The spring/summer 2027 shows have signalled the return of playful eye make-up – the antithesis of the muted look that defined the clean girl era. In fact, subtlety around the eyes is out; big, bold and dramatic eye looks are in. Sam Visser’s smoked-out aesthetic in neon pops of cobalt, yellow, turquoise and pink at Gucci as our north star.
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Interesting eye details were also at Jonathan Anderson’s spring 2027 Dior show, where Peter Philips injected a striking detail into the fresh, minimal make-up looks: glittering winged eyes. Back in London, make-up artist Kim Brown also let the eyes take centre stage at Richard Quinn for the “spooky, twinkie doll” look she crafted this season, pairing matte skin with lots and lots of mascara. Crystal and glitter reentered the equation too at The Attico and Simone Rocha, and dramatic winged liner proved its enduring glamour at Dolce & Gabbana.
Now that creative eye make-up is taking centre stage, it’s time to explore the endless possibilities that can be achieved with the flick of a brush or wand. When selecting the ones to suit, you can consider how your eye shape plays into the design that you are creating. This was something I never contemplated but was brought to my attention on TikTok, after being served video after video of creators tailoring their make-up to eye colour and shape.
Eye shape describes the outline of the eye and is often categorised in terms of almond, round, upturned or downturned. Other characteristics, such as hooding, whether the eyelid has a visible crease, depth and spacing, can also affect how make-up sits.
To determine which best describes yours, Karl Díaz-Hellín Hodson, international education and events manager at Laura Mercier, explains, “Look directly into a mirror – relax your face and keep your eyes open without raising your brows. If there is no visible crease, you may have a monolid eye. If there is a crease but it mostly disappears beneath the skin, you may have a hooded eye.” Then you can look at how the eyes taper. “If your eyes are tapered evenly at both the inner and outer corner, with even height in the middle, then you likely have an almond eye shape. If you feel like your eyes are noticeably round or tall, ‘round’ may be your eye shape. Imagine a straight line passing through your pupils – if the outer corner of your eye sits above the imaginary line, your eye shape is upturned; if the outer corner sits below the imaginary line, then your eye shape is downturned.”
He adds, “It could well be that you have prominent or deep-set eyes – this is identified by the distance from the brow bone to the eyeball. If your eyeball sits in line with your brow bone, your eye shape is probably prominent. If your eyeball sits noticeably further back than your brow bone, then you may have deep-set eyes.”
Shadow, liner and mascara placement can be used to open, lift or balance the appearance of the eyes – concentrating product towards the outer corner can elongate, while upward or outward placement can create a lifted effect. “Depending on the look you are going for, you can play with different techniques to create an optical illusion and make it look like you have a different eye shape,” explains professional make-up artist Claudia Neacsu. “For instance, if you have round eyes and you want to make them seem more elongated, you will only apply eyeliner, eyeshadow, and mascara on the outer corners of the eyes, leaving the middle part blank; this way your eyes will apparently change shape. But if you want to keep the doll-looking eyes, you can actually accentuate your round eye shape by applying mascara all the way to the inner corners.”
Below, the experts share the techniques used by the pros to accentuate each eye shape, sharing eyeshadow, mascara and liner designs and finishes to emphasise and flatter.
Before tailoring your technique to your eye shape, there are a few principles that apply across the board, from the use of shimmer to applying with your eyes open. No matter your eye type, Neacsu believes her signature lifting technique can be flattering. To get the look, according to the professional make-up artist, “it starts with slowly building the eye shape while contouring the face. I add the cream contour starting from the outer corners of the eyes, going all the way to the temples, connecting it with the face contour. I then love bringing a bit of light on the eyelids and finishing the look with a lifting eyeliner and lots of mascara.”
Díaz-Hellín Hodson recommends using “light layers and build as desired,” while also sharing to “check your eye make-up with your eyes open.” This allows you to better see if the design is symmetrical – “If you can do the majority of your eye make-up with your eyes open, even better! This way you can avoid the pain of your eyeliner looking wonky as soon as you open your eyes, or that excruciating moment that you open your eyes and your mascara transfers to your eyelid.”
Get creative with shimmer. “Sometimes a simple pop of shimmer in the inner corner of the eye or underneath the lash line can be far more flattering and effective than using it all over the lid,” Díaz-Hellín Hodson adds. “Don’t be afraid to play around and get to know your eye shape and what suits you – remember, make-up comes off quicker than it goes on. Making mistakes can sometimes unlock the key to you discovering your perfect eye make-up style.”
To open up the eyes, play with light. “I like to bring light on the mobile eyelids, inner corners and waterline. So I would use a light cream/ivory eyeshadow/eyeliner and complete the eye by adding a soft shadow in the crease. And lots of mascara on both top and bottom lashes.”
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“The almond eye is very forgiving, and pretty much everything works on this eye shape,” explains Díaz-Hellín Hodson. Neacsu concurs, detailing that there is a lot of freedom. “You can pretty much play with almost any placement because there is usually enough space on the eyelid. I like accentuating the lash line with thin eyeliner that goes thicker towards the outer corners. A wash of colour all over the eyelids (both shimmer and mattes) and an even layer of mascara on both top and bottom lashes would always look flattering.”
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When it comes to round eyes, “I love elongating them slightly by focusing all products on the outer corners of the eyes,” says Neacsu. “I like to keep the middle and inner corners light so that it creates the illusion of a kitten eye.” However, if you’re looking to give the illusion of an almond eye, Díaz-Hellín Hodson encourages you to use a “darker shade of eyeshadow in a ‘sideways V’ or ‘less than’ (<) shape to the outer half of the eye. Then use a medium-toned eyeshadow to softly blend out. This will pull focus to the outer edge of the eye.”
