How to apply eyeliner to suit your eyes

Life would be pretty sweet if one make-up how-to worked for everyone. But we know that we’re all unique in our own ways, so a tutorial on a dark, smudgy eye look – which would look fantastic on the big-eyed model in the picture – won’t do any favours for someone with small or narrow eyes.

So here are some handy hints and tricks on how to apply eyeliner to suit your eye shape, size, and position.
 

ROUND EYES

How do I know if I have round eyes?

Round eyes are usually large and quite wide. If you can see white above or below your iris when you look straight ahead, you have round eyes.
 

How should I apply my eyeliner?

If you’d like to make your eyes look a little longer, try lining the outer edges of your lash line, or go for a nice, long winged liner look. You could also apply liquid eyeliner (we love Mode Liquid Eyeliner) on your upper lash line from about where your iris starts at the inner corner all the way to the outer corner.
 

ALMOND EYES

How do I know if I have almond eyes?

Your eyes will literally look like the humble almond nut. When you look straight ahead, your iris disappears into your upper and lower eyelids.
 

How should I apply my eyeliner?

Go nuts with winged liner to complement the wonderful curves of your eyes. For bonus beauty points, give it a good flick up at the end. If you just want to use a regular pencil liner, like Avon Glimmersticks Diamonds Eye Liner, take note of your eye size before you start. Only draw a thin line for small eyes, and go a bit thicker for bigger eyes.
 

SMALL EYES

How do I know if I have small eyes?

Look at your eyes in comparison to your nose and mouth. Are they proportionally smaller? Bingo, you have small eyes. You’ll also notice that the distance between the tips of your lashes and your brow bone is quite short.
 

How should I apply my eyeliner?

Never apply dark eyeliner on your bottom water line, as this will make your eyes look even smaller. Instead, swipe a thin line on your top lash line and the outer corner of your bottom lash line to gently frame your eyes. For extra definition, try applying your liner in between the roots of your lashes with Bourjois Liner Feutre.
 

BIG EYES

How do I know if I have big eyes?

Your eyes are classified as ‘big’ if they are proportionally larger than the rest of your facial features, a la Mila.
 

How should I apply my eyeliner?

Lucky girl – having larger eyes means you can play around with lots of liner looks. First of all, you can easily line both your top and bottom waterlines without making your eyes look small. What’s more, you can apply eyeliner to the bottom lash line for the same reason. You can also experiment with other winged liner or cat eyes.
 

CLOSE-SET EYES

How do I know if I have close-set eyes?

Check out the gap between the inside corners of your eyes. Can you fit another eye in that space? If not, then you have close-set eyes.
 

How should I apply my eyeliner?

When you have close-set eyes, you want to focus on the outer corners of your eyes. Using a soft eye pencil, like Max Factor Liquid Eye Effect Pencil, apply your liner thinly at the inner corner and thicker at the outer corner, taking the line a bit longer than your lash line. When you’re working on the inner corners, avoid lining all the way to your tear duct as this will emphasise the closeness of your eyes.
 

WIDE-SET EYES

How do I know if I have wide-set eyes?

If the gap between the inner corners of your eyes is big enough to fit more than one eye, then you, my friend, have wide-set eyes.
 

How should I apply my eyeliner?

When you have wide-set eyes, you want to focus on the inner corners of your eyes so your eyes seem closer together. Start the line by your tear duct, and avoid extending it past the outer corner of your eye. If you have small eyes, you can also apply a small amount of liner at the inner corner of your bottom lash line – just don't line the whole thing.
 

DEEP SET EYES

How do I know if I have deep set eyes?

Your eyes are set deep into your skull, so when you open your eyes, the space between your lashes and brow bone recedes, making your brow bone look more prominent.
 

How should I apply my eyeliner?

Avoid drawing a thick line (and smudging your liner) on your top lash line as this may cause your eyes to look more sunken (and even smaller, if you have small eyes). To combat this, apply a thin line using essence 2 in 1 Eyeliner Pen as close to your lash line as possible, and only line the outer half of your eye. Try finish off the look with a thin line on your bottom lash line.
 

PROMINENT EYES

How do I know if I have prominent eyes?

Prominent eyes bulge outwards from the eye socket, meaning that you’d have a lot of your eyelids visible.
 

How should I apply my eyeliner?

You can create the illusion of smaller lids by using a thick liner (we love L’Oreal Paris SuperLiner Blackbuster Eyeliner) to line your top lash line. Feel free to apply from corner-to-corner, too. There are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to your bottom lash line - play around and see what you prefer.
 

MONOLIDS

How do I know if I have monolids?

Monolids are flat and barely have a crease. The brow bone is also less defined.
 

How should I apply my eyeliner?

When lining your top lash line, start off with a thin line at the inner corner and make it thicker as you go along. A monolid also offers the perfect canvas to play around with dramatic winged liner and cat eye looks.
 

HOODED LIDS

How do I know if I have hooded lids?

If you notice that your eyelid droops down over the crease when your eyes are open, you’re the proud owner of some hooded lids.
 

How should I apply my eyeliner?

Because the folding over of the lid causes eyes to look smaller, you’ll want to try and make your eyes look bigger with eyeliner. Start by thickening your lash base by applying liner between the roots of your lashes and be sure to apply your liner thicker at the outer corner of your eye.

What eye shape do you have? Do you already follow these tricks for lining your eyes?