Makeup for Asian Eyes

Mon, 11 June 2012 1:54PM

I have ‘monolids’ and have never been able to perfect my eye makeup without getting panda eyes. Which products are best for Asian eyes like mine?

The makeup artists I’ve interviewed over the years have tended to all dish out the same advice when it comes to Asian eye makeup.

The first rule is to never try to contour in a crease line, because this type of smoke & mirrors makeup can look either obviously fake, or a little messy. Upshot: make the most of the gorgeous features you have.

For this reason, makeup artists always wax lyrical about washes of colour. And by colour, they really mean colour; seeing as your eyes and hair are dark, you can easily wear the brightest of brights when it comes to cosmetics. Because the skin on your lids is smooth and flat, you can also carry off beautiful, shimmery powder shadows, as well as cream eyeshadows – they won’t crease and crinkle like they do on, say, Western lids. Of course, you can also ‘wash’ with neutral shades of shadow, as seen on model Liu Wen recently:

A wash is a simple, foolproof makeup technique. It’s basically a single coat of shadow (although you might add a couple more if you need to even up the look), applied with a shader brush, or even with your pinkie tip. Depending on the brightness of the shadow, or the effect you want, you can wash it across the lower lid only, or take it right up to the brow. Practise to find the looks that best suit you.

Our favourite shadows to wash with include Stila’s shimmery ones – but especially Kitten, $38, Mecca Cosmetica. On the creamy shadow front, try Chanel Illusion D’Ombre, $48, from department stores; for a budget pick, look out for Maybelline EyeStudio Color Tattoo, out this July.

Your other makeup option is to go for a cat’s eye effect, which is best created with a slick of liquid liner. Liu Wen once again provides gorgeous inspiration:

Why? Well for one, it’s an eternally chic makeup look. But more crucially, this style of makeup tends to work perfectly with the natural shape of your eyes, meaning it will be extremely complementary. It’s also a practical option; again, seeing as the skin on your lid is flat, the liner should stay put nicely all day, or night, long.

Our preferred way to effect this feline look is with a cake or gel liner, applied with a slanted liner brush (check out the options by Bobbi Brown and Napoleon Perdis) – you get much better control than you would with a liquid liner wand, and will be able to easily build up from a cute little kick, seen above, to more major makeup statements, such as winged-out or graphic effects. Just be aware: practice (and patience!) makes perfect.

Let us know how you go!

Posted by: Katrina Lawrence

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Tags: asian, bobbi brown, chanel, cream shadow, eye shadow, featured how to, liquid liner, liu wen, maybelline, napoleon perdis, stila