Eye Makeup for Hooded, Deep Set & Heavier Lids (like mine)

Why standard tutorials do not always work and how to place shadow where it can actually be seen ( from someone who has grown up loving eyeshadow with hooded lids).

I get asked about hooded eyes a lot, usually by people who feel like eye makeup tutorials just do not work on them. Like I did once...you follow the steps, place the crease colour where the tutorial says, blend carefully, open your eyes… and the whole thing disappears. Or worse, it suddenly looks heavy, muddy or much darker than expected.

That does not mean you are doing makeup wrong. It usually means the tutorial was made for a different eye shape. Hooded lids, deep set eyes and heavier lids often need different placement. The aim is not to “fix” the eye shape, or force it into someone else’s template. The aim is to understand where your lid space sits, where shadow naturally falls, and where colour needs to be placed so it still shows when your eyes are open.

This guide explains the difference between hooded lids and deep-set eyes, why standard crease placement can disappear, and how products like a white eyeshadow primer base can help create a cleaner, higher shape for cut creases, graphic shadow and more visible eye makeup.

 

Understanding the difference

Before we get into placement, it helps to understand what we are actually working with.

A lot of eye makeup tutorials assume the same basic eye shape: visible lid space, a clear crease, and enough room to place shadow exactly where the tutorial says. But not all eyes are built like that.If your eyeshadow disappears when you open your eyes, your eyeliner transfers, or your crease colour seems to vanish the second you look straight ahead, it does not mean you are bad at makeup. It usually means the placement needs to work with your eye shape rather than against it.

Two of the most common eye shapes people ask me about are hooded lids and deep set eyes. They are often confused, and some people have both, but they are not exactly the same thing.

What are deep set eyes?

Deep set eyes sit further back in the eye socket. This means the brow bone often appears more prominent because it sits further forward than the eyeball itself. The result is a naturally deeper, more shadowed eye area. The socket can look more pronounced, the crease may appear darker, and the brow bone can cast shadow over the lid.

This can create a beautiful, intense, naturally dramatic eye shape  but it can also mean that certain makeup placements make the eyes look more recessed than intended. With deep set eyes, the aim is often to use light strategically to bring the mobile lid forward, while keeping deeper shadow placed carefully so it shapes the eye without sinking it further back.

What are hooded eyes?

Hooded lids happen when skin from the upper eye area folds down over part, or all, of the mobile lid (this is  the part of the eyelid that moves when you blink).This means that when the eyes are open, the lid space can partially or completely disappear. You may apply shadow or liner beautifully with your eyes closed, then open them and wonder where on earth it went.

With hooded lids, the issue is not that the eye shape is wrong. It is simply that the visible makeup area changes when the eye is open. So instead of placing everything inside the natural crease, you often need to place colour slightly higher so it can still be seen.

Hooded vs deep-set eyes

People often confuse hooded eyes and deep-set eyes, or assume they are the same thing, but they are different features.

Hooded eyes are about the upper fold of skin covering or partly covering the mobile lid.

Deep-set eyes are about the eye sitting further back in the socket, with the brow bone sitting more forward and creating natural depth or shadow.

To make things even more confusing, you can absolutely have both. You can have deep set eyes without a hood, where the crease remains visible but the eye still sits deeper under the brow bone. You can also have hooded eyes without the eyes being especially deep set. And then there are eyes like mine, where the lid completely disappears when the eyes are open. That means standard tutorials often do not work as written. A “put this shade in your crease” instruction is not always helpful if your natural crease folds away the moment you look forward.

Why placement matters more than rules

For hooded lids and deep-set eyes, placement matters more than following a generic face chart. I have spent years learning how to make eyeliner visible on my own eyes (that is definitely another blog waiting to happen), and how to place eyeshadow so it can actually be seen once my eyes are open. It is also one of the reasons I care so much about creating products that grip well, last well, and do not smudge or rub away too easily.

There are many more eye shapes than the ones in this guide, but hooded lids and deep-set eyes are the two I get asked about most often. So for this blog, we are focusing on understanding those shapes and how to adapt your makeup placement around them.The goal is not to force your eyes into a different shape.The goal is to place colour, shadow, liner and light where they make sense for the eyes you have.

You have more space than you think

A lot of people feel like eyeshadow has to stay neatly on the mobile lid. But if you have hooded lids, deep set eyes or heavier lids, the mobile lid may not be the most visible part of the eye once your eyes are open. That does not mean you have no space to play with. It means the space might be somewhere else.You can take colour underneath the lower lashes.You can also blend shadow out towards the temples.You can place your crease higher than your natural fold.You can create a new shape entirely. You should have fun with it and work out what you like best. Eyeshadow does not have to sit politely where someone else’s tutorial told it to.

One of the first techniques I started using was placing a vibrant shade, often red, underneath my lower lashes and bleeding it up and outward into a wing. This shifted the focus underneath the eye rather than relying only on the upper lid. It is a really effective technique, and it can be easier than trying to force a visible crease onto a lid that keeps folding it away. It does take a little getting used to if you have not worn shadow underneath the eyes before, but it can be beautiful.And it does not have to be red.

