion of light where there is usually darkness. Jennifer Anniston's subtle glimmer and thin liner create a pretty, refreshed effect, perfect for work or low-key days.

How: Select a shade like BareMinerals EyeColors in Vanilla Sugar, $14, and blend it across the lid and above the socket. Dust a tiny bit into the inner corners of your eyes to catch the light, and add a little below the tail of your brow to lift your eye.

Next, use a felt-tip liner to draw the thinnest line you can across the upper lash line, thickening it a bit towards the outer corner of your eye. Brush a lengthening mascara through your lashes, leaving your bottom lash line completely bare.

Photo: Getty Images

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For Vibrant Eyes
Boosting your eye color with shadow is a smart move for anyone, but on piercing, hooded eyes, it's especially striking. The secret to making this technique work is elongating the shadow to open your eyes with the color. If you have blue eyes like Taylor Swift, pick a silvery navy or bronze. Brown-eyed girls should try cranberry, green-eyed ladies should use plum and hazel eyes look great adorned in warm brown.

How: Take a colored shadow of your choice (to emulate Swift's look, use Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Evidence, $18), and blend it across your lids and towards your sockets with a clean blending brush.

The key to adding drama when you don't have much lid space is making the most of your lower lash line. Blend the shadow along your lower lashes, thickening your shading up towards the outer corner of your eyes. Blend the shade slightly past your eye, towards the tail of your brow. Finish with several coats of thickening mascara like Maybelline Great Lash Washable Mascara in Blackest Black, $6.40 for fluttery lashes.

Photo: Getty Images

BY KELLY SEARLE | MAY 11, 2015 | SHARES
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