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For hooded eyes, Díaz-Hellín Hodson advises “doing as much of the eye make-up as possible with the eyes open, as you can lose a lot of the detail as the skin above the eyelid usually folds over the eyelid itself.” Neacsu agrees that this is the approach, especially when it comes to liner, which she advises to “softly smudge it so that it doesn’t look harsh.”
To accentuate hooded eyes, Díaz-Hellín Hodson advises applying “medium-toned matte shades slightly higher than the crease line with the eye open and avoid heavy liners on the top of the eye. If you want more drama – try applying a soft pencil liner on the lower lash line and softly blending out with a shimmer eyeshadow.” Neacsu prefers just placing eyeshadow “on the outer corners of the eyes, almost ignoring the excess skin, so that the shape creates the illusion of more eyelid space” and she likes to just put mascara “on the outer corner to lift the eyes.” Use a brightening pencil in the inner corner to enhance openness.
The approach for a monolid can be similar to that of a hooded eye, but the reason is different. With hooded eyes, the crease can obscure the lid; but for monolids, the visible crease may be absent altogether. Much like with hooded eyes, apply your eye make-up with your eyes open. Neacsu says, “Eyeshadow can be applied all over the eyelids, going slightly towards the brows to create the illusion of eyelid space, while eyeliner and mascara need to be thicker from the outer corners all the way to the inner corners to add dimension and contour to the eyes.”
When it comes to what look to recreate, Díaz-Hellín Hodson loves the “sunrise style.” This, according to the expert, is “where we apply a pencil liner or a darker shade to the lash line/root of the upper lashes and then use two more eyeshadows in increasingly lighter shades to blend out towards the brow bone – creating a gorgeous ‘sunrise’ gradation effect.”
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With a natural lift, you can keep it simple in terms of placement – “an even eyeshadow all over the lids with a thin eyeliner and mascara will look beautiful,” confirms the pro Neacsu. Should you wish to create balance, call on a darker eyeshadow or pencil, says Díaz-Hellín Hodson, “on the outer corner of the lower lash line – avoiding putting anything too dark on the outer half of the upper lid. If you want to accentuate an upturned eye, you can use a deep shade of shadow or pencil and imagine a line from the outer corner of the upper lash line to the brow bone and softly sketch your eyeshadow into place – this will create a dramatic cat-like wing.”
- Why it’s -approved: As makeup artists have said many times before (including in this very piece), liquid liners are not always suited for mature lids. Enter the rare exception: Lisa Eldridge’s Kitten Flick. “This is one of the best precision liners for older women who still love a defined wing,” Perisco says. “The brush tip gives you full control, and the deep satin black shade lifts and elongates the eyes beautifully.” For mature lids, she recommends applying the liner in small strokes, moving slightly upward at the outer corners. “This will give the appearance of an instant eye lift,” she says. Eldridge designed the product for ease of use, and previously told : “The liquid liner has a really tiny, very flexible felt tip, and it was important to me that the ink came out perpetually, not in stages, for a smooth and even line.” Eldridge has used the formula on celebrity clients of all ages, including 30-year-old Dua Lipa and 55-year-old Claudia Schiffer.
- Key ingredients: Castor oil
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To make downturned eyes look sultry, Díaz-Hellín Hodson likes to apply shimmer shadow. “I love to use shimmer shades all over the eyelid with a contrast of a soft, medium-toned matte eyeshadow on the lower lash line.” However, he cautions “not to go too heavy underneath, as this can cause the eye shape to look too unbalanced.” Neacsu says to employ lifting motions, “I keep the outer corner a bit darker than the inner corner. A bit of concealer applied on the part that goes down to bring light will make the eye appear more lifted.”
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To create balance for a wide-set eye, “use a light-to-medium matte-toned shadow all over the lid and softly smoke out a pencil liner or dark eyeshadow from the lashline,” Díaz-Hellín Hodson details. “Try to avoid applying anything too dark on the outer corners, as this will draw focus and make the eyes appear more wide-set.”
For close-set eyes, Díaz-Hellín Hodson recommends “a light shimmer shade on the inner corner – this will add an instant beam of light and brighten the overall eye shape. Stick to matte tones on the outer corners and the lower lash line.”
The experts take different approaches when it comes to protruding eyes; Neacsu prefers to keep the lower lash line bare, while Díaz-Hellín Hodson believes the opposite. Neacsu intends to prevent the under-eye from looking puffy or to avoid emphasising dark circles, so prefers to forgo eyeshadow or eyeliner on the lower lash line: “We want to keep the focus on the eyelids. A brown liner on the waterline adds definition and makes the eye look more elevated.” Díaz-Hellín Hodson, however, likes to “Generously wrap a soft pencil eyeliner across the top and bottom lash line and then smudge this out with a medium-toned matte shadow. I tend to not use too much shimmer on a protruding eye as matte tones recede light and create more balance.”
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For deep-set eyes where the eyelid is further back than the brow bone, “try to avoid putting dark colours in the crease as this will recede the eye further,” reveals Díaz-Hellín Hodson. “Opt for light to medium shimmer tones all over the lid; this will bring the lid forward and provide an overall more flattering look.” Neacsu agrees, detailing, “Lighter tones and less shadow is key as this eye already has a natural, pretty intense shadow. You can focus on a thin liner and lots of mascara.”
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