You can use earthy neutral shades for something softer, smoky browns for a more wearable look, or go for it with our Occultum Luxe Spectral Flux Pigments. This is very much the kind of placement I had in mind when I created shades like Ichor.   Use colours that can bleed, shift and haunt the eye area without needing to stay trapped on the lid.

Moving the crease above your natural crease

If undereye focus is not your thing, you can absolutely move the eyeshadow higher.

For hooded lids, the natural crease may disappear when the eyes are open. Or, if you are like me, you may have several little creases all having a meeting without your permission.

This is where placing shadow above the natural fold can completely change the look.

Instead of putting your deepest shade exactly inside the crease, try looking straight ahead into the mirror and placing the colour where you can actually see it. This may be higher than you expect.

I usually place a darker shade in the outer corner, then blend it up and out above my crease so the shape stays visible when my eyes are open. This creates lift and structure without relying on lid space that disappears.

Then I go in with Prime For Rebellion in Anarchy, our white eyeshadow primer base, through the inner lid or centre lid to create a clean canvas for another colour or sometimes I just leave it white.

That white base helps carve out the space you want to see.

 

Why use a white base?

A white eyeshadow base is useful because it creates a visible canvas.

On hooded or deep-set eyes, colour can get swallowed by shadow, folds or natural depth. A white base helps cancel some of that darkness and gives your eyeshadow something brighter to sit on.

It can help:

• make colours appear more vivid

• brighten the mobile lid

• create a cleaner cut crease

• make graphic shapes look more deliberate

• give pale, pastel, neon or spectral shades more impact

• map out a new lid shape before adding colour

With Prime For Rebellion in Anarchy, you can use the white base to create the shape first, then place shadow around it. Think of it as sketching the spell circle before you summon the colour.For a cut crease, look straight ahead and place the upper edge of the white base slightly above your natural fold. That way, when your eye is open, the shape is still visible.

Ritual Refine for shaping and cleanup

This is also where Ritual Refine becomes useful. When you are creating a higher crease, graphic shadow shape, winged under eye placement or sharp inner-corner shape, tiny adjustments make a big difference.Ritual Refine can help clean and sharpen:

• the edge of a cut crease

• the outer wing of shadow

• the lower lash line shape

• the inner corner

• mistakes where shadow has travelled too far

• graphic shapes that need a cleaner finish

You do not have to get the shape perfect on the first attempt. Sometimes the shape appears through the refining.Apply the colour, step back, look straight ahead, then adjust.

Eyeshadow does not have to stay on the eyelid

Despite the name, eyeshadow does not have to stay only on the eyelid.

You can blend it under the eyes.You can take it out toward the temples.
You can connect it to blush.You can pull it into a smoky wing. You can use it to create a halo, a sharp editorial shape or something entirely otherworldly.  There are no rules here. Just have fun!

Some of the best makeup discoveries happen when you are playing with no pressure, not before an event, not ten minutes before leaving the house, and definitely not when one eye has decided to betray you. Give yourself time to experiment. Try the strange placement. Move the shape higher. Pull the colour lower. Blend it further out. See what your own face does with it.

Deep-set eyes: bring the lid forward with light

With deep-set eyes, shadow already exists naturally because the eye sits further back under the brow bone.That natural depth can be beautiful, intense and dramatic, but if you place too much darkness deep in the socket, the eye can look even more recessed.

This is where light becomes important.A brighter lid can help bring the eye forward visually. Using Prime For Rebellion in Anarchy on the mobile lid can create a clean, bright base that makes the lid space more visible and helps colour stand out.

For deep set eyes, try keeping the lid lighter and placing deeper shadow more towards the outer corner or slightly above the socket, rather than packing darkness into the deepest part of the eye.The idea is not to remove the depth.The idea is to control where the depth sits. Light brings the lid forward and Shadow shapes the frame.

Common mistakes with hooded or deep set eyes

If your eye makeup keeps disappearing, transferring or looking heavier than expected, it may be one of these placement issues.Common things to watch for include:

• placing crease colour too low

• applying thick liner across the whole upper lash line

• putting too much darkness on the mobile lid

• not looking straight ahead while mapping the shape

• placing shimmer where the lid folds heavily

• blending everything only within the natural crease

• using too much product before the primer has set

• assuming your makeup has failed when it simply needs a different placement

For hooded lids, always check the shape with your eyes open. For deep set eyes, be careful not to sink the whole lid back with too much dark shadow. 

Final thoughts

Hooded lids, deep set eyes and heavier lids are not wrong. They just do not always respond well to standard tutorials. You may need to place colour higher and you might need to brighten the lid. You may need to focus under the eye and it's helpful  to build your shape while looking straight ahead. You may need to ignore a tutorial that was never written for your eye shape in the first place.

Makeup is not a rulebook, sometimes it's a very beautiful act of trial and error.