For that reason, I decided to learn a single eyeshadow pattern that I could recreate with any color combo I chose. So when I genuinely got into makeup in high school, I looked up a smoky eye tutorial that Michelle Phan had posted on YouTube, and it became my road map for eyeshadow for my entire life leading up to the end of college. It wasn’t until Instagram became more popular and more Asian-American makeup artists became well-known that I found other Asian people who were finding ways to get creative with their eyeshadow. I saw them making the most out of their limited eyelid real estate, taking on graphic liners and bright eyeshadow colors, playing with different textures, and overall making their eyes look more prominent or even the focal point of the whole look. I always thought that I needed dark eyeliner to make my eyes look wider or that no one would ever see my lashes if I didn’t put falsies on. But celebrities and makeup artists taught me that I could break all the rules ingrained into my brain and that just because I don’t have space on my eyelid doesn’t mean I can’t play with my makeup a little bit. I asked some of my favorite Asian-American makeup artists to share their colorful eyeshadow tips for people with small eyelids. After all, who better to describe the beauty of small eyelids than those who have them?
Patrick Ta, Celebrity Makeup Artist & Founder of Patrick Ta Beauty
“I love using eyeshadows and graphic liners to enhance features,” says Patrick Ta. “When working with limited eyelid space and/or hooded eyes, I love placing the shadow while their eyes are open versus closed so you’re able to see exactly where the shadow will live. Another tip [is that] I will use a pencil brush or a precise small shader brush to place the product where I want. Using a large shading brush will create too much of a diffused placement.” For graphic or winged liners, Ta says that you’re creating the illusion of a straight line, but when the eye is looking down, it’s essentially a “drop off” where you’ll need to connect the lid to the wing to make sure the liner on the lid isn’t too thick. When the eye is open, the wing will look fully connected, but when the eye is closed, you’ll see the disconnect between the liner on the lid and the actual flick. Floating eyeliner, which uses negative space to create an outline on your crease instead of drawing the line directly on the lash line, is also great for hooded lids. Ta predicts that brightly colored eyeshadow and graphic liner will be huge trends and recommends that people try out monochromatic makeup looks that match their outfits.
Marc Regan, Director of Global Education for Hourglass Cosmetics
“Copper and rosy-pink shades are on trend and are very wearable colors, but also add a touch of color to an everyday look,” says Marc Regan. “When it comes to limited eye space, it’s important to blend eyeshadow until there are no visible lines of demarcation.” Regan recommends playing with textures and finding eyeshadow formulas that make the application easy, like Hourglass’ Scattered Light Glitter Eyeshadows ($30, sephora.com) in shades like Blaze, Aura, Rapture, or Ray. For a blown-out smoky eye, apply the shadow with your ring finger across the lash line and blend up towards the middle of the eyelid. Regan says to focus on the shape of the shadow so it enhances the shape of the eye when it is open. Then diffuse the edges up towards the brow bone. To intensify definition at the outer corners of the eye, use a dark brown eyeliner, like Hourglass 1.5mm Mechanical Gel Eye Liner in Bronze ($20, sephora.com), and smudge it with a small brush. Instead of making the eye look too deep and smoky, focus the liner closest to the lash line and draw the shape of the eye outwards. Finally, Regan recommends curling your lashes for a lifting effect that opens up the eye and finishing the look with mascara: “The contrast of the black against the color of the shadow will play up depth and dimension without the wearer having to be an expert at shading into the eye socket or crease.”
Mai Quynh, Giorgio Armani Beauty Makeup Artist Collaborator
“My tip is to pick a bright apricot/peach or a pop of watermelon pink to add as a wash on the lids,” says Mai Quynh. “Be sure to smudge the same shade along your bottom lash line, as well.” Quynh adds that adding a liner is important to add some dimension around the eyes. Use either a thinner liquid formula or a dark pencil smudged along the upper outer lash line and lightly along the bottom outer lash line like Armani Beauty Smooth Silk Eye Pencil in 4 ($30, nordstrom.com). To wrap up the look, Quynh always recommends using falsies or tons of mascara and advises, “Make sure the bright color is still visible and the focus on the face. Tie in the cheek and lip in the same color family to achieve this summer monochromatic look.”
Kara Yoshimoto Bua, Chanel Makeup Artist
“My favorite [bright shades] are light to medium bright tones of turquoise, aqua, bright lavender, and fluorescence,” says Kara Yoshimoto Bua. Palettes like Chanel Les 4 Ombres Eyeshadow in Au Fil Des Fleurs, which contains iridescent shades of pink and purple, are perfect for playing around with. Yoshimoto Bua likes to create a crescent moon look with these shades by swiping an upside-down, horizontal crescent moon shape on the contour of the inner eyelid following the curve of the bridge of the nose. She also loves a chevron design. To achieve it, use a bright shade of eyeliner like Chanel’s Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Fervent Blue ($34, ulta.com), and draw a chevron starting from the end of the crease on the outside lid area out toward the temple then back, blending into the lash line.
